Miramas-le-Vieux

Why Visit Miramas-le-Vieux:

Miramas-le-Vieux is a charming medieval village perched atop a hill in the heart of Provence, offering a glimpse into the region’s rich history and stunning landscapes. Here’s why you should consider visiting:

1. Historical Beauty: Explore a perfectly preserved medieval village with narrow cobblestone streets, ancient stone buildings, and a picturesque town square. The village’s architecture reflects the charm of a bygone era.
2. Panoramic Views: Enjoy breathtaking panoramic views of the surrounding countryside, including the Étang de Berre and the Alpilles mountains. The village’s elevated position provides stunning vistas that are particularly striking during sunrise and sunset.
3. Tranquility: Experience the peaceful ambiance of a small Provençal village. Unlike some of the more touristy destinations in the region, Miramas-le-Vieux offers tranquility and a chance to immerse yourself in local life.

How to Get to Miramas-le-Vieux

Miramas-le-Vieux is conveniently located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region of southeastern France. Here are the ways to reach this hidden gem:

• By Car: The most convenient way to access Miramas-le-Vieux is by car. It’s situated approximately 55 kilometers (34 miles) northwest of Marseille. From Marseille, take the A7 highway and then follow local roads to the village.
• By Train: You can take a train to Miramas, a nearby town with rail connections, and then continue to Miramas-le-Vieux by taxi or bus. The train journey offers picturesque views of the countryside.

Travel guide of Miramas-le-Vieux

Office de tourisme
Adresse : avenue Falabrègues
Tél. : 04 90 58 08 24
Opening hours: Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.

What to See and Do:

• Exploring the Village: Start your journey by wandering through the historic village. Admire the well-preserved medieval architecture, including the Church Notre-Dame-de-Beauvezer and Calade streets.
• Place de la Mairie: Visit the charming town square, Place de la Mairie, where you’ll find a lovely fountain and a selection of cafes and restaurants. It’s an ideal spot for a leisurely coffee or meal.
• Hiking Trails: Miramas-le-Vieux is a gateway to several hiking trails that offer stunning views of the Étang de Berre and the Mediterranean Sea. The Sentier du Tour du Vieux Village is a popular choice.
• Local Markets: Depending on the day of your visit, you might stumble upon a local market. These markets are perfect for trying regional products and interacting with the friendly locals.

Miramas-le-Vieux offers a serene escape into the heart of Provence, where you can savor the beauty of a medieval village and the breathtaking landscapes of the region. Whether you’re a history buff, a nature enthusiast, or simply seeking tranquility, this hidden gem has something special to offer.

Attractions

Miramas-le-Vieux, a picturesque medieval village in Provence, boasts several main sights that are worth exploring during your visit:

1. Place Fernand-Julien (Castle Square): This square offers a stunning view of the village and is located at the top of the village near the castle. You can explore the remnants of the medieval fortifications and enjoy the panoramic vistas.
2. Calade Streets: The village boasts picturesque, narrow streets with traditional Provençal architecture. Strolling through these charming streets, you’ll encounter historic houses, archways, and quaint corners that capture the essence of the region.
3. Notre-Dame-de-Beauvezer Church: This parish church, dating back to the 15th century, is a beautiful example of Provençal architecture. Admire its impressive façade and explore the interior, which has been restored.
4. Mairie (Town Hall): The town hall is a unique building located on the upper floor. It offers a terrace with magnificent views of the Etang de Berre. The clock on its façade adds to the charm of the village.
5. Chapelle des Pénitents Noirs: Situated beneath the town hall, this chapel’s history is somewhat mysterious. It’s a part of the village’s religious heritage and is worth a visit.
6. Cemetery and Chapelle Saint-Julien: East of the town hall, you’ll find a quaint cemetery surrounding the beautiful Chapelle Saint-Julien. This chapel, dating back to the 12th century, is one of the most historically significant monuments in the village.
7. Rue Coupo-Santo: This street leads to the cemetery and provides a glimpse of a typical 16th-century house. It’s adorned with features like stone gutters for rainwater drainage.
8. Fontaine Louis Castagne: Located at Place Miramar, this fountain is an excellent spot to appreciate the surrounding landscapes, including the Monteau and Delà neighborhoods and the former Poudrerie marshes.
9. Le Cercle de l’Avenir: On the way up to the castle, you’ll come across this house from the Renaissance era. Opposite it, you’ll find retaining walls built in the 19th century. The Cercle de l’Avenir was a gathering place and forum for the villagers.
10. Porte Notre-Dame: This medieval arch with a rounded top served as the former main entrance to the village. It’s an architectural testament to the village’s history.

These attractions, each with its own historical significance, architecture, and charm, collectively make Miramas-le-Vieux a delightful destination for visitors interested in exploring Provencal heritage.

