Provence Blog by ProvenceBeyond

Sauve town added to Beyond

We've added the Languedoc-Roussillon town of Sauve to Beyond.

Fontbouisse Culture in Beyond

We've added a History page to Beyond for the Fontbouisse Culture of the eastern Languedoc region. We've also made an accompanying Fontbouisse Culture Map to show where these Chalcolithic-Period (pre-Bronze Age) people lived.

Esterel Hike to Saint Honoratus' Cave

We've added a hiking page for our Cap Roux Hike in the Esterel last weekend, visiting the grotto where Saint Honoratus holed up for awhile around 400 AD.
The sunny walk under blue skies, beside the blue Mediterranean and amidst the red rocks of the Esterel is far different from today's day-long April shower.

Esterel Spring Hike

We took a beautiful Springtime hike in the Esterel today, from the Mediterranean coast at Pointe du Cap Roux (south of Cannes) up to the Pic du Cap Roux and the Sainte-Baume Grotto. Under 5 hours amidst the Spring flowers: French Lavender (Lavendual steochas), Cistus (Grey-Leaved and Sage-leaved) , Asphodel (Asphodelus aestivus), and lots of Tree Heath (Erica arborea) just coming into blossom.

Red rock formations of the Esterel with the blue sea of the Mediterranean quite striking on a sunny day.

Fun and Amusements in Provence

We've updated (and are updating) our Fun-Amusements index in Beyond's Themes section. Instead of the single page of amusement sites, we now have a separate page for the fun events in each different department. And not only for the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region; we've added fun sites for regions of the broader Provence, including departments in the Southwest, the Pyrénées.

At the same time, we've added a lot more amusement sites, such as a Firemens museum, a Miniatures museum, a Crocodile Farm and a Doll and Teddybear museum.

We'll be adding a lot more in the coming weeks, so keep checking this out.

Neolithic Menhirs of Terriers

In March we hiked out across the Maures in the Var department to visit the Neolithic Menhirs de Terriers. A group of nine rather small standing stones that were put in place there about 5,000 years ago. Not very big or majestic, but a wonderful link to our distant past. And a very nice hike throught the hills.

These menhirs are in the Maures, just south of Les Arcs, and to the west of Roquebrune-sur-Argens. Our photo here is taken along our trek out the forestry road through the hills.

Castries village online

The small town of Castries is in the Languedoc-Roussillon region, to the northeast of Montpellier. It's not a very interesting town for wandering, but it does have the very picturesque 17th-century aqueduct of Paul Riquet. And the GR 653 hiking trail passes by, following the Domitienne Way Roman road as well as the Santiago de Compostela route.

Hike Coursegoules, Cheiron, St Pons

Two days ago we set out on a day hike from Coursegoules, in the hills north of Grasse. We intended to go up over the Cheiron mountain ridge (1356 m) and north to the village of Conségudes overlooking the Estéron valley.

Up on the ridge, though, we found the northern slopes still covered in deep snow. The trail was completely covered and there wouldn't be any trail signposts for the next hour, so we continued northwest cross-country with compass. The snow turned out to be deep enough that we plunged through the crust knee-deep a few times, and a couple of times even deeper.

Giving that up as a no-win venture, we struggled south through the snow back to the ridge, then followed along the crest to the west until we picked up another trail (1426 m). We did see one golden eagle, but only for a few moments as he soared out above us and then drifted back across the ridge and out of sight again.

We came back down the mountain on a zigzag trail, then headed further west up the valley to the hamlet of Saint Pons, with the villages of  Gréolières and Cipières on the far hills as we hiked.

No other hikers out on this cloudy day at the end of March, but we did share the trail with a flock of sheep, and a couple of protective big dogs.

Lunch in the pretty little hamlet of Saint Pons, with the sound of woodpeckers nearby.

For the 2-hour hike east back to Coursegoules, we took a more-southerly trail up the valley. Mosty uphill, but much of it through a very pretty beech forest. Great shade - if only there had been some sun to shade us from.

GR51 Hike to Laghet Sanctuaire

Last Saturday (28 March 09) we hiked part of the GR51 from Gorbio village to the Sanctuaire of Laghet, in the hills above La Turbie. A very foggy day in the coastal mountains meant that we didn't have much of a panoramic view along the trail, but it was a great hike all the same.
We did discover the ancient Sanctuaire of Notre-Dame de Laghet, restored in 1625. Today, in addition to being a Convent, Laghet offers mid-day meals with the priests and sisters, and lodging for hikers and other visitors.