Alpes-Maritimes Travel Guide, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, France

The Alpes-Maritimes is a French department in the region Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur. The Alpes-Maritimes are made up of a group of young mountains, with peaks reaching more than 3,000 meters on the Italian border. To the west, the Grasse pre-Alps rise to over 1,700 meters. To the east, the coast follows the folds of the Nice pre-Alps which plunge seamlessly into the Mediterranean and punctuate the magnificent landscapes of an exceptional coastline. And in the middle flows a river. The meeting of the Alps and the Mediterranean Land of contrasts, the department is essentially mountainous. The littoral zone represents only a very small part. 40% of the Alpes Maritimes have a more or less dense wooded cover. About half are subject to the forest regime.

The coastal part, urbanized and densely populated, brings together all the towns in an almost continuous conurbation from Cannes to Menton, while the mountainous part, more extensive but sparsely populated, is entirely rural, except for the three large resorts, Valberg, Auron and Isola.

A first department of the Alpes-Maritimes existed from 1793 to 1814, under the French Revolution and the First Empire. It was then made up mainly of the County of Nice, detached from the Kingdom of Sardinia and united with France as well as the Principality of Monaco (Monaco, Roquebrune and Menton at the time) annexed, and the district of San Remo, annexed to the Ligurian Republic.

In 1814, the County of Nice returned to the Kingdom of Sardinia and Monaco regained its independence but under Sardinian protectorate. The second department of the Alpes-Maritimes was created in 1860, by the addition to said county of Nice (ceded by the kingdom of Sardinia) of the district of Grasse detached from the department of Var and the attachment of the towns of Menton and Roquebrune which s ‘were placed under the protection of Sardinia after seceding from the Principality of Monaco and whose rights were bought by the Emperor of the French from the Prince of Monaco in 1861, with the creation of the new arrondissement of Puget-Théniers from 1860 to 1926.

The tourism in the Alpes-Maritimes, is an important industry in this department of Provence coast of azure. The tourism mountain and seaside tourism are the main sectors of this activity. In addition to tourism activities and traditional services, the department has a fairly large number of research and higher tertiary sector companies. The agriculture is low and the industry plays a relatively small role, but it has diversified into high technological value activities.

Tourism
The presence of the Mediterranean Sea and the Alps under a mild sky has favored tourism as the dominant activity. It is an essential resource for the entire Côte d’Azur. The sector represents 64,000 direct jobs in the department. For the city of Nice alone, turnover represents 12 or 13% of the tourism market share in France, the Côte d’Azur capital even being the second hotel city in the country, just after Paris. The city also has with Nice-Côte d’Azur the second airport in France behind Paris and its three entities, with nearly 10.5 million travelers per year passing through it in 2011.

The seaside, where most of the population resides, is one of the most popular regions in the world with several advantages:
Resorts (Cannes, Cagnes-sur-Mer, Antibes, Juan-les-Pins, Nice, Menton);
Small and medium-sized coastal municipalities benefiting from the world renown of their neighbors while standing out from them with atypical landscapes and a more family atmosphere (Théoule-sur-Mer, Villefranche-sur-Mer for example);
Congress cities which spread out their activity over the whole year (Cannes with its Palais des Festivals, Nice with Acropolis, Antibes Juan-les-Pins with its new convention center and Monaco).
In the mountains, skiing and hiking bring life back to Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée (Auron), Beuil, Péone (Valberg), Saint-Martin-Vésubie, Isola, Gréolières, Peïra-Cava, Col de Turini, Turini-Camp silver (Authion massif).

Seaside
The presence of the Mediterranean Sea and the French Alps under a mild sky has favoured one dominant activity: tourism, which accounts for 64,000 jobs directly in the Alpes-Maritimes. For only the city of Nice the tourism turnover represents a 12 to 13% share of the whole tourism market in France. The capital of the Côte d’Azur is the fifth most populous city in France. The city of Nice also has the second largest airport in France (Nice Côte d’Azur Airport), after Paris and its three airports at Roissy, Orly and Le Bourget. There are nearly 13.5 million passengers per year passing through Nice Airport.

The seaside where the majority of the population resides is one of the most popular parts of the world with many attractions:
Seaside resorts (Théoule-sur-Mer, Mandelieu-la-Napoule, Cannes, Golfe-Juan, Juan-les-Pins, Antibes, Cagnes-sur-Mer, Nice, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Èze-sur-Mer, Cap d’Ail, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin and Menton)
Convention cities that spread their business throughout the year are Cannes, with its Palais des Festivals, and Nice, with its Acropolis.
The area inland from the busy French Riviera is an excellent base for many outdoor sports: cycling, mountain biking, skiing, walking, rock climbing, canyoning, canoeing, rafting, fishing, horse riding, Adventure parks, caving and the area has the first ever underground via ferrata. The area has internationally renowned paragliding and hang gliding flying sites at Col-de-Bleyne, Gourdon, Gréolières and Lachens.

