We have now added a new beach to the increasing list of beaches. The Calanque St Barthelemy is a small pebble beach with ideal conditions for snorkeling. The pebbles provides crystal clear water and there are several creaks and caves both to the left and right which are fun to explore. See the full information page by clicking this link.
We have now added a new walk with online map, and navigation instructions. This walk will take you to the Gorges de Siagne, a beautiful canyon close to the St Cezaire village. The walk takes you along the Siagne river with waterfalls and old bridges. Pay special attention to the Pond De Tuves bridge from 1802, which is a main sightseeing attraction in the area because of the beautiful scenery. Here is a link to the full guide.
I had a really nice walk at Cap Dramont one late afternoon. I have created a walking guide with online map for your mobile phone, video’s and a lot of other content. This walk is one of my top recommendations for the area. Remember to bring your best camera, because you want to take many pictures… Here is the link to all the details
Check out this new timelapse movie. It even contains directions from the house to each and every timelapse location in case you want to jump in the car and make a quick visit!
We have added information about a 2 hour boat trip with daily departures and arrivals. It follows the picturesque coastline of the l’Esterel mountains. Check it out here at this webpage filled with images of what you can expect and detailed information with timetables, location and prices.
Easter 2017, the weather in La Bouverie was magnificent with 22 – 26 degrees celcius. Perfect temperature for walking in the mountains. One of the walks we really enjoy, is this one to Cap Roux in the Esterel mountains. It is a 45 – 60 minute walk to the top, some more if you take time to enjoy the magnificent scenery. And you should!
The walk is well suited for children, it is upwards, but never steep. Our two boys aged 5 and 10 had no trouble at all.
Here is a link to a page where you can find the online map including the starting place where you park your car.
Even in the beginning of the walk you start fairly high up on the mountainside and the view is great:
When you are almost at the top, you can really enjoy spectacular views, it just gets better and better the higher up you go:
And finally at the very top of the Cap Roux where the mountain meets the ocean, you can enjoy views of the coastline from Cannes to St. Tropez. The contrast between the very red mountains and the deep blue ocean can really take your breath away…
Driving down from the mountain, we met this “little” one. Not to shy. We only had bacon crisps in the car….
Soon after, his family joined in
One of our favourites walks from the house is up to the Gorges du Blavet, and up to the Grotto:
https://ourhouseinprovence.wordpress.com/walk-to-gorges-de-blavet-and-grotto/
If you are interested in walking in the beautiful landscapes of Provence and the French Riviera, please check out all the walks we have created online maps for:
https://ourhouseinprovence.wordpress.com/hiking-in-provence/
Important: All maps are available online, and from this summer roaming costs are the same as in your home country all over Europe. This means that you can have the maps open and continously verify that you are on “track”, and how far you have left.
See ‘Booking’ menu item for availability and prices.
Very happy to see that according to EU’s big survey, all the beaches in the area have excellent water quality. Other areas in France, Italy and other European countries seem to have more problems with clean water.
After a fine day visiting the beautiful medieval city of Les Arcs Sur Argens, we were looking forward to visiting Chateau Sainte Rosaline, an excellent vineyard/chapel combo offering not only wine tasting opportunities, but also art, history and the mummified body of a Saint (!). We had read up on this estate and for our family this turned out to be the perfect sightseeing opportunity for many different reasons.
St.Rosaline is much more than only a vineyard offering wine-tasting. It is a bit like a kinder egg with many attractions both for the grown-ups and also for the children…
This Grand-Cru vineyard turned out to be one of the most visitor friendly estates we have ever visited. After you have parked your car, you may walk among the grape ranks. We were there in the middle of winter, and with no leafs you get an extra good look at the grape trunks. We look forward to walking here again later this summer to see the huge difference between on / off season.
The shop is really beautiful and the Chateau has put a lot of effort into making a shop with modern design and architecture. Visitors are of course able to sample the award winning wines before committing to any purchases. In addition to wines there are also a range of other locally grown products for sale.
For our two boys aged 4 and 9 the highlight of the visit was the opportunity to see a real mummified body. In this historic Chapel the body of Sainte Roseline, conserved for centuries under a glass case is on full display. Visitors and pilgrims come from all over France and Europe to pay tribute to her spiritual work. For our two boys this was a fascinating sight, and I must admit, for the adults in the family as well…
Another reason to visit the chapel is the beautiful mosaic created by Marc Chagall. Chagall’s Mosaic represents “the Meal served by Angels”. The monumental work of Art was made in 1975.
Chapelle de Ste-Roseline is marked as a top-choice sightseeing attraction in Lonely Planet. We had a lovely afternoon-winter-visit to St. Rosaline, and definitely plan to be back again with friends and family later this year! The location is only about 20 minutes from our house – here are directions.
If you want to read more about St. Roseline, you will find more details at this site.
The chapel is open to the public every afternoon except Mondays.
Official Website: link
More Images and Video’s
Villa Soleil 