The Balconies of the French Riviera

A moderately demanding walking trip, suitable for anyone with previous mountain walking experience. Average walking time: 5 hours per day.
Terrain: waymarked mountain trails. Average ascent: + 700m per day.
Specific challenges: remember that the Côte d’Azur near the Italian border is a very mountainous region with distinctly Alpine terrain.

No main luggage to carry: you only carry a small daypack with your picnic lunch and everything you need for the day. Your luggage will be waiting for you at your accommodation each evening.

Available for groups of 2 people or more.

7 days, 6 nights, 5 days of walking.

Choose your departure date from mid-March to mid-June and from early September to late October.
No departures in July / August.
Departures every day of the week except Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Self-guided tour, without a tour leader; we provide a digital travel pack containing access to our smartphone navigation app, your accommodation list, any vouchers and all the information you need for your trip to run smoothly.
If you wish, we can send a printed travel pack to your home, with maps, a route guide and a travel wallet, for a supplement of 35 € per pack. For printed travel pack requests made less than 45 days before departure, and for travellers living abroad, the pack will be available at the first hotel of your stay.

Accommodation

Hotels (or guesthouses) rated 2* or equivalent, a 4* hotel in Grasse and Menton and 3* equivalent in Vence, in rooms for 2, with a shower and toilet.

Meals

Half board in Pont du Loup, St Jeannet and Ste Agnès. B&B (overnight accommodation and breakfast) in Grasse, Vence and Menton.

Please let us know about any food allergies or special dietary requirements when booking; we will do our best to adapt your meals.

Hotel ratings:

In France, a growing number of hotels and guesthouses choose not to be officially rated, including establishments that still held a rating just one or two years ago. This does not mean their quality has declined—far from it. Many guesthouses offer charming rooms.

If we specify, for example, a comfort level of “3* or equivalent”, this means that the establishment is not necessarily officially rated, but offers a level of comfort comparable to a 3* hotel.

Please note: Accommodation photos are for illustration only. Accommodation may change. Depending on availability, we may book other hotels offering an equivalent standard and level of comfort.

Start

On Day 1 in Grasse, in the afternoon.

End

On Day 7 in Menton, after breakfast.

By plane

Nice Airport: https://www.nice.aeroport.fr/
Coaches from Nice Airport to Grasse (route no. 51): frequent services; information available from the airport
For the return journey, direct coaches run from Menton to Nice Airport

By train

Outbound: overnight train from Paris to Cannes, then a bus to Grasse, route 660,; information at https://zou.maregionsud.fr/
To reach the hotel if you arrive at Grasse railway station, you can take the bus (2km), routes 660 and route 5 https://zou.maregionsud.fr/

Return: overnight train from Menton to Paris.

By car

Many scenic routes lead to the Côte d’Azur:
ROUTE NAPOLÉON: Golfe-Juan, Cannes, Le Cannet, Grasse, Castellane, Digne, Sisteron, Gap

ROUTE DES GRANDES ALPES
Stretching from Lake Geneva to the Mediterranean, this road, opened in 1910 by the Touring Club de France, introduced hundreds of thousands of visitors to the finest landscapes in the Alps. Running between Haute-Savoie and Alpes-Maritimes, the route was built despite all the challenges of Alpine terrain, with its mountain passes, valleys, rock faces and vast natural spaces, opening the way for motorists and cycle tourists to explore the region.

VAR VALLEY: Digne, Puget-Théniers, Nice

ROYA GORGES: Col de Tende, Sospel, Menton

NATIONAL ROAD 7: Fréjus, Saint-Raphaël, Cannes, Nice, Menton

Parking your car

You can park your car in Grasse, in the hotel’s free car park (subject to availability) or in one of the municipal car parks, for around 80 € per week.

If you are travelling by car, you can return from Menton to Cannes by train (around 1 hour 15 minutes), then take the bus from Cannes to Grasse. Full details at https://zou.maregionsud.fr/
You can also take the bus, changing in Nice (Rapid' Côte d’Azur service).
For a small group, a minibus transfer can be arranged. Otherwise, you can contact Taxi Microbus 0614348745

A number of our trips offer opportunities to swim, either along the way or at the end of the day. It would be a shame to miss out. However, we emphasise that it is up to you to decide whether swimming is appropriate; you therefore swim under your own responsibility and at your own risk.

Member of Agir pour un Tourisme Responsable (ATR)

Since 2012, Grand Angle has been a member of ATR, a leading association for more responsible tourism. We design our trips – walking, cycling and snow activities – to invite everyone to discover the world in a different way: with curiosity, respect and kindness.