Mountainside
In the mountains, skiing and hiking bring life to Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée (Auron), Beuil, Péone (Valberg), Saint-Martin-Vésubie, Isola, Gréolières, Peïra-Cava, Col de Turini, and Turini-Camp d’argent in the Authion mountains.

Popular destinations

Cannes
Cannes is a French commune in the urban community of Lérins Cannes Country located in the department of Alpes-Maritimes, in region Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur on the French Rivieraof which it is a flagship city. Ligurian fishing village during Antiquity, linked to the legends of Saint-Honorat and the man in the iron mask on the Lérins islands off the bay of Cannes, health resort and seaside resort of the Côte d’Azur in the 19th century th century, the city took off with the construction of holiday residences by English and Russian aristocrats, then, from the beginning of the 20 th century, of hotels.of luxury for wealthy tourists, constituting its architectural heritage.

Equipped with a cutting-edge industry, a small business airport, several ports and a convention center, anchored in the Bay of Cannes, bordered by the Massif de l’Esterel to the west, the Gulf Juan to the east and the Mediterranean Sea, Cannes is today known worldwide for its film and yachting festivals and for its Croisette lined with a few palaces.

Located on the Côte d’Azur with a mild climate, classified as a health resort since February 20, 1915, endowed with infrastructures ensuring easy access and organizer of international congresses and festivals, the municipality has 100 hotels on its territory totaling 6,000 rooms, 32 of which were classified four stars or more including renowned hotels such as the Martinez, the Carlton, the Majestic, the Grand Hotel, the JW Marriott and the Radisson blu 1835 Hotel & Thalasso. The town also has three casinos, the “3.14” managed by the Partouche group and the “Croisette” and “Les Princes” managed by the Lucien Barrière group. A three-star campsite also has more than 220 places.

Nice
For the city of Nice alone, tourism turnover represents 12 or 13% of the tourism market share in France. Nice has many beaches along the famous Promenade des Anglais, the main road by the sea.

The city has a number of museums, devoted to art, history or local traditions: The Matisse museum, in Cimiez; The national museum, biblical message Marc-Chagall, in Cimiez; The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (Mamac); The Museum of Fine Arts; The Asian Arts Museum, at the Arénas; The Anatole Jakovsky International Naive Art Museum; The Terra-Amata Museum of Human Paleontology; The archaeological museum of Nice-Cimiez is devoted to Roman antiquity; The Museum of the Resistance on the Riviera; The Masséna museum; The Natural History Museum; By decision of the new municipality, entry to municipal museums has been free since July 1, 2008.

Lérins Islands
The Lérins Islands are an archipelago located opposite the bay of Cannes. These are the only islands (four in total) in the Alpes-Maritimes. The main island of the archipelago is Île Sainte-Marguerite. It can be reached by boat from Cannes.

Mercantour National Park
The Mercantour National Park extends over the Alpes-Maritimes department for three quarters of its extent and includes 28 peripheral municipalities including 22 in the Alpes-Maritimes department. It benefits from an exceptional natural environment with its seven valleys (Bévéra, Cians / Haut-Var, Roya, Tinée, Vésubie) but also its perched villages, its numerous frescoes and altarpieces which adorn most of the religious buildings.

Cultural heritage
The quality of life offered by the Alpes-Maritimes department and its attractive image in France, Europe and the world are due as much to the beauty and contrasts of its landscapes as to the exceptional richness and diversity of its cultural heritage., from the Vallée des Merveilles to the Trophée d’Auguste, from the arenas of Cimiez to the monastery of Lérins, works by Bréa with the splendor of baroque architecture and buildings from the Belle Epoque.

Cultural Space
The Alpes-Maritimes offer areas of culture of rare intensity. Numerous initiatives are being carried out throughout the territory with the desire to provide everyone with access to culture in all its forms by offering quality events, preserving and enhancing the treasures of the history of the department, or by supporting cultural actors in their educational mission.

Cinema 06
The Department of the Alpes-Maritimes is responsible for many initiatives in the field of cinema. From production, with the film and audiovisual production assistance fund, to exploitation, with the direct management of the Mercury cinema, classified as arthouse, support for small independent cinema operators for the broadcasting of film screenings. cinema in the middle and high countries, without forgetting the cultural diffusion by supporting numerous festivals and cinematographic and audio-visual events. The Department of the Alpes-Maritimes thus affirms on a daily basis its desire to make culture accessible to all…

Cultural discovery
Matisse, Chagall, Picasso, Renoir… The artists who have chosen this land of culture have wonderfully “celebrated” the Alpes-Maritimes. Discover the major departmental cultural events as well as cultural events.

