Mougins is a French commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region.The town, historically peasant specializing in jasmine picking, is today massively urbanized by an abundance of neo-Provençal-style villas due to the urban sprawl, which earned it its nickname of garden city. Tourism is mainly developed in art: gastronomy and artists’ exhibitions (painters and sculptors).

Mougins is a town in the Alpes-Maritimes department, located in southern France, between the heights of Cannes and the Grasse region, very surrounded by forests and wooded areas, Mougins is a picturesque Provençal Village (old village), which thanks to its elevated geographical location offers a breathtaking view of Cannes, Grasse, the Valmasque forest, the Estérel Massif and the Prealps.

Mougins has an international reputation, both for its gastronomic cuisine and its links with the world of Art, Very long frequented and inhabited by many famous people, including Fernand Léger, Jean Cocteau, Yves Saint Laurent, Winston Churchill, Edith Piaf, Catherine Deneuve and also Pablo Picasso, who spent the last 12 years of his life there. Due to its proximity to the city of Cannes, Mougins is often the destination of choice for celebrities during the Cannes Film Festival.

Mougins is located about six kilometers from the Mediterranean Sea, north of the municipalities of Cannes and Le Cannet and south of Grasse. The town is crossed by the national road 85 which links Cannes and Grasse to Grenoble (also known as the Napoleon road). Its strategic location makes Mougins a common “crossroads” between the agglomerations of Cannes and Grasse linked to the Sophia Antipolis technology park, which causes significant traffic jams on a daily basis during rush hour.

History
The hilltop of Mougins has been occupied since the pre-Roman period. Ancient Ligurian tribes who inhabited the coastal area between Provence and Tuscany, were eventually absorbed into the spread of the Roman Empire and then became part of an official Ligurian state that was created by Emperor Augustus (X Regio). The Ligurian area withstood several invasions during the Byzantine period, before the City of Genoa took firm control over the Ligurian region and dominated it between the 11th and 15th centuries. Much of the centre of the ‘old’ village dates back to this period.

Middle Ages
The old village, perched on a hillock, was founded in the Middle Ages. In the 11th century the Count of Antibes gave the Mougins hillside to the Monks of Saint Honorat (from the nearby Îles de Lerins just off the coast of Cannes) who continued to administer the village until the French Revolution. During this period, Mougins was a fortified village surrounded by ramparts and parts of the medieval city wall still exist as well as one of the three original ancient gate towers (Porte Sarrazine).

In the Middle Ages, which had become a fortified town, the town was provided late, during the reign of King René, Count of Provence, with a Charter of franchises, the abbot of Lerins and the bishop of Grasse being lords. The protection of the hill and its walls allowed Mougins suffer less than many other villages, local wars and conflicts of the 16th century.

Modern era
During the Austrian War of Succession, the village was devastated by fire and looted by the Austro-Sardinian armies.

In 1747, the Austro-Sardinian troops who occupied Mougins were driven out by Marshal de Belle-Isle and the Saint Bernardin chapel served as a hospital for the Royal-Comtois Regiment. The following year, it was transformed into a fodder store for the supply of Marshal de Belle-Isle’s cavalry, causing enormous damage to the building and its furniture.

From June 22, 1854, part of the territory (400 hectares) of Mougins is attached to Cannet, these are mainly areas bordering the north of Cannet including among others, the modern or old districts of Fades, Colombier, des Campelières, the Blanchisserie des Moulières, Aubarède, Ranguin, des Claus, Piccolaret, Font Gallou, Les Escarasses, Les bréguières. The other parts are the territories of Cannes which separated into the latter to become the town of Le Cannet.

Contemporary period
It is from the middle of the xx th century that this village has become a tourist and arts of the French Riviera.

Under the mandate of the Gaullist mayor Jacques Sauvan, the town was to host cinema studios on 310 hectares in the Étang and Notre-Dame-de-Vie districts, under the project name “Cité du cinema de Mougins”. The project was ultimately unsuccessful due to lack of credit to rebuild the Republic and due to regional and Italian competition.

The Mougins Tourist Office does not hesitate to claim that Mougins is a city of luxury and prestige. The German publisher Frieder Burda wanted to buy land to build at his own expense a Museum open to the public to present his own collections (Picasso among others)… then manage it and set up workshops for children, again at his expense but the project was not selected after 7 years of procedures carried out by Mr. Burda. This museum will open in 2004 in Baden Baden and its success is recognized since it obtained the Europa Prize 2008, just as the neighboring city of Mouans-Sartoux obtained the same Prize in 2007 for the quality of its Museum of Concrete Art.

