Tourrettes-sur-Loup, French Riviera, France
Tourrettes-sur-Loup is one of the most beautiful medieval towns of the French Riviera perched on a rock, about 8 km north-west of Saint-Paul-de-Vence and 11 km east of Le Bar-sur-Loup, near Vence and Grasse. It is an amazing place, full of narrow streets, stairs, picturesque alleys, passages under buildings - just a paradise for lovers of such places. In our opinion, it is as beautiful as the much advertised town Saint-Paul-de-Vence, and it has such an advantage over it that it is not full of tourists - you can slowly explore it in a quiet atmosphere.
Parking in Tourrettes-sur-Loup
Theoretically, you can park in the village center, on the Place de la Liberation (P1; GPS: 43.716543, 7.058619), but due to the fact that it's often hard to find here a free place, we suggest to leave the car on a very large parking lot located just next to the old town, on the Place de la Madeleine (P2; GPS: 43.718466, 7.063479).
Strolling the old town
After leaving the car on mentioned parking lot you can simply go under the bridge and follow the Rue de la Bourgade towards the center. Along the way, you will have the opportunity to admire panoramic views of the village.
As we previously mentioned, the town is perched on a rock, and thus ideally suited to explore and make interesting pictures away from the hustle and bustle of big cities. At the Place de la Liberation there is located the church of St Grégoire (A; GPS: 43.716680, 7.059056) from sixteenth century. Going under the clock tower (B; GPS: 43.716115, 7.058429), which is equiped with nice campanile, typical for Provence, you can emerge on the main street of the old town - the Grande Rue. It is a kingdom of narrow paths and flowery houses, where the galleries and artists' workshops are located. You can admire the sculptures, paintings, textiles, pottery and jewelry. Then you arrive to the palace de Villeneuve from fifteenth century, which now serves as the seat of local government. Going beyond the buildings (C; GPS: 43.7148581, 7.0592389) you can enjoy views of surrounding hills. In the distance you can see Mediterranean Sea and the peninsula of Cap d'Antibes. You can also see old railway viaduct (D; GPS: 43.713239, 7.063109) created especially for Train des Pignes.
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