Laure Ecard room
Space dedicated to sport and culture created by the Department in the St-Roch district, the Laure Ecard room offers a program of free cultural events with shows for all audiences, for children, and conferences on various themes.

Museums
Famous museums include: the Maeght Foundation in Saint-Paul-de-Vence; the Picasso museum in Antibes; Concrete art in Mouans-Sartoux; the Fernand Léger Museum in Biot; the Chagall and Matisse museums in Nice; the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MAMAC) also in Nice;

Asian Arts Museum
Created by the Department of the Alpes-Maritimes to be a living link with Asia, the Asian Arts Museum owes the harmony of its marble and glass architecture, placed on a lake covered with aquatic birds, to the architect Japanese Kenzo Tange.

Museum of Wonders
The Vallée des Merveilles, which is located in the Mercantour massif, 80 km from Nice, is one of the most important rock carving sites in Europe. The Department of the Alpes-Maritimes, as part of its cultural policy, created the Musée des Merveilles in order to contribute to the protection of this exceptional heritage.

Events and festivals
Cannes Film Festival, an annual film festival held in Cannes
Marché du Film, held annually in conjunction with the Cannes Film Festival
Midem, an annual trade fair for the music industry held in Cannes
Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, an event of the advertising and creative communications industry
Pantiero Festival, Cannes (electronic and independent music) in August
International Dance Festival, Cannes, a dance festival held in late November and early December every second year
International Festival of Games, Cannes, in February
Festival of Night music at Le Suquet, Cannes, classical music in July
Fireworks Festival, Cannes, fireworks in July and August
Festival of Performances of actors, Cannes, June
Festival of dances “Break the Floor”, Cannes, January
International Dance Festival, Cannes, November
Festival of Russian Art and Dance, Cannes, August
International Youth Ballets, organized by the Senior Dance School of École supérieure de danse de Cannes Rosella Hightower, Cannes, March
La Fête du Mimosa, Mandelieu-la-Napoule, February
Italian Market, Mougins, (formerly the Piedmontese Market before 2011)
International Gastronomic festival, Mougins
Jazz à Juan, Juan-les-Pins
Nice Jazz Festival
Nice Carnival
Naval Combat with flowers, Villefranche-sur-Mer
Lemon Festival, Menton
Southern Nights in Vence, world music
Festival Tomawok, Nice (rock, metal music), June
Book Festival of Mouans-Sartoux, three days in early October (21st Festival in 2008)
This Is Not Classic, an annual event for classical music, created by the General Council of the Alpes-Maritimes in 2005. It takes place at the Acropolis convention centre in Nice and occupies all available rooms beginning with the large auditorium seating 2,400 people.
Chestnut Festival

Natural Space
The Department of the Alpes-Maritimes is concerned in its various actions with the preservation of a quality environment. From the coast to the summits of the high country, discover the natural resources of our department.

AstroValberg
Those curious about the sky, amateurs and connoisseurs, were able to (re) discover all the richness of our sky through a rich and varied program for this 1st edition of the AstroValberg County Festival.

Departmental maritime park – Estérel Théoule
The first maritime park in the department, this 353 ha site, attributed to the Conservatoire du littoral and established by the municipality of Théoule-sur-Mer, ensures continuity at sea of the departmental natural parks of Estérel and Pointe de l ‘Needle.

Regional Natural Park of the Préalpes d’Azur
The Préalpes d’Azur Regional Natural Park (PNR) was born from the will of elected officials to boost the economic activities of the territory while protecting the landscapes, nature and enhancing the heritage.

Mercantour national park
Backing onto the border of Italian Piedmont, the Mercantour massif is the last promontory of the Alpine arc to the south, before its brutal plunge into the Mediterranean Sea. At the top of Gélas, the highest peak in Mercantour at 3,143 m above sea level, you are only 50 km from the sea as the crow flies. A setting where fauna, flora and landscapes are particularly protected.

Monts d’Azur Biological Reserve
Located in the town of Thorenc about 35 km from Grasse, and 60 km from Nice, the Monts d’Azur Biological Reserve is located in the heart of a remarkable area whose watchword is the protection of rare biological heritage by reconstituting and enhancing animal and plant species and their habitats.

Alpha – Animal park
Alpha offers you during a family walk of 2 to 3 hours, in the central zone of the Mercantour National Park, to discover the wolf, its universe, its history and the conditions of its return to France.

Outdoor sports
The Alpes-Maritimes offer tourists a wide variety of activities: outdoor sports and recreation, visits to cultural and natural sites, events and festivities. In the mountains, hiking and skiing are practiced in Beuil, Camp d’Argent (Authion massif), Col de Turini, Gréolières, Isola, Peira-Cava, Péone (Valberg), Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée (Auron) and Saint-Martin-Vésubie. Outdoor sports and leisure activities can be practiced both in summer and in winter.