The village of Mougins has about twenty art galleries and painting workshops, great restaurants, not to mention the old town and fountains.

On 26 November 2012, the town of Mougins formalizes the creation for the 1 st January 2014 with its neighboring Cannes, Mandelieu-la-Napoule, Théoule-sur-Mer and Le Cannet, in Cannes Community City Country Lérins. This implies an immediate and gradual transfer of many competences to the inter-municipality.

Tourism
The tourist activity of the town is mainly oriented around art: gastronomy and art galleries. Most of these activities can be found in the old village. There is also in the village the Museum of Classic Art of Mougins (MACM) as well as the André Villers Photography Museum. In the Mougins-Est district is the Notre-Dame-de-Vie chapel, the Fontmerle pond which brings together the largest number of Asian lotuses in Europe, as well as the departmental forest of Valmasque. The presence of two golf courses located to the east and to the west of the municipal territory strengthens the tourist offer of the wealthy classes.

Historical heritage

Saint Jacques-le-Majeur Church
In the heart of the village of Mougins, the Church dedicated to Saint James the Greater was built in three stages. The sacristy dates from the 11th century; the church was enlarged in the 18th and 19th centuries. Inside, it features 18th-century gilded cardboard statues of Saint Joseph and Saint Mary by the School of Grasse, a 15th-century gilded and polychrome wood crucifix and an 18th-century stoup and baptismal font.

In the chancel, the altar stone was carved in the 11th century.The Presbytery was rebuilt before the French Revolution on the site of a cesspool and an old animal-powered mill.

On Place des Amis alongside the Church, you can sit on a bench which is part of an installation by the sculptress Carla Lavatelli (1995), and listen to the soothing murmur of the fountain.

Notre Dame de Vie Chapel
It is said that “the whole world has come here to admire the Chapel,” the landscape evokes those of Tuscany: tall Florentine cypress trees and a perspective with gentle wooded hills. A listed Historic Building since 1927, the chapel, first erected in the 12th century, was rebuilt in 1655 following a slightly expanded version of its initial structure. Basically a rectangle with a nave constituted by a main vessel and increased by a secondary vessel, its walls covered with votive plaques attest to the popularity of the Virgin Mary as intercessor for Mougins.

Picasso was charmed by the cypress-lined path, the structure of the façade and its discrete oculus, the Priory, its modest wooden door and atmosphere. It is on this admirable site that Picasso ended his life, in his estate near the Chapel.

Saint-Barthélemy Chapel
The Saint-Barthélemy Chapel is said to have been built to allay the fears of the local people just before the Year Thousand. It guaranteed Divine protection against the apocalypse of the new millennium. This octagonal Chapel with a semicircular apse is an interesting Historic Monument, with a porch sheltering the door and a small bell-cote on the chancel.

The Castle of Curraul
The Castle of Currault, located on the current ZAC St Martin (along the “penetrating”) is dated by INRAP the services of the late xiv th century. Old farm it is located at the crossroads of Roman roads. Remains of this period have been found there. Currently still partially inhabited, it houses a kitchen xvii th century vaulted cellars.

Ramparts of Mougins
The ramparts of Mougins are the remains of a fortified ensemble of the commune of Mougins, located in the French department of Alpes-Maritimes.

Civil heritage

Le Manoir de l’Etang
This very fine 19th-century home in a 4-hectare park overlooks a pond covered with lotus flowers. The Parisian architect Maurice Gridaine, entrusted with designing the Festival Hall in Cannes, fell in love with the site in 1947 and undertook to restore it completely. His daughter Monique and her two sons then decided to transform it into a lovely little hotel and restaurant, in total harmony with the manor’s personality.

Le Moulin de Mougins
In the days of Roger Vergé from 1969 to 2003, Le Moulin de Mougins greeted the world’s most famous stars. In 2003, Roger Vergé retired, entrusting its kitchen to the promising young Chef Alain Llorca, who was at the Negresco in Nice. In 2009, Alain Llorca was replaced as Head Chef by Sébastien Chambru, followed by Erwan Louasil, current Executive Chef. Le Moulin de Mougins is the restaurant where Alain Ducasse and some of the greatest Chefs began their careers.

