St Cézaire and surrounding area
St Cézaire village
Maison des Figues in a peaceful location on the outskirts of the village of St Cézaire sur Siagne. The main square in the village is a 15 minute walk away (800 m).
St Cézaire sur Siagne is a Provençal village perché which overlooks the Siagne river valley and dates from the middle ages. It has a number of amenities, including a Carrefour grocery store, a bakery for fresh bread, a butcher, a fresh pasta shop, several restaurants and cafes, a library and a pharmacy.
The village has a large Saturday market which featured recently on France 2, and a smaller market on Tuesday mornings during the summer. The annual calendar of events includes a parade of WW2 vehicles and a jazz festival.
There is an active tennis club in the village and a horse riding school just outside of the village. A boules pitch is in the centre of the village, and is overlooked by an outside restaurant called Le Spot. Refreshments at Le Spot alongside a game of boules makes for a very nice outing.
St Cézaire is a mountain biking and road cycling hub, with quiet roads leading to lavender fields, medieval villages and coastal vistas. The Ironman World Championship bike course rolls through the nearby villages of Caussols, Andon and Caille every September, making the house an ideal base for training and cheering on others.
The village is located within the Parc Naturel Régional des Préalpes d’Azur. Forests of southern oak and pine trees flank mountain canyons and rivers, with access to Grandes Randonnées (GR) national hiking routes like the Sentier des 8 vallées from the doorstep of the house.
You can hike to the Pont des Tuves, an ancient Roman bridge that crosses the Siagne river or join the Route Napoleon hiking trail and follow the footsteps of Napoleon in 1815.
The Route Napoleon starts at the sea-side town of Golfe-Juan at the French Riviera and goes through the Alps Maritimes all the way north to Grenoble. The nearby village of St-Vallier-de-Thiey marks the spot where Napoleon on his return from exile in Elba rode north to Grenoble. The poor state of the mountain roads in 1815 (now ameliorated!) forced Napoleon to leave his cannons and carriages in Grasse and continue the journey through St-Vallier on horseback.
The deepest gorge in France, les Gorges du Verdon, is a short drive away and one of the must-see natural wonders of central Provence.
One family stumbles on St Cezaire and are charmed READ
A little further afield…
The beach clubs of Cannes and the Riveria are 40 minutes away, and the shops and restaurants of the beautiful Vieux Port of Nice are 1 hour away.
From Cannes harbour, a 20 minute ferry ride will take you to two coastal islands, Île Sainte-Marguerite and Île Saint-Honorat, where you can explore a historic abbey and vineyards over a picnic lunch. Île Ste-Marguerite is home to an impressive 17th-century bastion, the Fort Royal, which once served as a remote holding cell for prisoners, including the famous Man in the Iron Mask. Île St-Honorat is best known for its Cistercian abbey, whose two dozen monks still cultivate vineyards on the island. These traffic free islands are a world away from the hustle and bustle of the Riviera.
The light in the south of France has long been a draw for artists. For art lovers, museums and the studios of favourite painters are found everywhere in the villages and coastal towns around St Cézaire.
The exceptional Foundation Maeght, in nearby St Paul de Vence is a memorable day trip from Les Jardins de Louisa. Home to one of the largest collections of modern art in Europe, the Fondation Maeght showcases the work of Georges Braque, Marc Chagall, Diego Giacometti, Wassily Kandinsky, Barbara Hepworth, Fernand Léger, Joan Miró and brings together art, nature and architecture.
A visit to Villa Kerylos is another favourite day trip. Located on a bay in Beaulieu-sur-Mer and surrounded on three sides by water, Villa Kérylos is a reconstruction of an ancient Greek villa. It was built around 1900 by a French banker and amateur archaeologist who so admired the architecture, interior decoration and art of the ancient world that he decided to recreate the atmosphere in its entirety.
A visit to Villa Kerylos can be combined with a visit to Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, a French monument historique, in St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat where the nine themed gardens (French garden, Spanish garden, Florentine garden, stone garden, Japanese garden, exotic garden, Provençal garden and rose garden) look out onto the sea.
If you have children you’ll definitely want to visit Lac de Saint-Cassien, a picturesque blue lake 30 minutes from the house which is set within the surrounding hillsides. All around the lake are small ‘beach’ areas, including places to simply sit by the waterside and others at which you can hire kayaks or boats.
We have left guide books for Provence, the Alpes Maritimes and Riviera in the house to help you explore. Please let us know your interests as we would be delighted to provide you with ideas of places to see and things to do.