Mountain side
The Alpes-Maritimes offer you the mountains 60 minutes from the seaside. Winter sports or outdoor sports enthusiasts in summer, choose your activity according to your desires and the seasons.

Vesúbia Mountain Park
The mountain as second nature. The 1st mountain leisure park in Europe offers your activities: indoor canyoning, caving, climbing and aquatic space…

The La Colmiane zip line
The largest zip line in France, and also one of the largest in Europe, awaits you at La Colmiane.

Ultra-Trail Côte d’Azur Mercantour
An extraordinary sporting adventure through exceptional landscapes between sea and mountains and a 360 ° view in the heart of Mercantour.

MTB Downhill Challenge 06
If there is one place in France that lends itself to mountain biking, it is the Alpes-Maritimes. Ideal compromise between mild climate and technicality of the terrain, the department capitalizes on all the conditions necessary to indulge in this sport.

Nordic Center of Boréon
The Boréon Nordic Center in Saint-Martin-Vésubie: With family or friends, discover activities accessible to all: possibility of equipment rental (ice axes, crampons, helmets, shoes, harnesses, Nordic skis, snowshoes…). Catering on site.

The Boréon white escape
Discovery of Nordic activities in the Boréon.

Ski Mountaineering Challenge 06
Ski mountaineering (also called ski touring) consists of traversing mountain or high mountain routes, in one or more ascents and descents, using skis equipped with a mobile binding on the ascent (a bit like the cross-country skis) and blocked on the way down (as in alpine skiing). For the ascent, the ski mountaineer sticks anti-recoil “sealskins” under his skis.

Great Crossing of the Mercantour
The Grande Traversée du Mercantour (GR GTM), like the territory of the Alpes-Maritimes, offers the opportunity to link the high mountains to the sea, taking advantage of the unique varied and contrasting landscapes that constitute its wealth and have made it famous.

Trail station of Vésubie
A haven for trailers and hikers. A natural site for running in superb landscapes of medium and high mountains. A Trail Stadium to improve your skills. A reception point to prepare for outings.

Cycling loops and grand tours
A set of tours is available to discover the villages, landscapes and heritage of the department. These circuits correspond to sports and tourism practices.

The Vertical Days of the Department
Vertical Days, an event that puts the spotlight on outdoor activities: a moment of discovery and initiation with the family to open the summer season in the mountains.

Antibes rally
A course that crisscrosses between sea and mountains.

Raid Edhec
The EDHEC Raid is a multisport orienteering nature raid that takes place over 5 days, generally at the end of May, in the heart of the Southern Alps with an arrival on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice.

Sea and coast side
From the French Riviera in Menton, to the red rocks of the Estérel in Théoule-sur-Mer, the Mediterranean borders the entire coast of the Alpes-Maritimes. Discover the different sports activities that the Department invites you to practice along the big blue.

Cycling loops
A set of tours is available to discover the villages, landscapes and heritage of the department. These circuits correspond to sporting and tourist practices, you will find for each itinerary information which will allow families, as well as sportsmen, to make an appropriate choice.

The Voiles d’Antibes
The Voiles d’Antibes association, has been organizing since 1996 the largest early-season gathering in the Mediterranean for Vintage Yachts (built before 1950), Classic (built before 1976), Spirit of Tradition Yachts as well as Metric Classes. who have written the great history of International Yachting since the end of the 19th century.

Royal Regattas
The Régates Royales de Cannes is one of the most prestigious events of the entire international regatta season reserved for classic and vintage yachts.

On horseback
An equestrian day placed under the sign of the spectacle, where throughout the day, the clubs and the amateurs of the PACA region present their equestrian acts.

Cannes International Triathlon
The Cannes International Triathlon is positioned among the essential sporting events of the Côte d’Azur.

Antibes rally
A course that crisscrosses between sea and mountains.

Tourist activities
Only the Alpes-Maritimes department can claim such an alliance of exceptional landscapes, natural riches, artistic treasures between a sea, cradle of Western civilization, and a mountain range, sanctuary of original cultures.

Hiking
The Alpes-Maritimes department has a highly developed network of hiking trails which is intended for beginners as well as experienced hikers.

The department is crossed by long-distance hiking trails (GR, red and white markings): GR 51, 52, 5, 510, 653A and has many day-hiking trails (PR, yellow markings).

The markup includes paint markings completed with markers (wooden signs) indicating the direction to follow and numbered allowing hikers to find their way on the IGN blue series topographic hiking map (scale 1/25000) of the area considered.

In its Randoxygen thematic guides, the General Council divides the department into three tourist areas (high country, middle country and coastal country) with very different characteristics and influences, from the Mercantour to the Mediterranean coast.

Bike ride
Take a breath of fresh air by bike in the heart of the department with walks or itineraries.

Horse ride
Another way to discover the area: horseback riding. Horseback riding, which is more and more popular, allows you to blend completely into the heart of nature.

