FRANCE 2022 Trip report Day 10: Castle Hill (Colline du Chateau) Nice, The Gorges Du Verdon / Lake Of Sainte-Croix

 DAY 10, SEPTEMBER 25, 2022

STAY 

Antibes apt continued

SIGHTS: 

Castle Hill (Colline du Chateau) Nice, The Gorges Du Verdon / Lake Of Sainte-Croix

DRIVE TO NICE AGAIN

The weather was good and we drove to Nice. 

There were orange cones and traffic cops standing around. They asked in French where we were going. We said Chateau and they let us through. There were some runners and volunteers.

We had marked a paisd parking spot but found free parking on the street.

went to the lift we had pinned on our offline map... it was 9 am Sunday and the shutter was closed. We bent and peeped through the small gap, they told us the lift will operate at 10 am. 

We strolled the pretty bay area and went to the lift at 10 and got to the top of the hill in seconds.

Castle Hill (Colline du Chateau)

 is more of an impressive hill than a castle. Even though most of the original Chateau de Nice structure has crumbled away, travelers still climb the hundreds of steps to reach the stellar view from its peak. 

In addition to the sweeping panorama of Nice and the Baie des Anges (Bay of Angels), we can enjoy the artificial waterfall, cemetery and Belanda Tower (Tour Belanda).

The park is free to visit. If you don't want to climb, there is also a free lift which we used.

MOSAICS

sea themed mosaics on the steps

Sunday aerobics class in full flow... it waa fun and added to the amnience

There were many platforms providing great views

The artificial waterfall is spectacular

These stairs lead to old town, we returned the way we came by lift.

walked through the same sights as the previous day... Nice sign, the fiat car etc . Quite crowded, needless to say. In fact 100s of people standing in the line for the lift as we came down.

Timing is so vital!!

we decided to drive to the Gorges du Verdon.

This is the Sheraton on the way.

THE GORGES DU VERDON / LAKE OF SAINTE-CROIX

 Like a winding emerald snake, the River Verdon has hollowed out deep gorges in the hinterland of the Var, creating Europe’s biggest canyon.  

 Lake Of Sainte-Croix

After the gorges, the water of the Verdon river calms down and ends up in the lake of Sainte-Croix; , surrounded by the landscapes of the  Haute-Provence.

To be frank, the gorge drive had been underwhelming,  draught made the river hardly visible,,, we did not get to enjoy the beauty of the brochure pics. the lake was scenic though.

We felt our day may have been better spent if we had driven on to Menton or the hilltop villages..Peillon, a stunning perched village above Monaco or Vence above Antibes we had read about.

Anyway the previous day we had driven around Eze another touted village and could not find  the right spots there. 

We were quite grateful for all the lovely sights we had enjoyed in the Cote d'Azur

Report continues