Olive culture and scenery give a stay in Volx two distinct focal points. The Écomusée de l’Olivier traces the journey from the tree’s botany to oil production; marked trails, olive groves and the Luberon’s garrigue offer a different perspective. The parish church of Sainte-Victoire, the castle ruins and the Galerie de la basse fontaine add architectural history. You can therefore tailor your stay to your interests, focusing on olive culture, scenery or historic buildings.
Olive Culture at the Museum and in the Groves
The Écomusée de l’Olivier is housed in former lime kilns on the former Route de Forcalquier in Volx and presents olive culture throughout the Mediterranean region. Interactive and audiovisual exhibits explain the botany of the olive tree, pruning olive trees, harvesting the fruit and producing olive oil. The subject thus spans the tree, its care and the finished oil.
Aglandau is the olive variety most commonly grown in Volx. This local connection complements the museum’s broad perspective on olive culture across the Mediterranean: one particular variety is especially widespread in Volx, while the museum explores the subject on a larger scale.
Individual visitors can tour the Écomusée de l’Olivier free of charge and without a guide; it is independently accessible to wheelchair users. The museum offers free guided olive oil tastings to groups of 9 to 40 people by reservation. The tour and tasting therefore differ in format: the former is intended for individual visitors, while the tasting is for groups with a reservation.
Trails Through Olive Groves and Garrigue
Les Chemins de l’Olivier is a marked walking trail through the olive groves of Volx that starts at the Piétramal nature site. The Tour de la Garde circular trail offers a different experience: it passes through the typical garrigue of the Luberon to the Volx climbing area, reaches the summit of La Garde and offers views over the Durance Valley and the Pays de Lure.
The two trails have different focal points: Les Chemins de l’Olivier centres on the olive groves, while the Tour de la Garde circular trail combines garrigue, the climbing area and summit views. A guidebook for the “Eau et Garrigues” interpretation trail is available to download or from Volx town hall.
Climbing Area and Protected Nature
The Volx climbing area lies on the edge of a protected zone that safeguards birds of prey, bats and rock plants. The protected surroundings are therefore also part of the picture when considering the climbing area: here, the climbing area and protected landscape meet directly.
Church, Castle and Gallery
The parish church of Sainte-Victoire was built in 1648. Volx Castle dates from the 12th and 13th centuries and lies in ruins; some arches of its aqueduct remain. From the castle, the panorama stretches to Mont Ventoux, the Pre-Alps and Oisans. Another architectural feature is the Galerie de la basse fontaine: it is about 50 metres deep and can be viewed from the square named after it.
Discover more destinations: MĂ©olans-Revel, Jausiers, Saint-Maime, Saint-Vincent-Les-Forts, Saumane, Beynes, Pierrevert, BarrĂŞme
For the regional travel overview: Alpes-De-Haute-Provence.