Cultural trip
The Côte d’Azur makes tourists from all over the world dream, for its climate, for its events, for the mythical places that have attracted so many artists: painting, sculpture, literature, cinema etc. But there remains a face of the Alpes-Maritimes that we know less well and which is that of its rich past in the religious field.

Local produce and gastronomy
The Alpes-Maritimes are also a land of “gastronomy”.

Outing
Between sea and mountain, nature is expressed in all its splendor in the Alpes-Maritimes.

Sea
Backing onto the Alpine massifs, the Alpes-Maritimes department, with a coastal stretch of 120 km, is largely open to the Mediterranean Sea.

Snow
The Department participates in the equipment of the stations, in order to offer a high level of quality of the installations of sliding sports. From downhill skiing to snowshoeing, the resorts offer a range of activities suitable for all levels and for the whole family.

Destination by Municipality
The communes of the Alpes-Maritimes are presented through their historical origin and some stages of their genesis. These brief elements of history are the result of an ongoing process that should be completed. They make it possible to understand the context in which the forms of rural and urban establishment were created, the architecture and the works of art whose elements today preserved constitute the cultural heritage of the municipalities of the department. of your choice to discover its heritage information.

Amirat: A fortified settlement called Amirat is mentioned for the first time in 1043.
Andon: The origins of the town of Andon cover the feudal territories of Andon, Canaux and Thorenc. The story of Canals reads quite easily; those of Andon and Thorenc, on the other hand, are very much entangled.
Antibes: In Antibes, the Middle Ages inherited a fortified agglomeration already developed in the city since antiquity, equipped with a church with the rank of cathedral and provided with a solid construction suitable for being transformed into a castle today called Château Grimaldi.
Ascros: A fortified settlement called Ascros is mentioned in the first half of the 13th century
Aspremont: The fortified habitat called Aspremont is mentioned from the 11th century.
Auribeau-sur-Siagne: A fortified settlement called Auribeau was mentioned for the first time at the beginning of the 12th century.
Auvare: A fortified settlement called Auvare was mentioned for the first time in 1252, and some traces of it remain on the rocky outcrop overlooking the present village.
Bairols: A fortified settlement called Bairols is mentioned in the middle of the 11th century.
The Bar-sur-Loup: The fortified settlement of Le Bar, mentioned for the first time in 1155, already had a church at that time.
Beaulieu-sur-Mer: As for medieval sources, the Beaulieu district is first known by the mentions of the Notre-Dame d’Olive church, from the end of the 11th century.
Beautiful sun: The sector corresponding to the current municipality of Beausoleil is in the Middle Ages only a district of the territory of La Turbie.
Belvedere: At an altitude of 837 m, Belvédère dominates the confluence of the Vésubie with the Gordolasque, as well as Roquebillière-le-Vieux.
Bendejun: A place called Bendejun is mentioned in 1030.
Berre-les-Alpes: A fortified settlement called Berre was mentioned in 1108.
Beuil: A fortified settlement called Beuil is mentioned for the first time in the first half of the 13th century.
Bezaudun-les-Alpes: The fortified settlement of Bézaudun is not mentioned until the beginning of the 13th century.
Biot: A fortified settlement called Biot was mentioned in 1158. It was then provided with a church already mentioned in 1155.
Blausasc: At the end of the 18th century, the Blausasc district still depends on the territory of the municipality of Peille.
Bonson: A fortified settlement of Bonson is mentioned for the first time in the 11th century.
La Bollène-Vésubie: The fortified settlement called La Bollène was not mentioned before the first half of the 13th century, but from 1141, several members of a family of this name were mentioned, including a canon of the Church of Nice in 1144.
Bouyon: The fortified settlement of Bouyon is not mentioned until the beginning of the 13th century.
Breil-sur-Roya: A settlement called Breil, probably fortified, is mentioned in 1157.
Brianconnet: Briançonnet was, in antiquity, an agglomeration of notable importance, and there are many testimonies in the form of lapidary inscriptions.
The Brig: A community of inhabitants is mentioned in La Brigue around the second half of the 11th century; we do not know where to locate it, nor even if it lived dispersed or in an agglomeration.
The Broc: A fortified settlement called Le Broc is mentioned in the first half of the 13th century.It included a castle which was located on the rock, on the eastern edge of the town, where we can still see some traces.
Cabris: A fortified settlement called Cabris is mentioned in 1216; it occupied the summit on the flank of which the present village is developing.
Cagnes sur mer: A fortified settlement called Cagnes is mentioned in 1032. From this time or soon after, a village gathered near the castle, on the site where we see them today.
