Upper Roya

Moderate hiking, suitable for anyone with previous experience of walking in the mountains. Average walking time: 5 hours per day.
Terrain: waymarked mountain paths. Average ascent: + 500m per day.
Maximum altitude: 1240m. Average altitude of accommodation: 700m.
Specific challenges: bear in mind that the Côte d’Azur near the Italian border is a very mountainous region with distinctly Alpine terrain.

Nothing heavy to carry: you only carry a small daypack with your picnic lunch and the things you need for the day. Your luggage will be waiting for you at your accommodation every evening.

Available for groups of 2 people or more.

8 days, 7 nights, 6 days of walking.

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

Accommodation

Simple accommodation in 2** hotels or guesthouses (with a shower and toilet in each room).
1 rather rustic hotel in St Agnès.

Hotel ratings:

In France, more and more hotels and guesthouses are choosing not to have an official rating, including establishments that were still rated a year or two ago. This does not mean their quality has declined—far from it. Many guesthouses offer charming rooms.

If we indicate, for example, a comfort level of “3* or equivalent”, this means that the establishment may not have an official rating, but offers comfort comparable to a 3* hotel.

Meals

5 nights on a half-board basis: breakfasts and hot dinners, except in Saint Dalmas de Tende, where homemade dinners are provided as meal trays to reheat.
2 nights on a B&B basis: in Breil sur Roya 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.

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

Start

On the evening of Day 1 in Saint-Dalmas-de-Tende.

Finish

On Day 8 in Menton after breakfast.

Departures from late March to late June and from early September to mid-October.
You can start on any day of the week, although we recommend starting on a Sunday so you can take the opportunity to visit Nice, as this is the only time when you can visit the Baroque churches in Vieux Nice. No departures in July or August.

It is not possible to finish in Menton during the Monaco Grand Prix (or E Grand Prix) (Monaco E Grand Prix from 15/05 to 17/05/27 and the Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix from 04/06 to 07/06/27)

Public trains and buses
Public train and bus timetables are never available far in advance. Train lines sometimes undergo engineering works, during which trains are replaced by buses.
You will find detailed timetables in your travel documents.

By plane

From Paris, Air France shuttle flights depart every hour, or you can take low-cost flights with easyJet. From elsewhere in Europe, many low-cost airlines operate flights.
If you are arriving by plane, please note that Nice Airport has a direct connection to the SNCF railway station (direct bus route no. 99). Take a train to Menton, then a bus to Saint Dalmas de Tende. https://www.sncf-connect.com/ . For the return journey, direct coaches run from Menton to Nice Airport on route 80.

By train

Take a TGV to Nice, then a train to Saint Dalmas de Tende.

By car

From Nice, take the A8 motorway towards Genoa and Italy. Exit at Ventimiglia (Vintimiglia), then take the S20 and RN 204 towards Cuneo and the Col de Tende as far as St Dalmas de Tende. Approximately 80km. Driving time: at least 1 hour 30 minutes. In St Dalmas, your hotel has a private car park (unguarded).
You can check your route on ViaMichelin, Mappy or Google Maps.

Parking your car

In St Dalmas, your hotel has a private car park (unguarded). Please note! To return to Saint Dalmas to collect your car at the end of the trip, you will need to take:

• the bus from Menton to St Dalmas de Tende.

Member of Agir pour un Tourisme Responsable (ATR)

Since 2012, Grand Angle has been a member of ATR, the leading association for more responsible tourism. We design our trips – on foot, by bike and on snow – to encourage everyone to discover the world differently: with curiosity, respect and kindness.

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

• Transparency in our practices and pricing
• 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 programme, 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

For carrying your belongings

• A comfortable small backpack of 20 to 30 L with a hip belt to carry your personal belongings and picnic lunch during the day
• Luggage for transfer: a backpack, a travel bag in good condition, or a suitcase that is not too bulky. One piece of luggage per person, limited to 15kg.

For hiking

• Hiking boots with ankle support, a good deeply treaded sole, a reinforced heel and good waterproofing
• Comfortable hiking socks (at least 3 pairs)
• A fleece
• Comfortable walking trousers (quick-drying technical fabric)
• Shorts, T-shirts and technical underwear (quick-drying fabric)
• A long-sleeved shirt (quick-drying technical fabric)
• Walking poles (telescopic), very important for making walking easier

Note: synthetic technical clothing performs very well. Merino wool clothing has also become available; it performs very well, is comfortable to wear and has the advantage of not developing sweat odours! (Brands include Icebreaker, Ruka, etc.).

As a general rule, avoid cotton, which makes you cold when wet.

For your picnic lunch

• A plastic bowl, container or plate
• Cutlery (spoon, fork, knife)
• A water bottle with a minimum capacity of 1.5 litre (mandatory); an insulated flask for winter

For protection from sun and rain

• High-protection sunscreen and sunglasses
• A hat, cap or bucket hat
• A rain poncho or a Gore-Tex jacket, and optionally Gore-Tex trousers

After your hike

• A pair of running-style trainers for the evening
• A change of clothes and underwear
• A small toiletry bag and towel
• A small first-aid kit: personal medication, Elastoplast, Biogaze or “2nd skin”, gauze, disinfectant, arnica granules and aspirin for minor aches and injuries… (quite a list! But rest assured, the first-aid kit often comes home untouched after your week of hiking)

A valid national identity card or passport.

Nice Tourist Office: Tel.: 0492144614
Menton Tourist Office: Tel.: 0483937020
Nice bus station: Tel.: 0493856181
Menton bus station: Tel.: 0493359360

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

Winter, although 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 here in olive-growing country…

• Valley guide “Roya and Bévéra” (Editions du Cabri, 2005)
• Charles ASTRO and Luc THEVENON “Painting in the Alpes-Maritimes in the 17th Century” (Ed SERRE, 1985)
• René SAORGIN and Raphaël SANT “The Historic Organs of the Nice Region” (Ed du Cabri)
• P de BEAUCHAMP “Religious Art in the Alpes-Maritimes” Ed EDISUD, 1990 (very clear and well illustrated)
• The beautiful books by M BABY-PABION, “Ludovic Bréa and Early Painting in Nice” Ed Serre, 1991 (the most scholarly work on Bréa), and by G and P LECLERC, “Louis Bréa, a Poem of Unity” (Ed Mame, 1992) (the most beautiful and the most mystical).
• A beautiful book on “The Chapel of Mercy” (the masterpiece of Baroque art in Nice) by P and J CASTELA (Institut d’Etudes Niçoises, 1993)
• Finally, the local magazine “LE HAUT PAYS” is particularly rich in content (Quartier Verpierre 06540 BREIL/ROYA)

• I.G.N 1/100000 scale, no. 61 Nice-Barcelonnette.
• I.G.N 1/25000 no. 3742 OT Nice-Menton, 3841 OT Roya Valley, 3741 ET Bévéra and Paillons Valleys