Gattières: Village History and Hiking Trails

Gattières can be explored through its medieval lanes, historic buildings, and hikes of varying lengths. When planning your trip, you can decide whether you would like to focus mainly on the village’s history or include a hike. These topics provide practical guidance when you are looking for a hotel for your stay.

Old Village and Historic Buildings

The old village features medieval lanes, covered passages known as pontis, flower-decked squares, a stone fountain, and two washhouses. The various details can be considered side by side as you explore the village’s history, from the lanes and squares to the traces of everyday life conveyed by the fountain and washhouses.

The fortified tower ruin dating from the 11th to 12th century stands on Place Grimaldi. It is the only surviving remnant of the 13th-century Château Grimaldi. The two dates refer to different parts of the history: the surviving tower and the older castle to which it belonged.

The Église Saint Nicolas was first mentioned in 1278. Its present form dates from the 14th and 15th centuries, while its bell tower is from the 18th century. The church is a Provençal Romanesque-Gothic building. It thus brings together the village’s early historical record and later architectural phases.

Chapel and Historic Routes

The Chapelle Notre-Dame-du-Var was mentioned in 1247. It was once a rural priory dependent on the Monastery of Saint-Pons in Nice. Every year on 8 September, the Feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, a procession and Mass are held there. The exact programme may vary; if you would like to plan your trip around this date, check the dates in advance.

An old Roman road is also part of the area’s history. It crosses part of Gattières and begins at the Var ford near the Chapelle Notre-Dame-du-Var. It is also one of the pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela. The heritage trail, with its 12 information panels, offers another way to explore the village’s heritage. It can be followed individually, with family, or in groups; group visits are available by reservation.

Compare Hikes by Time and Distance

Several easy trails with different estimated times are available for a shorter outing. The Boucle du Puy is an easy 1 km circular trail that takes about 45 minutes. The Boucle des Fontaines is an easy 3 km walking trail that takes approximately one hour. This lets you factor both the shorter distances and the stated walking times into your day’s plans.

The Au fil de l’eau et de l’histoire trail is an easy 3.3 km hike that takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes. It leads to the restanques, or terraced fields, that were once cultivated by villagers until the 1960s. This hike therefore takes longer than the two shorter trails and offers a specific insight into the former work carried out on the terraces.

At 8 km for the round trip, with a moderate difficulty rating and an estimated duration of about five hours, the hike to Baou de la Gaude is the longest of the routes listed here. It offers views across the entire Var Valley and over the village of Gattières. The panoramas extend from the floor of the Var Valley in the northeast to Cap d’Antibes in the southwest. The trails therefore differ both in time required and stated difficulty: the three shorter hikes are described as easy, while the hike to Baou is moderate. As trail conditions can change, check them before setting out.

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