The Sainte-Victoire

Set out from Bimont dam (municipality of Saint Marc Jaumegarde 13).
Cross the dam and then take the forest path for a few hundred metres. Follow signs for “Refuge Cézanne par Roques Hautes” through the pine forest. After following the path along the edge of the forest, take the path that leads downwards (the rightmost path). This part of the path is also a mountain bike trail. At the first crossing, which says VTT tout droit (mountain bikes straight on), take the path that goes down to the left (shortcut). Under the electricity line (and its building on the right), follow the signs for contournement (otherwise you will enter private property) which takes you through a kind of gorge in the middle of the “Crête du Marbre.” At the fork, take the left-hand path signposted Refuge Cézanne 1h30. From this magnificent shaded path that runs alongside a stream you will have beautiful views of the Croix de Provence and the challenge that lies ahead of you! You are at the lowest point of the hike.
Follow this track to where it meets another path on a ridge. Take a sharp left, towards the Sainte-Victoire (there are shortcuts from the hairpin bend and the little bridge over the stream). You will soon will reach Cézanne refuge (1).
It is worth taking a break here to look around. The mountain refuge is always closed but there is a picnic table and you can explore the ruins of Trou Abbey (see comments on the internet) with its threshing floor.
Set off on the climb up to the Priory along one of 3 routes: easy red, difficult red (what is the difference??) or yellow (rather exposed to the wind that day). We opted for the "difficult" red. There is just one 10m section where you need to grip on with your hands, but it isn’t dangerous.
When you reach Pas de l’Escalette, take the Imoucha path and carry on until you reach the Priory (2). The site is beautifully maintained by the Friends of the Priory of Sainte-Victoire (see comments on the internet).
Fifty metres higher, and a 10 minute walk, is the Croix de Provence (3) which can be seen throughout the region. (The return trip we did was neither very rewarding nor very pleasant as the path takes you up over a series of small rocks and with the wind we had to climb over the railing at the Croix de Provence to take pictures without losing our balance).
We turned back around at Bau de Vespres (the highest point of the walk at 1000m).
The return journey is back along the same path until you reach Pas de l’Escalette, and then you can take the Imoucha path, which is well marked, but in any case, all the paths lead to the dam, which you can see below.