Route of the Princes d'Orange

The 107-kilometer road linking the city of Orange (Vaucluse) to the village of Orpierre (Hautes-Alpes) via Rasteau, Vaison-la-Romaine (Vaucluse) , Buis-les-Baronnies (Drôme), the pass of Perty (1302 meters) Laborel, the valley of the Céans, and the hamlet of Bégües, commune of Sainte Colombe. is named Route des Princes d'Orange.

Orpierre was a fief which depended on the family Mévouillon (before being sold by Galburge de Mévouillon), annexed for a time to Dauphine. The Dauphin sold his territory to Jean de Chalon, who became Lord of Orpierre and the grandson of Jean de Chalon, Baron d'Orpierre and Trescléoux, who married Marie des Baux, heiress of the Principality of Orange, that bound the destinies of Orpierre and Orange! The house of Les Baux, which provides Princes of Orange between 1115 and 1702, and whose descendants are now the House of Orange-Nassau, the reigning family of the Netherlands, came into possession of these two new fiefs. Orpierre came under the ownership of the Princes of Orange who used this route to travel from Orange to their stronghold of Orpierre. This 107-kilometer route linking the two territories took the name of Route des Princes d'Orange.

It was inaugurated under this name on June 12, 1956, in the presence of the Baron van Boetzelaer van Oosterhout, ambassador of the Netherlands in France, and the prefect of Vaucluse for commemorating this long historical period. It is a popular tourist route that crosses the landscapes of Vaucluse, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes, between vineyards and lavender fields.