In the summer when the weather is warm the south of France offers a wide range of well-marked and documented walks for all standards rambler. In contrast to the United Kingdom, one thing that you can more or less bank on is weather, especially if the area of your choice is the French Riviera.
The Worldwide UK Office is based in Grassington in the Dales National Park. It is a beautiful village and a paradise for walking, mountain bike riding, fell-and mountain climbing and in spite of my advancing years I like to take part in all of the latter as often as possible. The trouble is, due to the weather I often end up in the swimming pool and sauna instead.
Luck has it that I spend a lot of time in the French Riviera and there life could not be more different, even in the winter. Best of all I am living in Grasse near Cannes and Esterel mountains: and I can’t remember not how many times I have seen almost the whole of France covered by clouds and rain, but the hills of the Esterel is bathed in sunlight.
The Esterel is a beautiful area that stretches from St Raphael to Cannes, characterized by its red rock. Many visitors to the French Riviera are familiar with the beautiful drive along "Corniche" with the views of the dramatic Azur Mediterranean, but very few put on their walking shoes and head inland from the coast road.
The Esterel "massive" is of volcanic origins and consists primarily of Porphyry which gives it the distinctive red color that makes walking there so enjoyable as the tones are transformed in accordance with the direction and intensity of the sun all day long. Combined with the beautiful color of the sea it gives a wonderful combination and fantastic views.
The Esterel footpaths are well marked and inland is the real revelation, for so far meets the eye can see there is not a building in the view. There are some principal walks in the area, the GR49 and GR51, but there are many more footpaths across the range, so that you can go several times, and vary your itinerary every time. Many of the tracks are also open for mountain biking. In fact there are a number of major competitions held here throughout the year.
The vegetation is also great in this area. Even in winter there are green plants and flowers with Mimosas blooming yellow from as early as January. It seems like cheating to be able to go in shorts and T-Shirt in winter in landscape that feels like it is the spring or summer when in the background there is snow on the mountains.
One of my favorite-trips departs from Théoule sur mer. Turn into the town and continues through until you come to a car park on the right-hand side (you need to pay and arrive early as there are not many places). From there you go up the valley, pick up GR51 and take a gentle climb up the Col Theouele (137m) and continue to the Col CADIERE (308m) or pick-up to one of the many variations. You need to have serious shoes, and I would class the walking as medium. IGN 3643ET map covers the area.
Villas du Monde - Villas Worldwide has an excellent selection of villas in the French Riviera and close to the Esterel we have houses in Antheor, Grasse, Mandelieu and Cannes. To see the full our selection of over 1000 villas in France and around the world have a look at our website. There are great value flights to Nice from many British airports, especially with Easyjet and Jet2. Do call our holiday advisors using our freephone telephone number or send an email with any questions you have about the area, travel or where to stay and we will be delighted to help using our considerable local knowledge.