L’Amandier de Mougins
This superb structure was home for 40 years to Roger Vivier, the greatest shoe designer; his most famous creation was the Stiletto heel, a distinction he shares with Charles Jourdan. In Mougins, this great designer created the shoes the Queen of England wore for her wedding. The building was acquired by Roger Vergé, then Chef at Le Moulin de Mougins (with 3 Michelin stars). Today, it belongs to Christian Levett, a true patron of the arts who also owns the Museum of Classical Art in the village of Mougins and La Place de Mougins Restaurant.

L’Antre du Minotaure
Le Mas Notre-Dame-de-Vie now renamed L’Antre du Minotaure. Pablo Picasso’s former home, now renamed the “Minotaur’s Lair”, where the famous painter lived for 12 years with his wife Jacqueline and died in 1973. Today, the Villa belongs to a wealthy Dutch art lover who particularly appreciates the arts.

Vaste Horizon
Picasso and his friends, Paul Eluard, Dora Mar, Lee Miler, Man Ray… visited this former hotel in the 30’s. Today, the town of Mougins owns the Vaste Horizon.

The village of Mougins
From the top of its peak, bathed in exceptional light, the Village of Mougins overlooks the panorama of the bay of Cannes, the Lérins Islands, Grasse and the neighboring hilltop villages.

Place du Commandant Lamy:
From the Lavoir, go towards the fountain that has marked the intersection of avenue de la Victoire and avenue du Commandant Lamy since 1894. On the left is the restaurant “Au Rendez-vous de Mougins” (the former Hôtel de France.)

Rue du Badier:
Henry du Badier was the Treasurer General of Provence. This small street “outside the walls” begins at the Saint-Bernadin chapel (City Hall) and ends at the covered passage way of the former Saint-Jacques hospital. Here there is a flour mill, as well as an oil or “blood” mill facing one of the last bread ovens in the village. At the corner of this street and the rue des Migraniers is what used to be the home and ceramics workshop of Maurice Gottlob, who was a rural policeman and well-known painter in the region.

Place du Lt Isnard:
Formerly known as the place des Peyroues, it was where the distilleries were located which produced an alcohol called “l’aigue ardent”.

Rue de la Glissade:
This passage way used to lead all the way to Le Cannet, Antibes, Valbonne and Vallauris. The tunnel on the left used to lead to the first chapel of the penitents. Inside there is and old pressing screw that was part of an oil mill which is now rue des Vanniers.

Vaste Horizon:
It was in this former hotel that one morning in 1936, Picasso arrived with his bags, and it was here that he fell in love with Mougins. Paul Eluard, Jean Cocteau, Man Ray, and Rosemonde Gérard soon followed his example, and together, overlooking the beautiful islands of Lérins, they shaped the future of artistic expression. The story is told of the night Picasso painted every wall of his room, only to face the wrath of the hotel owner who made the unknown painter cover over his work with white paint the next day. This did not discourage Picasso, who settled permanently in Mougins next to the chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Vie, where he lived out his last days. Today this well preserved building hosts the cultural centre.

Rue Commandeur (inventor of the medical imaging):
This street was incorporated into the fortifications that surrounded the village.

Rue du Colonel Roustan:
During the Middle Ages, this was the end of a path that came from Grasse and passed by the old fountain. Later it was named after Colonel Roustan, a Mougins hero who lived in the “Santa-Lucia” villa. This villa was also home to such celebrities as Roland Petit, Zizi Jeanmaire, Yves Saint-Laurent, and Paul Anka. Going up towards the place des Mûriers, you will walk along beside the remains of a rampart and watchman’s round to arrive a the square.

Place des Mûriers:
In the house where Commandant Lamy was born (number 36) the old tower was the home of a weaver who was also the village barber. He had the honor of shaving, among others, the famous outlaw Gaspard de Besse who was eventually found in Maurin des Maures and beaten in Aix-en-Provence before the greif-stricken public. Now an artist has his studio next door. Ramparts surrounded the place des Mûriers, once called the place Saint-Pierre. To the right, on the rue du Moulin, is the old oil mill, which was once called the “Moulin Isnard.” It was later converted into a restaurant by the master chefRoger Vergé. The decorator Roger Vivier, who also designed the shoes worn by the Queen of England when she was crowned, did the restorations. In the blind alley are the old wine cellars and storage tanks of “La Salle”, which was the church of the Abbots of Lérins who were the lords of Mougins. At the far end of the square is the old bread oven called the “four de Béranger” where the inhabitants had to come to make their bread.