Quail: The town of Caille does not contain a fortified medieval dwelling.
Cannes: An inhabited place called Cannes, with a port, is mentioned in the first half of the 11th century. It has a church, mentioned at the beginning of the 11th century; it is the old Saint-Nicolas church, which has now disappeared.
Le Cannet: Le Cannet did not begin to be an inhabited place until the 15th century.
Cantaron: A fortified settlement called Cantaron is mentioned in the middle of the 13th century, but its existence was short-lived.
Cap d’Ail: The first time that Cap-d’Ail is mentioned, in 1259, it is only a deserted or sparsely inhabited place depending on the territory of La Turbie.
Carros: A fortified settlement called Carros is mentioned in the first half of the 13th century.
Castagnier: This district of the town of Aspremont was once deserted.
Castellar: A place called Castellar is mentioned in 1253; it was designated as a fortified settlement in 1258.
Castillon: A fortified settlement called Castillon was mentioned in 1157.
Caussols: A church in Caussols is mentioned in 1158.
Châteauneuf-Villevieille: Several fortified settlements named Châteauneuf are mentioned during the Middle Ages.
Chateauneuf-de-Grasse: Several fortified settlements named Châteauneuf are mentioned during the Middle Ages.
Châteauneuf-d’Entraunes: Several fortified settlements named Châteauneuf are mentioned during the Middle Ages.
Cipières: A fortified settlement called Cipières is mentioned during the first half of the 13th century.
Clans: A place called Clans is mentioned in 1066.
Coaraze: A fortified settlement called Coaraze is mentioned in 1108.
La Colle-sur-Loup: A habitat began to develop significantly at a place called La Colle, following the construction of the new ramparts of Saint-Paul, in the middle of the 16th century.
Collongues: A fortified settlement called Collongues is mentioned during the first half of the 13th century.
Colomars: In the extension of the Nice hills, the 672 ha of Colomars are located between the Var valley to the west and the flank of Mont Chauve to the east, with an average altitude of between 200 and 400 m (the highest point is near de la Bégude at 398 m).
Consegudes: A fortified settlement called Conségudes is mentioned during the first half of the 13th century.
Contes: A fortified settlement called Contes was mentioned in 1057.
Courmes: A fortified settlement called Courmes is mentioned during the first half of the 13th century.
Coursegoules: A fortified settlement called Coursegoules is mentioned during the first half of the 13th century.
La Croix-sur-Roudoule: A fortified settlement called La Croix was mentioned in 1262.
Cuebris: A fortified settlement called Cuébris is mentioned towards the end of the 11th century.
Daluis: An inhabited place called Daluis is mentioned in 1154 at the same time as its church, Saint-Martin.
Dra: A fortified settlement of the name of Drap is mentioned in 1073 and a member of a family of this name is mentioned in 1029.
Duranus: Duranus is an inhabited place mentioned at least since 1604.
Entraunes: The place of Entraunes is mentioned for the first time in 1154.
The Escarène: We know of the existence, in 1037, of a church in L’Escarène dedicated to Saint-Pierre.
Escragnolles: A fortified place called Escragnolles is mentioned during the first half of the 13th century.
Eze: A fortified settlement called Eze is mentioned in 1108.
Falicon: A fortified settlement called Falicon is mentioned during the first half of the 13th century.
The Ferres: A fortified settlement called Les Ferres is mentioned during the first half of the 13th century.
Fontan: In a place called Fontan, dependent on Saorge, an agglomeration was founded in 1616 intended to constitute a stage on the Royal Route from Nice to Turin.
Gars: The place of Gars is mentioned for the first time in 1125.
Gattières: Dominating the Var, the town extends over 1,003 ha, forming a cornice, which carries the village at mid-slope, then an uncultivated point stretching towards the mountain of Chier, with in the center the summit of Perséguier (902 m).
La Gaude: The municipal territory, covering an area of 1,310 ha, is made up of wooded hills whose altitude does not exceed 349 m.
Gilette: A fortified settlement called Gilette is mentioned during the first half of the 13th century, but many members of a family of this name are mentioned from the beginning of the 11th century.
Gorbio: A fortified settlement called Gorbio was mentioned in 1157.
Gourdon: A fortified settlement called Gourdon was mentioned in 1178.
Grasse: A fortified settlement called Grasse was mentioned in 1047; however, one of the region’s most prominent figures bears this name as early as 1040.
Gréolieres: A habitat called Gréolières is mentioned in 1047.
Guillaumes: A fortified settlement called Guillaumes is mentioned during the first half of the 13th century.
Ilonse: A fortified settlement called Ilonse is mentioned during the first half of the 13th century.
Isola: Isola is a village at the bottom of the valley, occupying at an altitude of 873 m an elongated basin at the confluence of the Tinée, Guercha (left bank) and Louch (right bank).
