The French Riviera has a well-established reputation for chic lifestyles, and expensive real estate. Places like Monaco, Nice, Cannes, and Antibes sure do convey those images to the outside world. However, you do not have to travel far inland from these coastal towns to find yourself in a different world.
Looking north from the Mediterranean Sea, one is struck by how close the mountains are to the coast; not surprisingly, the region is called “Alpes Maritimes.” The hills and the mountains are dotted with long-established villages and towns. Each elevated settlement has its own history and character, but most share some common features: fortified walls, numerous gates, a square with a church, some administrative buildings, a castle (some in good shape, others in ruins), many stone houses, and a labyrinth of narrow meandering streets.
Walking around these tranquil villages today, it is easy to forget that they were constructed as fortified communities designed to keep out pirates and ward off attacks by rival rulers. The fact that they have been so well preserved is testament to the commitment of the French state as well as private citizens to maintain heritage buildings of great historical value.
In the last century, many of these villages attracted famous writers and painters who succumbed to their charms. Today, tourism is an important source of revenue for the villages closest to the coast, and they have adjusted to this reality by attracting artists, galleries, shopkeepers, and restauranteurs who can provide what visitors look for. Motor traffic tends to be limited in these towns, which explains in part why they are such havens of peace and a pleasure to explore on foot.
We recently had an enjoyable time in Nice, during the off-season, and we had the opportunity to visit several of the hill communities that can be reached by public transport. This post focuses on four of those: Èze, Haut-de-Cagnes, Saint-Paul-de-Vence and Vence.
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