Page 111 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Provence & The Côte d'Azur

THE V AR AND THE ILES D ’ H Y ERES  109

4Mons
Road map E3. * 885. @
n Pl St Sébastien (04 94 76 39 54).
Dramatically situated on a rock-
spur, Mons, with its tiny lanes
and overhanging arches, has
an almost magical appeal. The
place St-Sébastien looks out
across the entire coast, from
Italy to Toulon.
Originally a Celtic-Ligurian
The 110 m (361 ft) Artuby bridge spanning the Canyon du Verdon settlement, its Château-Vieux
quarter dates from the 10th
kilns of its 15 ceramic factories. 3Comps-sur- century, but it was mainly built
Salernes is one of the best- Artuby by Genoese who repopulated
known Provençal tile-making the village after ravages by the
centres, noted for tomettes – Road map D3. * 338. @ n 2 ave plague in the 14th century. The
hexagonal terracotta floor-tiles. Lazare Carnot, Draguignan (04 98 10 first families came in 1461 from
Cotignac, west of Salernes, 51 05). Figounia near Ventimiglia; their
is an echo of Villecroze, with legacy is the local dialect, figoun,
a cave-pocked cliff behind it. The eastern approach to the which still survives thanks to the
Behind the mairie, a river springs Gorges du Verdon (see pp188–9) unusually isolated position of the
from the rocks and beyond is passes through Comps-sur- village. Nearby is the roche taillée,
an open-air theatre. Artuby. The village nestles at a Roman aqueduct carved from
The region’s most intriguing the foot of a rock topped by the solid rock. There are also many
château is Entrecasteaux, 13th-century chapel of St-André, dolmens in the surrounding area.
15 km (8 miles) east of Cotignac. which has been restored. From
The 17th-century castle is filled the church there are grand
with the present owner’s 17th- views of the Artuby Gorges.
to 18th-century collection of To the east lies Bargème,
paintings, artifacts, tapestries a village of steep streets and
and furniture. The garden, by hollyhocks with a population
Le Nôtre, is publicly owned. of just 86. At 1,094 m (3,589 ft)
it is the highest community
E Musée Simon Segal in the Var. The village itself is
Rue Albert Premier, Aups. Tel 04 94 70 closed to all traffic.
01 95. Open Jun–Sep: Wed–Mon. Dominating Bargème is
P Grottes Troglodytiques a large, partially ruined but
Villecroze. Tel 04 94 70 63 06. Open Apr– nevertheless remarkably well
Jun: Fri–Mon; Jul–Sep: daily. & preserved 14th-century castle.
Also worth a visit is the 13th-
P Château d’Entrecasteaux
83570 Entrecasteaux. Tel 04 94 04 century Romanesque Eglise
43 95. Open Easter–mid-Jun: Sun & St-Nicolas which contains a
public hols; mid-Jun–Sep: Sun–Fri. & carved, wooden altarpiece One of the quiet streets of the picturesque
8 ∑ chateau-entrecasteaux.com depicting Saint Sebastian. village of Mons
Truffles
This richly flavoured and treasured
fungal delicacy of the Var is trad-
itionally sniffed out by trained
pigs. The golfball-sized truffles are
collected during the winter, when
they are at their most fragrant,
from underground near the
roots of oak trees. Local markets
specialize in truffles when they
are in season, though their rarity
means that they tend to be
very expensive.

A trained pig hunting for truffles