Flassan: Hiking and Village History on Mont Ventoux
Accommodation in Flassan
Flassan offers plenty to explore during a stay focused on hiking, the landscape and the history of Mont Ventoux. The GR 91 long-distance hiking trail leads from Flassan towards Villes-sur-Auzon. If you are planning a hike with specific distance and elevation details, there is also a moderately difficult route starting in Flassan. The village also offers historic sites and local sights that add further interest to your stay.
Hiking from Flassan
A moderately difficult hike starting in Flassan is listed as 9 kilometres long, taking about three hours and involving 340 metres of elevation gain. These details can help you gauge the time and physical effort involved in a day’s hiking. Route details and trail conditions may change; check the route and conditions locally before setting off.
The GR 91 leads from Flassan towards Villes-sur-Auzon. Check the route locally before setting off on this trail, too. The two descriptions provide different kinds of guidance: the moderately difficult hike comes with a distance, approximate duration and elevation gain, while the GR 91 description specifies the direction towards Villes-sur-Auzon. This helps you plan the hiking focus of your stay without treating the two routes as the same.
Landscape and Village Views
The Combe de Canaud is one of the wild gorges of Mont Ventoux. Once used as a route by shepherds and charcoal burners, the landscape also reflects this history of use. The heritage of the Combe includes the remains of charcoal kilns dating from the 18th century. They provide a tangible link to the work of the charcoal burners, who also feature in the history of the former route.
The village itself also offers striking sights: at sunset, the ochre and orange facades can take on pink hues. Flassan’s fountains and washhouses attract painters and photographers throughout the year. So, alongside the hiking trails, visitors who want to take in the landscape and village scenery will also find plenty to admire in the village itself.
History at the Olive Mill, Settlement and Chapel
Flassan’s former olive mill was built in 1633 and operated until 1925. Today, it houses the town hall. The building illustrates the transition from industrial use to municipal use.
Tourreus is a fortified protohistoric settlement with stone towers and rock shelters. Pottery fragments and a human skull dating to 3,000 BC were discovered in the Grotte Notre-Dame, which is located inside a stone tower. The remains of the 18th-century charcoal kilns and the finds at Tourreus represent distinctly different historical periods.
The Chapel of Saint-Jean-du-DĂ©sert is documented from 1154 under the name Sancti Johannis in territorio Villelonga in Monte Ventorio. The St Jean Chapel lies at an altitude of 1,040 metres on the foothills of Mont Ventoux and is the only chapel that is still open to visitors. Visiting arrangements may vary by season; bear this in mind when planning your trip.
Regional Tastes
Regional products you can sample in Flassan include AOC CĂ´tes du Ventoux wines and artisan-made fruit and vegetable preserves. Individual producers and the availability of preserves may vary. These local tastes add a culinary dimension to the hiking and cultural highlights of your stay.
Discover more destinations: Joucas, Saint Didier, Seguret, Saint-LĂ©ger-Du-Ventoux, BĂ©darrides, Robion, Beaumont-Du-Ventoux, Sablet.
For the main travel guide: Vaucluse.