Placette de l’Eglise:
On the placette de l’Église, the only entrance to the village, which is still standing today, called the Porte Sarrazine.

Place de l’Eglise Albicocco:
This was once the ground of a cemetery inside the city walls. It was then dug up and transfered to the place Sainte-Anne so that a reservoir could be installed which was fed by a “fire pump” that brought water to Mougins from a spring called “les Horts de la Salle.” This was the first aquaduct in Mougins. On the right is the church, which was built before the revolution on the site of a sewer and an oil mill. Facing it is a tower, which was once joined to the ramparts and served to defend the village.

Eglise paroissiale de Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur:
The sacristy dates from the 11th century. Additions were built during the 18th and 19th centuries and the bell tower was raised even higher. The statues of Saint-Joseph and Sainte-Marie in gold leaf from the Grasse chool of the 18th century, and a crucifix from the 15th century. The baptismal was built in the 18th century and the altar stone was cut in the 11th century.

Rue des Orfèvres:
This was once a small street that ran along the ramparts inside the village. There were many artisans, especially the goldsmith Bernardin Bareste. In 1666, he was the only craftsman of his kind in the region and made gold coins for the abbey of Lérins. Today you will still find many artisans here and a gold leaf artist has taken the place of Bernardin Bareste.

Rue des Lombards:
You will notice on your right, about thirty steps ahead, the entrance to the courtyard of the abbey church of the abbots of Lérins. Number 71 is where Jacques Brel stayed while he was studying for his pilot’s licence. The rue Honoré-Henry will take you back to the starting point of the tour.

Rue Honoré Henry:
This street takes its name from a former mayor of Mougins. After the place du Commandant Lamy, continue towards the place des Patriotes.

Place des Patriotes:
The “Lavoir” or public washhouse, built in 1894, is still used by some determined laundresses. However, it also serves as an art gallery which hosts exhibitions year round and the provençal nativity scene in December. On the rampart across the way is what was once the municipal slaughterhouse. There is now an art gallery and a bar with a vaulted ceiling. The square itself was constructed on what was once Sainte- Anne’s cemetery.

Religious buildings
Parish Church of Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur, xi th century, rebuilt several times.
Church of St. Martin Road Peyroues the xvi th century deconsecrated during the Revolution.
Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Vie, Chemin de la Chapelle xvi th century, built on the site of a Roman temple, housing in its inner courtyard a monumental tomb for the Guinness family, built in 1931, in which was buried Bridget, wife of Benjamin Seymour Guinness, who died in her neighboring residence, Mas Notre-Dame-de-Vie.
Chapel St. Bartholomew Road St. Bartholomew x th century octagonal chapel.
Chapel of St. Sebastian and St. Fabien Boulevard Clement Rebuffel xv th century.
Chapelle Saint-Bernardin des Pénitents-Blancs, Place du Commandant Lamy, built in 1618, desecrated during the Revolution and currently town hall.

Culture
In the old village of Mougins you can find the Cultural Space, the Local History Museum, the Photography Museum, and the Salle des Fêtes, Chemin de Faissole is the famous Cannes Rosella Hightower Dance School. In the Tournamy district is the municipal library. Below Mougins-le-Haut, at the rest area of the A8 motorway, there was the automobile museum, since bought by the Town Hall of Mougins and rehabilitated into an exhibition room called Eco ‘Parc. The eco ‘Park has also hosted part of the Cité des Sciences de Paris, as well as numerous events such as the employment forum on “green” professions.

Mougins also has a cultural center called “Scene 55” which notably houses a large performance hall with 600 seats.

Cultural facilities
The Musée d’Art Classique de Mougins (MACM) was opened in June 2011. It displays a private collection of around seven hundred two-thousand-year-old Roman, Greek and Egyptian antiquities which are shown alongside a collection of modern and contemporary art with a classical subject matter. Artists with classical works in the museum include Picasso, Matisse, Cézanne, Degas, Dalí, Dufy, Chagall, Derain, Lautrec, Yves Klein, Damien Hirst, Marc Quinn, Antony Gormley, Arman. It is the first time that ancient 2000- to 3000-year-old antiquities are displayed alongside modern artworks where one can observe the influence of the classics in the artists work. As well as modern artists being exhibited, there is a collection of period artworks including two paintings by Peter Paul Rubens and works by Michel Martin Drolling, Alessandro Turchi, Hubert Robert and Antoine Caron.