Fontaine Louis Castagne

In Provence, a fountain and a laundry are essential places of life and sociability for a village.

However, the hill on which Vieux-Miramas is built does not have a source of fresh water. The inhabitants had to travel up a steep path to the sourço de Fontvièio (the “old source” in Provencal), located 300 meters below the village, where there was already a fountain and a laundry, near the Saint-Vincent chapel, for time immemorial.

From 1851, Mayor Louis Castagne launched the project to build a fountain and a laundry in the village. But Miramas was a poor municipality, and the municipal budget could not finance them. It was only after his death in 1859 that an arrangement was reached between the municipality and a landowner, Honoré Saint-Étienne, who wanted to build a mill on his Canadel property. He personally financed the construction of the fountain and the laundry. In exchange, he received, for 10 years, the free right to water from the Craponne canal, which was necessary to power the mill’s wheel. The water was brought in by a system of pump games from a source located in the Pougnois hill.

Walking tour in Miramas-le-Vieux:

To make the most of your visit, consider this walking tour itinerary:

Arrival

Arriving from Miramas-Gare via the CD10, on the left after Quatre-Chemins, the road passes in front of old tile factories in ruins. The subsoil is rich in gray clay banks, these factories still being active at the beginning of the last century. Further on, on each side of the path, appear hills formerly used as stone quarries: the ancients then had everything at hand to build houses, castles, churches and other buildings.

Entrance to the village

At the entrance to the village, going uphill, is the Jubilee Cross from 1874. Below are the remains of a cemetery currently covered to serve as a parking lot. However, in the tombs cut into the rock following the custom of the time and visited over the centuries, nothing remains.

It is recommended to park your vehicle there and continue on foot for a peaceful walk.

Schools

Passing through rue des Écoles we discover on the right, the first school in Miramas opened in 1866, closed in 1969 then transformed into a public post office. A few steps away is the current school, which almost closed in 1985.

Le moulin à huile des Pourchiers

The Pourchiers oil mill is located in the hairpin bend: it is marked by an enormous millstone weighing over a ton and two other smaller ones, magnificently carved from Crau pudding.

La placette

In the small square, overlooking the square basin where women used to fill their pitchers and animals quenched their thirst, stands a bust, serene and immortal, that of Jean Louis Martin Castagne, former mayor of the village. Behind him, against the rock, you can discover a washhouse. Today, for the pleasure – yes, indeed! – a few residents continue the gestures of laundry from the past there.

To the north of the square, a cobbled street named Rue Mireille (after the heroine of the poet Mistral) climbs the rock. To access it, the rock had to be cut. When you look up, you can see on the right, carved at a good height, a grain silo carved into the stone, or more precisely, half of a silo in the shape of a jar, a witness to the domestic economy of our ancestors.

The Circle of the Future

As you walk up the street, on the left, you’ll come across a Renaissance-era house with a window framed by a dripstone. Across from it, you’ll see retaining walls built in the 19th century. Located below, you can spot the Circle of the Future, a meeting place, a true forum, a major distributor of pastis (an anise-flavored liqueur) and pétanque balls. This place reaches its peak during the celebration of Saint-Julien, the village’s patron saint, at the end of August when it brings together all the Miramas residents in the communion of a traditional aioli meal.

The Notre-Dame Gate

Continuing the ascent – the village has truly earned its nickname “Quillé” (perched) – you pass by a round arch of the Notre-Dame Gate, the former main entrance to the village.

A century-old twisted pine tree casts a light shadow upon it. To take a breather, you can admire a magnificent landscape of the Monteau and Delà neighborhood, with a glimpse of the Berre Pond merging into the marshes of the former Poudrerie (powder factory).

The Castle

Just a few meters further, and you arrive at the summit on the castle square (Place Fernand-Julien). To the left, a significant curtain wall supported to the east by a square tower gives an idea of the medieval fortifications demolished last century. From the 12th-century castle, only a low-vaulted structure remains, a wall of the great hall with the peculiar treatment of the window surrounds, and a vaulted passage with cross-ribbed vaults that leads to the former courtyard.

To the right, facing north, a large wall with bricked-up round-arched openings and the brackets of a balcony represent the last vestiges of the Romanesque-era castle. These ruins were reinforced by the municipality in 1978 for public performances. Note the Rue de Laure, an intriguing passage under an arch, part of which is in a barrel vault and the other in a pointed arch.

Old houses

To catch a glimpse of a typical 16th-century house, you should head right into rue Coupo-Santo, where you can admire a stone-carved conduit for rainwater drainage. Further on the left, a narrow, tall structure appears, with a ground floor used as a stable with a round-arched door and a small dormer window. A window with a molded sill illuminates the first floor of this dwelling, while the attic, marked by a cornice, has only a narrow window.