Lantosque: A place called Lantosque is mentioned in the thirteenth century, especially in 1252 in a way that seems to distinguish a fortified and a non-fortified habitat.
Levens: In the heart of the Nice Prealps, the 2,985 ha of the territory of Levens are delimited, to the east, by the crest line of Mont Férion (1414 m above sea level), to the north, by the Vésubie valley and its confluence with the Var.
Lieuche: The commune of Lieuche extends over 1340 ha in an environment of summits forming a mountainous cirque from which stand out the summits of Mount Lieuche and Mount Fracha. The maximum altitude is 1,784 m.
Luceram: The place of Lucéram is mentioned during the second half of the 11th century through its Notre-Dame church.
Malaussene: Malaussène is one of the rare villages in the middle Var valley to be located on the right bank of the river, at the exit of the Mescla gorges.
Mandelieu-la Napoule: A place called Mandelieu is mentioned in the first half of the 11th century.
Marie: A fortified settlement called Marie is mentioned in 1066.
Le Mas: A territory called Le Mas is mentioned in the 11th century.
Massoins: The territory of Massoins, on the left bank of the Var, covers 1,213 hectares and a drop from north to south of 1,574 meters between the banks of the Var, at an altitude of 200 m, and the Pointe des quatre cantons, at 1,774 meters.
Menton: Menton Castle was founded around 1249.
Mouans-Sartoux: An inhabited place called Mouans is mentioned in the middle of the 11th century.
Mougins: An inhabited place called Mougins is mentioned in 1040.
La Menour: Perhaps certain mentions attributed to La Menour relate in fact to Moulinet.
The Mujouls: An inhabited place and a castle called Les Mujouls are mentioned in 1081.
Nice: A pre-Roman fortified agglomeration called Nice develops on the present hill of the Castle.
Opio: A fortified settlement called Opio is mentioned in 1178.
Pegomas: The place of Pégomas is mentioned in 1155 through his church.
Peille: The place of Peille is mentioned in 1115 through its Notre-Dame church.
Peillon: A fortified settlement called Peillon is mentioned in the first half of the 13th century.
La Penne: A fortified settlement called La Penne is mentioned in 1079.
Peone: A fortified settlement called Péone is mentioned in the first half of the 13th century.
Peymeinade: After the Middle Ages, a dispersed habitat developed in the plain extending at the foot of the village of Cabris.
Pierlas: The village of Pierlas is discovered in the middle of a very mineral landscape, perhaps at the origin of the name of Pierlas, pru, stone in pre-Latin.
Pierrefeu: A fortified settlement called Pierrefeu is mentioned in the first half of the 13th century.
Puget-Rostang: Among the various habitats called Puget, it is difficult to specify which one relates to Puget-Rostang.
Puget-Théniers: Among the various habitats called Puget, it is difficult to specify which one relates to the one today called Puget-Théniers.
Revest-les-Roches: Many localities and even several inhabited places are called Revest or Le Revest.
Rigaud: The territory of Rigaud extends over 3,250 ha at the confluence of the Var and Cians.
Rimplas: The village of Rimplas is built at an altitude of 1,012 meters on a rocky ridge forming a pass, straddling the two valleys of the Tinée and the Val de Blore.
Roquebilliere: A place called Roquebillière is mentioned in the middle of the 11th century.
Roquebrune-Cap-Martin: A fortified settlement called Roquebrune was mentioned in 1157.
Roquefort-les-Pins: The place called Roquefort is mentioned in 1113, through the mention of its parish church, Saint-Pierre.
Roquésteron: In modern times, the agglomeration of Roquestéron, which was still on the medieval site, declined in favor of a new town, established on the other bank of the Estéron.
La Roque-en-Provence: The territory of La Roque is mentioned in the first half of the 11th century, in connection with its church dedicated to the Virgin and to Saint John.
La Roquette-sur-Siagne: Among the two fortified settlements in the region called La Roquette, the one bordering the Siagne is mentioned in the 11th century.
La Roquette-sur-Var: La Roquette-sur-Var is a small town (399 ha), bordered to the west by the Var river and culminating at Pointe de la Fubia at an altitude of 566 m.
Roubion: A fortified settlement called Roubion is mentioned in the first half of the 13th century. It included a village and a church, mentioned in 1351.
Roure: A fortified settlement called Roure is mentioned for the first time in 1067.
Le Rouret: The place of Rouret is mentioned at the beginning of the 12th century.
Sallagryphon: A fortified settlement called Sallagriffon is mentioned during the first half of the 13th century.
Saorge: A fortified settlement called Saorge is mentioned in 1092.
Sauze: A fortified settlement called Sauze is mentioned during the first half of the 13th century.
Seranon: A fortified settlement called Séranon is mentioned in 1060.
Sigale: A fortified settlement called Sigale is mentioned during the first half of the 13th century.
Sospel: A place called Sospel, probably already inhabited, is mentioned in 1095, at the same time as the Notre-Dame de Verx church.
