Meyrargues

• Bouches-du-Rhône (13650) • Population: 3,625 • Altitude: 206 m

Meyrargues is not a very pretty town, but there are a couple of sites to see: the Chateau on the hilltop and the ruins of a Roman Aqueduct just over the hill past the chateau. The chateau is also an excellent hotel, and we have a report here by a Beyond reader.

Meyrargues Castle Hotel | Lost Railways | Aix Historic NE

Meyrargues seems to be a town mainly for habitation, with a lot of apartments and low-cost housing. We would guess this is a bedroom community for Aix-en-Provence, 20 minutes away by road.

There are shops here in Meyrargues, but we found only one café, and it doesn't have a terrace.

Meyrargues church is the église Saint-André, built in 1737 and repaired in 1822. It contains a painting offered by Napoleon III.

History of Meyrargues

Name

First record, 11th-c Mairanicas

The etymology of Meyrargues is thought to be from Marie-Agger, meaning the camp of Marius, the Roman general who defeated the Teutons and the Cimbres on the plain of Aix-en-Provence in II-BC. There is a second school of thought that the title came from local person with the name of the owner of the domain.

Gallo-Roman: There was very obviously Roman occupation here, and probably on the hilltop site of the current Chateau de Vauclaire. The remains of the Roman aqueduct are just at the base of this hill, on the east side.

Hiking

• GPS: 43.635236, 5.528546

Maps

IGN (1/25,000) #3244 ET "Ste Victoire, Gardanne, Trets"

Meyrargues is at the northwest corner of the Peyrolles-en-Provence communal forest. This heavily wooded area extends eastward as far as Jouques and southwards to St-Marc-Jaumegarde and Vauvenargues at the slopes of Sainte-Victoire mountain.

A marked hiking trail into the forest departs from the hilltop at the southern gate of the Chateau. About 1 km south, the trail splits into loop hikes, as well as continuing south and east, eventually connecting with the GR9 (Grande Randonnée) trail.

Transportation Meyrargues

Department 13, Bouches-du-Rhône Buses

See Beyond's Bouches-du-Rhone (13) Bus Schedules for downloading Bouches-du-Rhone bus-lines map and bus-line schedules [pdf for each line] (link for PDF files).

Marseille - Gréoux - Riez - Castellane Bus FH-27

LER line 27 (part A): 3 buses/day, between Marseille and Riez, trip time 2 hrs. Stops: Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, Venelles, Meyrargues, Peyrolles, Pont Mirabeau, St Paul-lez-Durance, Vinon, Gréoux-les-Bains, St Martin-de-Bromes, Allemagne-en-Provence, Riez.

LER line 27 (part B): 1 bus a day between Riez and Castellane (via the Gorges-de-Verdon), trip time 1h30. Stops: Riez, Roumoules, Moustiers-Ste-Marie, Lapalud, Rougon, Pont de Soleil, Castellane.

• On the LER website (http://www.info-ler.fr/fr/lignes-horaires/carte-et-fiches-horaires-n287. , select Ligne 27: Marseille / Greoux / Castellane to display the bus schedule PDF.

Marseille - Gréoux - Riez - Castellane Bus FH27

LER line 27 (part A): 3 buses/day, between Marseille and Riez, trip time 2 hrs. Stops: Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, Venelles, Meyrargues, Peyrolles, Pont Mirabeau, St Paul-lez-Durance, Vinon, Gréoux-les-Bains, St Martin-de-Bromes, Allemagne-en-Provence, Riez.

LER line 27 (part B): 1 bus a day between Riez and Castellane, trip time 1h30. Stops: Riez, Roumoules, Moustiers-Ste-Marie, Lapalud, Rougon, Pont de Soleil, Castellane.

• Link to schedules Line-27 (PDF).