Spending a summer in the south of France is like wanting to double, triple, quatriple… to be everywhere at the same time because there are so many great events everywhere. If there is one place where I love to spend my summer evenings, it is clearly not in the big cities like Nice or Monaco but rather in the villages of the south. Although I love all the perched villages of the French Riviera, the one I particularly appreciate in summer is Valbonne Village. A village that is authentic, atypical and full of charm!
1. Valbonne Village
Valbonne is a pretty village that was built in a quiet valley. Since the 1970s, it has experienced an incredible boom with the creation of the Sophia Antipolis technology park in the vicinity. Engineers from all over the world who came to the region to work in the technology park bought or built villas in the area. This has strongly contributed to the reputation of Valbonne Village as a chic and residential area.
The particularity of Valbonne Village is its structure. Indeed, unlike other Provençal villages, Valbonne Village was built on the basis of a checkerboard urban plan dating from the 16th century. This means that the streets intersect at right angles. I like to say that this is an American-style village where the big cities are known to be structured in a block shape. The difference is that this village is made up of old stone buildings and small houses, which is what makes this village so charming.
2. What to visit in Valbonne Village
The village of Valbonne is particularly pleasant to visit unlike others like Eze or Roquebrune cap martin where you have to climb steps by the dozen (not very practical for the elderly in particular). Valbonne is flat and very easy as all the streets are parallel. I love strolling through the narrow streets of this village which all lead to the central square of the village.
- The Place des Arcades
- the monastery created in 1200 by the order of Chalais in Romanesque-Gothic style
- Chapel of Saint Bernardin and the Holy Spirit
- Roman aqueduct of Clausonnes (built at the beginning of the reign of Augustus).
- Early Christian necropolis at Pont-des-Fades.
- Oppidum of Sainte-Thérèse.
- Municipal Museum of Popular Arts and Traditions.
3. Restaurants to try in Valbonne Village
The restaurants of Valbonne have nothing to envy the best restaurants of Nice. Yes, you will find in this village the best Moroccan restaurant in the region which is the Pigeot and other restaurants offering Mediterranean cuisine which are all equally good. To have a drink and share some food, the patio is the ideal place!
- The Patio
- Le Pigeot
- Le Temps des Mets
- La Table de Richard Mebkhout
- L’Auberge de la Source
4. Local speciality
There is one speciality of Valbonne that you absolutely must taste if you are passing through the village, and that is the wine made from the Servan grape, which can be kept until Easter.
