Gilette, French Riviera, France
Gilette, the largest town in the Esteron valley, is located about 30 km from Nice and Vence. It is dominated by the ruins of the old castle, which offers spectacular panoramic views of the Esteron valley and its connection with the valley of the Var.
Parking in Gilette
We park the car on a fairly large parking lot located just off the town (P1; GPS: 43.851917, 7.164606). To reach the center, we have to walk about 300 meters the M17 road in the southern direction. You can also try to park in front of the mayor's office - Place du Pasquier (P2; GPS: 43.849562, 7.163479), but there is not too much space on the square.
The walk around the town
We visited Gilette in the morning, when there was no heavy traffic, but unfortunately we hit a not very nice weather, so when possible we will try to re-visit this place to make more interesting shots of castle ruins and the surrounding area. The building of mayor's office is located on the edge of the cliff, which offers beautiful views of the Esteron river and its valley, so first of all you should go there (A; GPS: 43.849409, 7.163632). Then, about 50 meters behind Place du Pasquier you can climb the stairs into the street that leads to the church of Saint Pierre de l'Assomption (B; GPS: 43.850033, 7.163693) from the seventeenth century on the right, and to the castle ruins on the left. We went to the right and walked some narrow streets. If you have spare time, do visit the ruins of the castle (C; GPS: 43.850202, 7.161467) from 13th century, because there are really amazing views of the entire Esteron valley.
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