As a member of the board of directors since 2018, we actively help the industry adopt more meaningful practices. In practical terms, we focus on:

• Transparency in our practices and prices
• Respect for our partners and local communities
• Protecting the environment on every trip

We also share the values of the Traveller’s Ethical Charter, which encourages everyone to take simple steps to protect the places they visit and enjoy meaningful encounters.

Travelife Partner

Since 2025, Grand Angle has been recognised as a Travelife Partner, an international label that certifies our responsible environmental, ethical and sustainable management practices, both within our company and in our work with partners and the organisation of our trips.

This label, the second level of a rigorous international certification scheme, recognises our concrete actions in support of responsible tourism. We are actively working towards the next level, Travelife Certified, in line with our sustainability policy

In this section, you will find links to products from our partner Alpinstore, a French online retailer specialising in outdoor equipment, based in Annecy.

Carrying your belongings

• A comfortable 30 to 40 L backpack with a hip belt to carry your personal belongings and picnic lunch during the day
• A bag for luggage transfers: a backpack, a travel bag in good condition or a suitcase that is not too bulky. One bag per person, weighing no more than 15kg

Discover how to pack your hiking backpack in our magazine.

For hiking

For maximum comfort, choose a layered clothing system: warm base layers (leggings + top), such as “Carline” or “Capilene” (hollow fibres that wick away perspiration) + a sweatshirt or fleece jacket + a mountain jacket and overtrousers with a waterproof, breathable membrane (such as Gore-Tex or equivalent) for bad weather. As a general rule, except in hot climates and countries, avoid cotton, which holds moisture close to the body (and dries slowly), and choose suitable synthetic fabrics instead.

• Hiking boots with ankle support, a good deeply treaded sole, a supportive heel counter and good waterproofing
• Comfortable hiking socks (at least 3 pairs)
• A fleece
• Comfortable walking trousers (quick-drying technical fabric)
• Comfortable technical shorts
• T-shirts or technical base layers (quick-drying fabric)
• A long-sleeved shirt
• Walking poles (telescopic), very important for making walking easier. Discover all the benefits of hiking poles in our dedicated article or how to choose your hiking poles

Note: synthetic technical clothing performs very well. New merino wool clothing is also available; it performs very well, is comfortable to wear and has the advantage of resisting perspiration odours!

For your lunchtime picnic

• Your eating kit: a plastic bowl, container or plate, and cutlery (spoon, fork, knife)
• 1 or 2 water bottles (at least 1,5 L in total) – essential –; an insulated flask for winter

Protection from sun and rain

• Sunscreen (high protection)
• Sunglasses
• A hat, cap or bucket hat
• A rain poncho or a waterproof jacket, such as a softshell or Gore-Tex jacket, and possibly waterproof trousers

After your walk

• A pair of running-style trainers for the evening
• A change of clothes and underwear
• A toiletry bag and a small towel
• Swimwear and a towel for wellness facilities (where specified) or swimming
• A small first-aid kit: personal medication, surgical masks, hand sanitiser, plasters, sterile compresses and a bandage, gauze, disinfectant, arnica pellets and aspirin, etc. (Please note that this list is not exhaustive and should be adapted to your own medical needs.)

You can find these tips in our article #"what to take with you on a hike".

This list is intended as a guide and should be adapted to your trip and the season in which you travel.

Documents

A valid national identity card or passport.

Grasse Tourist Office: https://www.paysdegrassetourisme.fr/

Menton Tourist Office: https://www.menton-riviera-merveilles.fr/

• Isolated villages and hamlets of the Alpes-Maritimes (Edisud)
• Fortifications of the early modern period (Serre)
• Religious art in the Alpes-Maritimes (Edisud)
• Medieval art in the Alpes-Maritimes (Serre)
• Guide to art and nature in the Alpes-Maritimes (Nathan)

• I.G.N 1/100000 scale, no. 61 Nice-Barcelonnette.
• I.G.N 1/25000 no. 3742 OT Nice-Menton, 3643 ET Cannes Grasse

Late autumn (for its colours) and early spring (for its flowers) are probably the most pleasant seasons for hikers. However, in a Mediterranean climate, these are also the rainiest times of the year!

Winter, though colder, is a dry and largely sunny season, unlike the rest of France at this time of year. A spell of bad weather can certainly bring snow down to very low altitudes, but it is always short-lived in the land of olive trees…