Var Valley, French Riviera/Maritime Alps, France
This time we drive the Var Valley, where flows the river of the same name. This river originates at the junction of the Maritime Alps and the Alps de Haute Provence, and its outlet to the Mediterranean Sea is located in the town of Saint-Laurent-du-Var, next to Nice Airport. Along the way we will pass interesting towns and landscapes. Of course it is recommended to start a trip in a day with a beautiful, sunny weather.
Carros - Entrevaux
We start in Carros (A) and then we enter the Route de Grenoble (M6202 road) and drive towards the mountains. We pass several villages having the Var river on the left side. By the way, we drive along well-known route of the "Train des Pignes" linking Nice with Digne-les-Bains. After Saint-Martin-du-Var the lanscapes begin to be more interesting, the mountains are near, the road splits into two separate lanes. We go through several tunnels driving near the edges of the rock walls. Nearby Gorges de la Mescla the landscapes are very interesting (B; GPS: 43.908773, 7.190593), and finally we cross the Var river entering the D6202 road. We pass some towns and finally we achieve the first goal of our journey, which is the town of Entrevaux (C). You can stop here, relax a little bit and additionally visit the town (we wrote a separate article about this town).
Entrevaux - Gorges de Daluis
We move on and then go toward the Gorges de Daluis canyon, which was created by the river Var. After leaving Entrevaux we cross the railway of "Train des Pignes" - we just saw the train arriving, so we had to stop the car for a few minutes before the rail crossing. After a few kilometers we turn right, driving the D902 road (D; GPS: 43.971050, 6.760011). We are already very close to the Gorges de Daluis canyon.
Gorges de Daluis
The canyon has its origin in the vicinity of the town of Daluis (E; GPS: 44.024239, 6.811628), and then extends for about six kilometers to the village of Guillaumes. A characteristic feature of it are red rocks - the Var river flows through the sandstone colored with iron oxide. The route is very spectacular - from time to time there are bays on the road where you can stop and look around. We stopped at the following locations:
- GPS: 44.014814, 6.803751 (F)
- GPS: 44.038637, 6.831353 (G)
- GPS: 44.050171, 6.842838 (H)
- GPS: 44.054776, 6.848328 (I)
While driving you should pay attention to the rock-like figure of a woman - it is called "La Gardienne des Gorges" ("Guardian of the Canyon") (J; GPS: 44.040381, 6.837189).
Guillaumes
After driving through the Gorges de Daluis canyon we approach our destination: the town of Guillaumes (J; GPS: 44.088268, 6.853807). We park the car in the parking lot near the center (1; GPS: 44.088765, 6.853794) of the town. Then we go up the main street of the town to the visible end of the dwellings. We enter a side street and go slightly uphill. On the way we pass the church of Saint-Etienne with a belfry tower from thirteenth-century (K; GPS: 44.089758, 6.854098). If you want you can also climb to the top of the hill where the ruins of the castle of Joanna I (Queen of Naples) from fifteenth century (L; GPS: 44.091006, 6.855507) are located. While returning to the parking lot it's worth to visit the "Boulangerie Des Alpes" (a bakery) located on the main square (Place Provence), which sells gourmet products in the form of sweet yeast buns with raisins, etc. (M; GPS: 44.089475, 6.853269).
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