The municipal museum
in the former Saint-Bernardin chapel of the white penitents which has become the current town hall under the mandate of the mayor Jacques Sauvan.

The Local Museum of History
Ancient Roman funerary stelae, Saint Honoratus’ reliquary arm stolen during the French Revolution: the Local History Museum is also home to the Historical and Archaeological Circle of Mougins and a collection of some 4,000 books on the history of Provence and its vicinity.

The André Villers Photography Museum
The Museum was created thanks to André Villers, friend and official photographer of Picasso. We can see other portraits of the painter made by other photographers including Denise Colomb in particular as well as a collection of cameras, such as the ancestor of the cartoon, the cidoscope. Temporary exhibitions of contemporary photography are also organized.

The Museum of Classical Art
The founder chose a medieval residence with a surface area of 400 m2, to house the Museum of Classical Art of Mougins – MACM. It has been completely renovated to accommodate this collection, and the facade has remained original to maintain its harmony with the Mouginian heritage. The architecture of the building and the staging of all these works have made this place a unique cultural site. This museographic concept is to stage, in the same place, ancient, neoclassical, modern and contemporary art in order to discover the influence that the ancient world brought on the works (exhibited) of these great contemporary artists such as Peter Paul Rubens, Hubert Robert, Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse and Damien Hirst. On four levels, the Museum strives to illustrate the interaction between the civilizations of Egypt, Greece and Rome and the persistence of the Graeco-Roman heritage to the present. This innovative museographic concept differs from standard chronological presentations in showing the exchanges between these civilizations from East to West.

Cultural Center and Gottlob Museum
This place rich of history, hosts a permanent exhibition of works from Maurice Gottlob (1855-1970), a former village policeman and first artist painter of Mougins.

The Washhouse
At the entrance to the old medieval village, you will notice the Washhouse (Lavoir) of Mougins dated 1894, and its incomparable charm… A truly outstanding venue for highlighting artworks, it enjoys great visibility and artistic renown.

Festivals and events
The patronal feast of Mougins is Saint-Barthélémy (Sant Bartoumiéu in Provençal).

Festivals:
International Festival of Gastronomy.
PRO AM International Golf Festival.
Organ festival, created in 1997.

Events:
Italian market (formerly Piedmontese market, before 2011)
Eden party (theme: ecology, recycling…)
Organic market (in Mougins-le-Haut)

Sports courses:
Sport-escape
Raid Nature

Gastronomic heritage
Mougins has a strong culinary history with such great chefs as Roger Vergé and Alain Ducasse having managed restaurants in the village. Both were synonymous with the restaurant L’Amandier, which is situated in the heart of the old village. This restaurant still exists today and is housed in an important ancient building, as during the Middle Ages this was the court house of the Monks of Saint Honorat, before becoming an almond mill in the 18th/19th centuries. Denis Fetisson], who received the Jacquart Trophy for the Rising Star in Gastronomy in 2006, now manages L’Amandier and is also the manager and head chef at La Place de Mougins (previously Le Feu Follet, regularly frequented by Picasso).

Mougins hosts the annual ‘International Gastronomy Festival of Mougins’, or ‘Les Étoiles de Mougins’, an international gastronomic event taking place every September in the village.

A “gourmand” route in the Village
Find Paul Bocuse, Marc Veyrat, Emile Jung, Frédéric Anton, Anne-Sophie Pic, Eric Frechon, Christian Willer, Gérald Passédat, Christelle Brua & Philippe Conticini in the village. After the Roger Vergé square, launched in 2006 during the first edition of Les Etoiles de Mougins, the small streets of the village have, together with the official names, taken the names of other celebrities who have been guests of honour at the Festival since 2006.

The Pan Bagnat from Mougins
In her book “L’Institution” written for curious gourmets, the gastronomic journalist Élodie Rouge lists the 120 specialities everyone should have tasted at least once in their lives. They include the Pan Bagnat of Mougins. Inspired by the traditional recipe of Nice at a time when Street Food is all the rage, this Mougins-style sandwich combines a formula, which is both chic and affordable: bread shaped on the principle of the golden ratio filled with European lobster. This speciality is featured on the menu of Denis Fétisson’s restaurant “La Place de Mougins”. Success guaranteed, since certain Parisian luxury hotels add this reference to their Room Service menu.

Eat
With its international reputation for gourmet cuisine, both the Vieux Village and the wider area of Mougins have many excellent restaurants.

