Page 104 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Provence & The Côte d'Azur

102  PROVENCE AREA B Y AREA

cSospel
Road map F3. * 3,650. £ @
n 19 ave Jean Medecin (04 93 04
15 80). ( Thu, Sun. ∑ sospel-
tourisme.com
This charming resort has a
13th-century toll tower, which
was restored after bomb
damage in World War II, when
the town’s bravery earned it the
Croix de Guerre. Fort St-Roch,
built in 1932 as protection
against a possible Italian Early morning Gorbio, surrounded by olive groves
invasion, has a museum
with exhibits on the Maginot has a conical belfry, a typical bought the château in 1911
line. The church of St-Michel feature of the region. Each June a and added a mock medieval
contains one of François Bréa’s procession marks the Penitents’ tour anglaise.
best works, and has a lovely ritual, when the village lanes At the turn of the century,
façade, as does the Palais twinkle with the lights from oil Cap Martin was the Côte d’Azur’s
Ricci. The interior of the White lamps made from snail shells. smartest resort, attracting the
Penitent chapel is magnificent. A good hour’s walk from era’s glitterati. Empératrice
Gorbio is Ste-Agnès, at 671 m Eugénie, wife of Napoléon III,
E Musée Maginot de la Seconde (2,200 ft) it is the highest village wintered here. Winston Churchill,
Guerre Mondiale per Coco Chanel and Irish poet
perché on the coast.ché on the coast.ché
per
Fort St-Roch. Tel 04 93 04 00 70. W B Yeats also visited. Architect
Open Apr–Jun & Sep: Sat, Sun & public Le Corbusier, who drowned off
hols pm; Jul & Aug: Tue–Sun pm. & bRoquebrune- the cape in 1965, has a coastal
Cap-Martin path named after him.
A number of important pre-
Road map F3. * 12,800. £ @
n 218 ave Aristide Briand (04 93 35 historic remains have been found
62 87). ( Wed. ∑ rcm-tourisme. around Roquebrune, some in caves
com such as the Grotte du Vallonet.
Just outside the village, on the
Roquebrune is said to have Menton road, is the olivier millénaire,
the earliest feudal château in one of the oldest olive trees
France, the sole example of the in the world, which is believed
Carolingian style. Built in the to be at least 1,000 years old.
10th century by Conrad I, Count Every August since 1467,
of Ventimiglia, to ward off in gratitude for being spared
Saracen attack, it was later from the plague, Roquebrune’s
Impressive trompe l’oeil façades ofhouses remodelled by the Grimaldis inhabitants take part in scenes
in Sospel (see p95). Wealthy Englishman from the Passion (see p37).
Sir William Ingram, one of the
first wave of tourist residents, + Château Grimaldi de
vGorbio Roquebrune
Pl William Ingram Tel 04 93 35 07 22.
Road map F3. * 1,300. @ n La Open daily. Closed Fri (Nov–Dec),
Mairie, 30 rue Garibaldi (04 92 10 66 50). public hols. &
More than a thousand species
of flowers have been identified
in the sunny Gorbio valley, which nMenton
produces vegetables, as well as Road map F3. * 29,670. £ @
fruit, wine and oil. Until the last n Palais de l’Europe, 8 ave Boyer
century the area was entirely (04 92 41 76 76). ( Tue–Sun.
supported by its olive production. ∑ tourisme-menton.fr
Often shrouded in mist in
the mornings, Gorbio itself is a Just a mile from the border,
village perché (see pp24–5), with Menton is the most Italian of
sea views. The old Malaussène the French resorts. Tucked in by
fountain stands by the entrance mountains, it is a sedate town
to the narrow cobbled lanes, with a Baroque square and a
and an elm tree in the square View of Château Grimaldi de Roquebrune, promenade stretching towards
was planted in 1713. The church overlooking Cap Martin Cap Martin.
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp198–9 and pp208–11