The five most beautiful villages in the Alpes-Maritimes
1/Biot
Biot is a pretty village close to the sea and more particularly to the Marineland of Antibes. It is the World Capital of art glass because this village is home to numerous glassmakers’ workshops where you can discover the famous bubbled glass characteristic of Biot, and many other creations.
Below the village flows the Brague, a pretty coastal river. You can also stroll through the streets of this pretty Provençal village and visit the Fernand Léger Museum.
2/Le Bar sur Loup
This village of 3000 souls where the Aubarnencs (the Occitan name of the inhabitants of Bar sur Loup) live is located 9 km east of Grasse, World Capital of perfumes. Our village of Bar sur Loup, where our locations-06 cottages are located, is built 300 meters away on a rocky outcrop which gives it all its character.
Le Bar sur Loup is made up of the village and its land long devoted to agriculture. Bar sur Loup is nicknamed the City of the Orange Tree because the specialty of our village was and remains the cultivation of the bitter orange tree (citrus aurentium). This orange tree is mainly used in perfumery but also to produce orange blossom water used to flavor pastries. The oranges will be used to make jam and the famous orange wine which is our local and traditional aperitif. Every year, on Easter Monday, a very pretty celebration takes place, one of the first of the season. It’s la fête de l’oranger. All day long, numerous activities are offered to you, starting with competitions for the best orange wine, orange jam and orange cake. You will also discover folk groups, artisans, demonstrations of the trades of yesteryear. At Bar sur Loup, there is still a little jasmine, vines and olive trees for the production of oil. As for the village, you must leave your car to discover its secrets. Here a pontis, there a Saracen gate, a fountain then the castle and the church famous for its Bréa altarpiece and its Danse macabre, mentioned by the Green Guide.
You can ask Michel Ribero, a native of the country, to help you discover for free the small and big history of our village during an unforgettable private tour. Mr. Ribero has been showing our village for more than twenty years with the same enthusiasm and to the great pleasure of our visitors.
As for sport, why not go swimming, canoeing or fishing in Loup. You can also go paragliding from the Kennedy departure point which overlooks the village, go karting at the Plateau de la Sarrée or take a hike following the legendary Chemin du Paradis. There is something for every taste.
3/Cabris
It is a magnificent perched village located in the Grassois high country. Cabris (goat in Provençal). I like walking in this village which offers a beautiful view of the Bay of Cannes. You can also stroll through the streets and discover the Notre Dame Church and the chapels.
This small village also keeps the memory of the personalities who frequented it or who lived there: Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, André Gide, Jean Marais and of course Antoine de St Exupéry.
4/Les Hauts de Cagnes sur Mer
Cagnes sur Mer is best known for its beaches and the Hippodrome de la Côte d’Azur, but there is also the old town, or rather the very typical village with its cobbled streets of Hauts de Cagnes nestled around the Château des Grimaldi. Many artists have resided there: Brigitte Bardot, Mouloudji, Georges Simenon, without forgetting of course Auguste Renoir whose memory is still alive at the Renoir Museum – Domaine des Colettes, the house where he lived his last years and painted his last works.
5/Caussols
Small mountain village (we are at an altitude of 900 meters) in the heart of Regional Natural Park of the Préalpes d’Azur, Caussols is a small, peaceful village, a starting point for family hikes between the Caussols plain and the Plateau de Calern, famous for its numerous sinkholes, chasms and l’Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur. You can also follow part of the GR 4 and appreciate nature, the diversity of plant and animal species of this Nature 2000 classified.
A curiosity not to be missed near the village: the Embut of Caussols where the stream flowing into the plain disappears.
