Top 3 hiking spots in the south of france
The Mediterranean coastline of the southeast edge of France brims with charm and natural beauty. With the sun shining almost 300 days a year, this vibrant region where the Alps meet the sea, can be enjoyed all-year-round!
Unveil the endless opportunities that the South of France has to offer for an active holiday in nature: National Parks, medieval villages and a wide diversity of landscapes and atmospheres.
Marie Tesson
Founder
The Nietzsche Path from Eze Village
The exotic majesty of the Mediterranean landscapes
The Nietzsche Path on the French Riviera offers a challenging hillside hike with splendid seaside panoramas. This steep path follows in the footsteps of the famous German philosopher.
Friedrich Nietzsche arrived on the Côte d’Azur for the first time on 2 December 1883 in Nice. At that time, his morale was at its lowest: he was increasingly ill, his books were not selling well, he had just been rejected by Lou Andreas-Salomé and his former friend Richard Wagner had died a few months earlier. On the Côte d’Azur, he rediscovers the creative emotion necessary to his writing.
The Nietzsche Trail is a meditative hiking opportunity. The writer lived in the village of Eze for a time and the story goes that it was while walking this path between the eagle’s nest and the seaside resort of Eze-Bord-de-Mer that he began to write “Thus Spoke Zarathustra“, one of his major works. The walk takes about an hour and the view of
the sea is fantastic!
“Everything dies, everything blossoms again, the cycle of existence continues eternally,” wrote Nietzsche. True to this maxim, the path winds between shaded areas with lush vegetation and arid parts exposed to the sun’s rays, between dreamy stone steps and jagged rocks.
Its starting point is the perched medieval village of Eze, known as the “nid d’aigle” (eagle’s nest) because it is perched 400 meters above the sea. Shaded by oaks and olive trees, the trail overlooks the Mediterranean coastline and the Saint-Jean Cap Ferrat peninsula in the distance. On a clear day, the stunning coastal views extend all the way to Italy and the island of Corsica.
The hike takes about 1.5 hours and ends at Eze-sur-Mer, the seaside section of town, which has a pine-tree, backed beach (great for swimming and sailing), cafés, restaurants and superb hotels. Hikers can stop to admire the mesmerizing blue waters and the dreamy scenery offering a magnificent panorama over the Mediterranean.
The Esterel Massif
A red western landscape on a blue Mediterranean background
The contrast between the intense red of the hills and the blue Mediterranean Sea makes this spot one of the most scenic landscapes in the French Riviera. Located at only 30 min from Cannes, the Esterel massif is a group of red volcanic rocks surrounded by forest.
The red rocks give a little touch of a western landscape. In February, mimosa is blooming and some places are turning all yellow’; in summer, astonishing vibrant colors of the rocks, sea and flora are creating unique contrasts.
One of the options is to climb to the top of the Cap Roux Peak, to admire magnificent views.
With many different trails available, this is a great destination both for families and for sporty hikers. Besides the reddish-orange colours, there are also all those aromatic plant smells which will remind you the beautiful region of Provence. A special path on the hillside will open a fantastic panorama on the whole French Riviera.
We will first climb to the Col du Cap Roux and then continue to climb for about 400 metres until we reach the Pic du Cap Roux. At the Pic du Cap Roux, you will find a beautiful 360° orientation table with a 360° view over the whole bay of Saint-Raphaël, Saint-Tropez (in the distance), Cap d’Antibes, but also over the Mercantour massif, the Vésubie valley and the mountains of the Haut-Var.
An extraordinary pleasure to enjoy this postcard panorama!
The Sentier du Littoral in Cap d'Antibes
The romance of elegant villas
With a breathtaking view of the Cap d’Antibes and the Mediterranean, the Sentier du Littoral is one of the most beautiful walks on the French Riviera!
Come along with us on an unforgettable hike, which will take about 1.5-2 hours to complete. Starting from La Garoupe beach, the first part runs along the sea on a beautifully laid out coastal path, and the second part crosses the posh lanes of the Cap d’Antibes, with its prestigious villas and residences for billionaires drowned in the green oasis of the peninsula, planted with secular olive trees and exotic plants species. At the edge of these enchanting places, the white limestone cliffs and deep creeks of the coastal fringe draw a wild landscape whose savagery surprises the visitor: wavy narrow paths make their way through a mind blowing view!
The path leads to a cove surrounded by two tongues of land ( the wide panorama of Antibes and the whole of the eastern Côte d’Azur). This brings us closer to the geographical Cap d’Antibes, occupied by the Villa Eilen Roc, owned by the town of Antibes. The visit of the Villa Eilen Roc and its idyllically laid out gardens closes this long journey with a romantic dinner by the sea, with an enchanted view!
