France - From mountain villages to The French Riviera
From the beautiful mountain landscape close to the Italian border, you wander through beautiful paths down to the Mediterranean coast at Menton.
On this hike you will experience mountain villages with different expressions. They are all absolutely fascinating and rich in history and culture. As you walk through the mountain landscapes down to the slightly milder Mediterranean coast, you'll pass through an exciting area with strong Italian roots, seasoned with newer French influences. You will undoubtedly find that this walking holiday has everything you could dream of - both in terms of culture and nature.
Highlights on this tour
- Self-guided hiking holiday from the lower Alps to the French Mediterranean coast
- Discover small medieval villages surrounded by mountains
- Hiking on fine trails and small roads with magnificent views
- From raw rock walls to the deep blue Mediterranean
- Cozy little accommodations
Itinerary See all daysClose all days
You arrive in the small mountain village of Saint Dalmas de Tende.
On the first day of the tour, the route goes through a medieval area packed with a fascinating history. You also experience a couple of fantastic mountain villages and their charming culture. Dinner at the hotel in Saint Dalmas de Tende is included in the price.
On today's hike you will walk through a number of more isolated small mountain communities that, despite their slightly deserted location, are inhabited. The villages are made up of dried stone walls and with roofs of local slate. At the hotel in Saorge, dinner will be served for you.
From Fontan you follow the old salt route towards the village of Saorge, which clings beautifully up a hillside in a landscape consisting of both greenery and protruding cliffs.
From here, the walk continues along the beautiful hiking route towards Breil sur Roya, which lies deep in the valley - packed tightly in a crescent shape, almost sandwiched between river and rock walls. The atmosphere in the city will send your thoughts several hundred years back. At the town's church you can see one of the most beautiful organs built in the 18th century.
Dinner is served at the hotel in this beautiful town.
Today's walk takes you on a beautiful path that leads you to the stunningly situated village of Piène Haute, which thrones over a hillside surrounded by mountains. As you approach the village, you see the church tower scouting over the olive groves' haze as you pass a ravine stretching over the Italian border.
Dinner is served at the hotel in Sospel.
Today you have the possibility to choose between a shorter and a longer route.
The ruins of an ancient castle, the city's church and many other buildings emphasize that for centuries, Sospel was an important village. As you walk out of the town, you continue the route to the village of Sainte Agnès, from where the first glimpse of the Mediterranean can be enjoyed. As many of the former villages you have walked through, this one also has an impressive location in the landscape. There is a great view of the village winding up from a smaller mountain.
There will be dinner at the hotel in Sainte Agnés.
This hike brings you along paths that wind like swaths through the hilly landscape. You come through the small villages of Monti and Castellar, both of which lean safely up the mountains. The walk down to the old town of Menton takes you through the famous Garavan bay. The landscape from the mountains to the coast creates the perfect ending to an eventful hiking holiday.
The dinner in Menton is not included, but the town is full of great restaurants, so just stroll out into the streets and let your appetite do the choosing.
After breakfast and check-out the individual return journey awaits you.
Price includes
- 7 nights at small hotels and inns
- Breakfast every day
- 6 x dinner (no dinner in Menton on day 7)
- Luggage transport between the accommodations
- Detailed travel descriptions, hiking maps and other relevant tourist information (to print from home)
- 24-hour international service hotline for the duration of the tour
- This is a packaged holiday and is therefore covered by The Travel Guarantee Fund - See which benefits this means for you - click here
- Flight to/from Nice
- Beverage in the included meals
- Cancellation- and Travel insurance
Practical info
The price is based upon two people sharing. It is not possible to travel alone on this tour but it is possible to get single rooms.
Check the price quickly
You can quickly check the price of your desired trip without having to fill in anything. Here's how:
- Choose your desired start date
- Click on the green button "See price and reserve your holiday" and go to the booking form
- Select number of people, add any optional extras and see the price at the bottom of the page (you don't have to fill in anything on the form).
Get a quote
For example, if you want a flight included or changes to the trip, you can order a quote for this using the "Get a quote" button. Remember to describe in detail what, if anything, you want changed.
The process of your booking
When you book, we will start booking hotels and arranging all the practical details of the trip. This process typically takes 2-5 working days, but some bookings may take longer. If you are arranging your own transport, we recommend that you wait until we have confirmed your booking before arranging this.
Dates
If you can select the date in the tour calendar at the top of this page, this is a possible start date. We continually update the tours with sold-out dates, after which those dates will turn red and cannot be selected.
The flights to/from Nice are not included in the price. You can easily find a suitable flight via a flight booking engine such as Momondo or Skyscanner.
Notice: we recommend that you book with us and wait for the confirmation before you book your flights.
Airport transfers
On the booking form you can book transfer from Nice Airport to Saint Dalmas de Tende
Book a quote
If you prefer that we handle your flight, then we would be happy to arrange this for you. You simply book a quote below the map on this page and we will return with a quote as soon as possible (usually within 48 working hours). Please note that we add a handling fee of 45 euro to each flight and this means that the flight will be cheaper if you book it yourself.
On this trip, half board is included on all days, except dinner in Menton on day 7 - where there are plenty of restaurants to choose from.
The dinner will consist of a 2-3 course menu that you can pick yourself. Beverage is not included.
Lunch can be bought in the small towns during the trip and brought along the hikes.
The overnight stays on the trip take place in double rooms at specially selected 2- and 3-star hotels, inns and guesthouses.
It is possible to book extra nights before and after the trip
We highly recommend that you are covered by a good travel insurance covering at least Medical Expenses, Illness, Personal Accident, Baggage and Repatriation. The customer is responsible to take the necessary travel insurance that covers these costs. Mountain Adventures, or our local partners, do not have any responsibility for our customers not being covered by a necessary travel insurance. You have to arrange your insurance in your home country.
Here you can get an overview of the entire route and the elevation profile for each day. The data shows the data from the GPX-files related to the tour. Notice that the routes are sometimes updated, which means that there might be small variations.
Colors
Blue routes: The route as normal
Red routes: Variations/options (such as shortened or extended routes)
It can be difficult to plan your trip according to the weather, but here is the average statistics of the climate in the area, as shown on www.yr.no:
We are members of the Travel Guarantee Fund (nr. 2529) and have all available insurances. This covers you regardless of your nationality. Read more about that here.
Call our experts on weekdays between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Phone: +44 20 3936 1208
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