Some ruined houses have been remarkably restored by residents who have come to repopulate the village.

From Place Miramar, you can admire the magnificent landscape of the Monteau, Magdeleines, and Delà neighborhoods, as well as the marshes of the Poudrerie, where the village was reflected in the waters of “la Mar” a thousand years ago.

Notre-Dame-de-Beauvezer Church

Heading back to rue Frédéric Mistral to wander through the alleys and dead ends, you’ll encounter old house façades adorned with round-arched or gabled lintel doors, mullioned windows, and Renaissance-style casements. On the keystone of an arch, a date signifies the construction or renovation year of the building. In the middle of this street, you’ll discover the parish church of Notre-Dame-de-Beauvezer, likely dating back to the 15th century. Above the entrance, a statue of the Virgin is placed within a small niche surmounted by a coat of arms representing the Montmajour Abbey, which owned the castle until the reign of Louis XVI.

A pointed-arch door, adorned with a beading on the archivolte, provides access to the interior of the church. Restored in 1978, the structure consists of a slightly skewed nave covered in timber and tiles, and a five-sided apse vaulted with ogives. Inside a turret leading to the sacristy, a spiral staircase grants access to the bell tower with three-bay arcades resting on the triumphal arch.

Town Hall

Exiting to the left, a narrow alley leads to a small square housing the town hall, a curious building on the upper floor. It is accessed via a staircase that opens onto a terrace overlooking the street, offering a magnificent view of the Berre Lagoon. Above the pediment, the clock marks the hours for the souls of the village, “Hora fugit” (Time flies)…

Below the town hall, sheltered by a terrace, is the chapel of the Black Penitents. Unfortunately, not much is known about it. Immediately, the steep Calade begins, passing by the former rectory and then the old post office, bringing walkers back to the Louis Castagne fountain. The tour of the old village is complete!

Cemetery and Chapel of Saint-Julien

To the east of this small square, at the corner of the Moulin des Pourchiers, another Calade opens up, which every Miramasséen will take at some point, as it leads to the enclosure of Sainte-Répausole, in other words, the cemetery. The graves cluster around the only historical monument that the municipality boasts: the chapel of Saint-Julien. It is the most beautiful of all the remaining medieval buildings.

The erudite Abbé Chaillan provided a complete description of it in the archaeological bulletin of 1925, from which I will provide some excerpts: “It is located at the very foot of the Miramas castrum, in the cemetery, to the south. The width of the monument is 5.50 meters, its length 11 meters, including the apse, which is 3.50 meters. The semi-circular portal, adorned with a molding, is framed by a simple but characteristic archivolt, with a pretty cord of dentils and diamond-pointed fleur-de-lis. This decoration and the well-dressed masonry indicate the 12th century. The pignon’s oculus constitutes the only source of light for the building. The niche with a statue of Saint-Julien, which surmounts the portal, is dated 1701; it is a restoration. There are seven steps to descend to the pavement of large slabs. All around the walls, stone blocks form the seats for the faithful. On the main altar, a retable, the work of 17th-century woodworkers, frames the curious painting of Saint-Julien as a Roman soldier, a falcon in hand.”

While the painting remains, the retable itself, being too worn out, has been removed.

Religious Heritage

For a village of 600 inhabitants, faith was particularly present in the Middle Ages. In addition to the chapel of Saint-Julien, the village possesses a parish church called “Notre-Dame-de-Beauvezer,” which, according to legend, once contained the relics of Constantine and Saint Helena. These relics likely disappeared due to the collapse of this church, which had become too dilapidated, a few years before the French Revolution.

This religious heritage is complemented by a third chapel, that of Saint-Vincent, still enclosed within the former Powder Magazine’s perimeter, bordering the fence alongside the road that leads to the village from Saint-Chamas.

From the book “Miramas-le-Vieux – Le guide touristique,” published by Les Amis du Vieux-Miramas, 1987, F. Chabrier

Walking tour in Miramas-le-Vieux on map

What to See Around Miramas-le-Vieux:

• Étang de Berre: Explore the Étang de Berre, a large lagoon located to the south of Miramas-le-Vieux. It’s a haven for birdwatching, water sports, and picnicking.
• Alpilles Regional Natural Park: Head east to discover the Alpilles, a stunning natural park known for its limestone mountains, olive groves, and charming villages like Les Baux-de-Provence.
• Arles: Visit the historic town of Arles, located about 45 kilometers (28 miles) southeast of Miramas-le-Vieux. It’s renowned for its Roman heritage and vibrant arts scene.

Miramas-le-Vieux on map