The best walks and hikes around Avène

Consider booking a table at L'Avenette Gourmande restaurant, located in the small village of Avène. Enjoy a terrace overlooking the river, surrounded by nature. An exceptional setting and highly recommended traditional cuisine. I highly recommend it.

This tiny and peaceful village, with a worldwide reputation for the benefits of its water, is a perfect location for hikers and gravel enthusiasts. You have many options of loops from there. Enjoy!

The bucolic charm of the places and the banks of the Orb is striking. The economy of Avène has always been based on significant mining activity that began under Roman rule and continued until 1954, when the Rabasse mines closed. Created in 1962 for hydroelectric production and regulation of the Orb, the Lac des Monts d'Orb (or Lac d'Avène) is 6 kilometres long and covers an area of 190 hectares. An old lead and silver mine is now submerged under the lake: the mines and their exploitation were a source of wealth for the Orb valley, from Antiquity until the 1950s. Today, it is above all nature that provides Avène with one of its benefits: water from the depths of the Languedoc earth. This water that has been shaping a destiny for two and a half centuries, a vocation inspired by Thermalism. It is impossible not to go to the Thermal Baths, a stone's throw south of the village (the markings of the Sentier des 2 Lacs allow you to reach the site on foot, and the connection is pretty!). The Thermal Baths site is peaceful, relaxing... like the range of well-being and beauty products from the Avène brand. Beyond the thermal area, there is a magnificent hotel and an excellent restaurant! The establishment is committed to a truly eco-responsible approach: use of local products, innovative and energy-efficient architectural and technical choices...

Created in 1962 for hydroelectric production and regulation of the Orb river, the Lac des Monts d’Orb is 6 kilometres long and covers an area of 190 hectares. A former lead and silver mine is now submerged under the lake: the mines and their exploitation were a source of wealth for the Orb valley, from Antiquity until the 1950s. The lake is not intended for swimming, but you can have lovely accompanied outings on a stand-up paddle or kayak, and go fishing.

The Lac d'Avène reservoir is located at an altitude of 430 m and its surface area is 1.9 km².

Its creams and treatments with such recognizable packaging are a must in French pharmacies and for some of us, have the scent of vacation. If its thermal cures are world famous, the city itself is much less so. Made up of no less than 14 hamlets or farms, it has only 400 permanent residents. Enjoying a dual Mediterranean and oceanic climate, it is located in the exceptional Natural Regional Park of Haut-Languedoc, and more precisely in the landscape unit of the small causses of the upper Orb valley and Lake Avène . The Monts d'Orb occupy a significant space and offer preserved nature where the forest, by turns mountainous and Mediterranean, stands out. This landscape unit is also characterized by a mid-mountain type landscape, which presents a strong contrast with the atmosphere of the Hérault coastline. Clearly, this department is full of wonderful surprises! This unique location makes Avène the ideal starting point for numerous hikes, both on foot and by bike. Don’t hesitate to go boating or paddleboarding on the artificial lake of Avène, if the water level allows it.

This dam, built at the end of the 1960s, gave birth to the artificial lake of Avène, which covers an old lead and silver mine. Today a privileged place for fishing for trout, white fish and certain predators, its main interest remains the retention of water in order to irrigate the plains of Biterrois and to supply drinking water to the West of Hérault up to 'to the south of Aude. Its 83 meters in height and its “arch-dam” type architecture make it an impressive structure. Its level was historically low in the summer of 2023, reflecting the intensity of the droughts that affected the Hérault department.

Sheltered in the old washhouses, a tap and a mailbox