Spéracedès: After the Middle Ages, a dispersed habitat developed in the plain extending at the foot of the village of Cabris.
Ste-Agnes: A fortified settlement called Sainte-Agnès was mentioned in 1257.
St-André: An inhabited place called La Roche is mentioned in 999.
St-Antonin: A Saint-Antonin church is mentioned in 1091.
St-Auban: A fortified settlement called Saint-Auban is mentioned during the first half of the 13th century.
St-Blaise: From the banks of the Var, the town stretches over 804 ha, gradually rising by a succession of hills with soft peaks, the highest of which rises to 801 m above sea level (Mont Inarte).
St-Cézaire-sur-Siagne: A church of Saint-Cézaire is mentioned during the first half of the 12th century.
St-Dalmas-le-Selvage: Located at the limit of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, the territory of the municipality of Saint-Dalmas-le Selvage is one of the most mountainous of the Alpes-Maritimes
St-Etienne-de-Tinée: With an area of 17,380 ha, Saint-Etienne is the largest municipality in the Alpes-Maritimes.
St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat: Among the many churches dedicated to Saint John cited in medieval sources, one that we can locate with certainty in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat is mentioned in 1078.
St-Jeannet: A fortified settlement called La Grotte de Saint-Jeannet was mentioned in 1235.
St-Laurent-du-Var: A place of worship dedicated to Saint Laurent is mentioned indirectly, in 1249, through the intermediary of the Brothers of the Saint-Laurent Hospital in Var.
St-Leger: A fortified settlement called Saint-Léger is mentioned in the first half of the 13th century.
St-Martin-d’Entraunes: Among the various places in the region that have taken the name of a church dedicated to Saint Martin, that of Val d’Entraunes is mentioned as a fortified settlement in 1154, at the same time as its church.
St-Martin-du-Var: The history of Saint-Martin-du Var is linked to that of La Roquette because these two towns were only one until 1867.
St-Martin-Vésubie: In Antiquity, the territory of Anduébis covered the municipalities of Saint-Martin-Vésubie and Venanson.
St-Paul-de-Vence: A fortified settlement called Saint-Paul was mentioned in 1241.
St-Sauveur-sur-Tinée: A Saint-Sauveur church is mentioned in 1154.
St-Vallier-de-Thiey: A church dedicated to Saint Vallier is mentioned in 1061.
Tende: A fortified settlement called Tende is mentioned in 1157.
Théoule-sur-Mer: The Théoule district was populated during the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century.
Thiery: At an altitude of 1,050 m, the village of Thiéry, perched on its narrow rocky outcrop, dominates the void, like a ship in the middle of an impressive mountainous cirque bristling with crests and deep valleys.
Le Tignet: A fortified settlement called Le Tignet is mentioned during the first half of the 13th century.
Toudon: An inhabited place called Toudon is mentioned in 1032.
Tower: A fortified settlement called La Tour is mentioned during the first half of the 13th century.
Touët-de-L’Escarène: Among the two settlements called Touët, the one that is now called L’Escarène is mentioned in 1108 and its church in 1156.
Touët-sur-Var: The territory of the municipality stretches from east to west on the banks of the Var and occupies an area of 1,498 hectares.
Tourette-du-Chateau: All spellings combined, three fortified settlements today located in the Alpes-Maritimes are called Tourette.
Tourrette-Levens: The territory of Tourrette-Levens extends over 1,650 ha between the ridge line which culminates at Mont Chauve to the west and that of Férion and Mont Macaron to the east.
Tourettes-sur-Loup: All spellings combined, three fortified settlements today located in the Alpes-Maritimes are called Tourettes.
Tournefort: A fortified settlement called Tournefort is mentioned during the first half of the 13th century.
The Trinity: In an area extending mainly over the territory of Eze, settles during the modern era a first dispersed habitat.
La Turbie: In the year 7 or in the year 6 before our era, “the senate and the Roman people” dedicate a monument to the Emperor Augustus for having brought back the Alpine peoples under the domination of the Roman people.
Utelle: A fortified settlement called Utelle is mentioned during the first half of the 13th century. But two figures cited, one in the middle of the 12th century, the other in 1208, perhaps indicate to us a greater seniority at the castle.
Vallauris: The valley called Vallauris is mentioned in 1038.
Valbonne: In 1200, when the authorization was given to build the church which would become the abbey of Valbonne, the territory where it was founded depended on Sartoux.
Valdeblore: The name of Valdeblore designates both the valley of glacial origin connecting perpendicularly the valleys of Vésubie and Tinée…
Valderoure: The Val de Roure is populated in the form of several hamlets scattered across the plain.
Venanson: Built on a rocky outcrop at an altitude of 1,164 m, the village overlooks the Vésubie valley.
Villars-sur-Var: The village of Villars-sur-Var is perched at an altitude of 410 m on the sunny Savel plateau which dominates the Var valley.