La Place de Mougins: previously known as Le Feu Follet, and a favourite of Picasso’s, La Place de Mougins, situtated in the heart of the Vieux Village at 41 Place du Commandant Lamy, opened in 2010 and offers French haut cuisine in elegant surroundings. Denis Fetisson, its manager and head chef, won the Jacquart Trophy for the Rising Star in Gastronomy in 2006, and was head chef at Michelin two starred restaurant Le Cheval Blanc, in Courchevel.
La Place also has a boulangerie, open from 08:30 to 17:00 to Sunday, which sells bread, croissants, tarts and cakes, all baked on the premises.
L’Amandier de Mougins: L’Amandier, which is on the left as you enter the Vieux Village, just past the Mougins Museum of Classical Art, is a long established restaurant which has been completely refurbished. It has two terraces for outdoor dining and views to die for, especially at sunset. Fetisson also manages L’Amandier, which specialises in Cuisine Nicoise, following in the tradition of Roger Vergé, who opened the restaurant – his second in Mougins – in 1969.
Le Moulin de Mougins: this world-famous hotel and restaurant, an exquisitely converted 16th-century oil mill on the Avenue Notre Dame de Vie, was where master chef Roger Vergé created his Cuisine De Soleil over forty years ago. In accordance with Michelin rules, the restaurant lost its two stars when renouned chef Allain Llorca moved on in 2009. However, Sebastien Chambru, who replaced him, has been awarded his first star.
Restaurant Candille: the restaurant at tranquil five star hotel Le Mas Candille, just a short walk down the hill from the village, has one Michelin star. The chef célèbre is Serge Gouloumes, whose signature dishes incorporate exotic flavours within his Italian and Provençal based cooking.
Le Bistrot de Mougins, at 93 Place du Commandant Lamy, is another charming, long established restaurant in the Vieux Village, serving tradtional French cuisine. With its vaulted ceiling it is especially cosy in the winter.
Le Fontenoy: run by the delightful Thierry and Fatima, Le Fontenoy is the place to go for something light. Have a coffee or a glass of wine, and a light meal such as quiche, croque monsieur or salad. The café is also in Place du Commandant Lamy and overlooks the lovely fountain.

Drink
La Cave de Mougins: at the entrance to the Vieux Village and just before the Mougins Museum of Classical Art, La Cave is a sophisticated wine cellar and wine bar. Over 1,000 French wines, including many vintage labels, are stocked in the 17th-century, vaulted, temperature-controlled cellar, at prices across all ranges. The engaging proprietor, Sébastien Fouet, who is passionate about wine, holds frequent dégustations, which can be arranged by appointment. The wine bar, a lovely decked arbour with intertwined wisteria and vines, also serves tapas, tea and cake, and yes, there’s that wonderful view again.

Natural space

Departmental Park of La Valmasque
In a pristine natural setting around the Sophia Antipolis Science Park, the Alpes-Maritimes General Council wished to maintain a wreath of green with the two Departmental Parks of La Valmasque and La Brague. Comprising three wooded hills alternating with the small valleys of the small streams flowing into the Brague, Valmasque and Bouillide rivers, Parc de la Valmasque is ideal for children and welcomes you with the family to observe Nature and participate in games and sports.

Pond of Fontmerle
This pond on the edge of the Valmasque Departmental Park has an area of 5 hectares. It has a colony of Nelumbo nucifera lotus native to Asia. The pond of Fontmerle lists around 70 species of birds, some of which are annual, such as mallards, coots, little grebes or moorhens. Others, like purple herons, arrive in the spring and some duck species come to overwinter.

In 2008, the pond was emptied of its water during a weeding, which allowed the pond to regain a better hydrological level and increase its aquatic surface. At the same time, a new wooden observation area on stilts was created on the western part of the pond.

Le Canal de la Siagne
The Siagne Canal is one of two main sources of drinking water for the City of Cannes and its vicinity. Built at the instigation of Lord Brougham, former Lord Chancellor of England, and inaugurated in 1868, the Canal features many hydraulic structures of the time and has become a popular attraction for the people from the communes through which it flows in its 43km course.

The Siagne Canal is an integral part of the heritage and has shaped the lives of all the local people, who are profoundly attached to this artificial watercourse, an integral part their Provençal cultural identity. The Canal offers a site, unique in the Alpes-Maritimes département and remarkable for its architecture and landscapes.