The mythic ridge of the Sainte-Baume Massif about 20 km from the Mediterranean Sea as the crow flies offers great views and extraordinary hiking. But the greatest attraction in this area is Maria Magdalena’s cave and the rather sombre chapels that were built around it. According to the legend, Maria Magdalena arrived first to Marseille and then to this remote cave where she lived for several years.
We started our hike from the Hôtellerie of Sainte-Baume (670 m), following the GR 9 trail which took us past a field before it dove into a magnificent forest (Foret Domaniale de la Sainte-Baume). We ascended along a wide trail to a crossroads where we forked right, making a detour to the cave and the chapels.
After the visit, we descended back a bit to follow the GR9 trail and ascended along it to Col du St-Pilon (953 m) on the ridge of the Sainte-Baume Massif. From here, the GR 9 trail runs to the east, following the ridge whereas to western part is marked as GR 98. We forked left as we had planned, ascending gently in a barren and rocky terrain. The trail was very well marked with white/red signs. The highest point of the ridge (1148 m) is in fact shared by two summits: Jouc de l’Aigle and Signal des Béguines, about 1,5 km further east.
From Col du St-Pilon, the ascent to Jouc de l’Aigle was only about 200 m. Just before the summit, some easy scramble was needed. A cross was erected on the summit. In spite of the haze, we saw Mont Sainte-Victoire in the northwest and the Mediterranean Sea in the south.
We used the same trail back as far as to the crossroads below the cave. Here we took the wide right-hand trail which descended in the forest to “Trois Chenes”, then headed back to our starting point less than a km away.
Climb: 480 m
Duration: 3h 10
Distance: 9,7 km
Map: IGN 3345 OT Signes Tourves Massif de la Sainte-Baume
Our GPS track is shown below
Rabbit meat is farmed throughout the Mediterranean. In our supermarket in Nice, rabbit is sold as fillets, legs, and as a whole rabbit cleaned and cut into chunks.
The following recipe is a twist of a chef’s recipe in Nice Matin, the local newspaper. I have modified the recipe easier and quicker to make without sacrificing the taste. If you don’t find rabbit fillets in your area, you could use slices of chicken breast or duck breast without fat.
2 servings
4 rabbit fillets
10- 12 very small new potatoes
1 clove garlic, minced
250 ml veal stock, fond de veau
8 black olives, pitted
Olive oil
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 tbsp. thyme leaves
1 fresh bay leaf
1 organic orange, zest and juice
In a heavy casserole, warm 2 tbsp. olive oil over low heat. Add the thyme sprigs, bay leaf, and minced garlic and sauté for about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile wash and microwave the potatoes until cooked. Add to the casserole and sauté until coloured to light golden. Then add the olives, cover and keep warm.
At the same time sauté the rabbit fillets and cook the veal stock in a small saucepan.
Warm 2 tbsp. olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat and sauté the rabbit fillets 4 minutes on both sides. Zest the orange and press into juice. Add these to the frying pan and let reduce for about 5 minutes over medium heat, turning the fillets occasionally. At the same time reduce also the veal stock in the small saucepan, then pour to the frying pan over the rabbit.
Divide the potatoes and the rabbit fillets on the plates. Drizzle over the sauce and decorate with thyme leaves.
This is a magnificent hike in the red Esterel Mountains offering great views to the Mediterranean Sea. We did this hike on a warm February Sunday. It also happened to be during school holidays and the trail was extremely popular.
The soil and rock of the Esterel Massif is of volcanic origin, hence the peculiar red terracotta colour.
The hike we did ran inside Réserve Biologique de l’Esterel in the southernmost part of the massif in the Var Department. We planned a loop hike with Pic du Cap Roux (453 m) as the highest point.
We started the hike from the parking called La Pointe de l’Observatoire on the D559 road between Theoule-sur-Mer and Agay.
We first ascended along a paved road about 2 km (closed for regular traffic) as far as to Rocher St-Barthélémy. Here we exited the forest road, hit the trail proper and ascended along it to Col du Saint-Pilon. We then descended to Sainte-Baume where we passed a water source and started a long ascent along the northern flank of the mountain, passing the short side trail to a chapel.
Note that compared with most trails in Alpes-Maritimes, signposts here were sporadic or non-existent but the trails were marked with yellow and/or blue. So, we first missed the ascent from Sainte-Baume.
We reached the crossroads just under the summit of Pic du Cap Roux, climbed up to admire the views. The day was clear, but some coastal fog started to form during our picnic on the top, making the visibility somewhat reduced.
We then descended to Col du Cap Roux. Here we forked left, following the yellow-marked trail. At the next crossroads we again forked left (yellow signs, no signposts). We continued along the trail that ran in the southern incline of the massif, with the Med in sight. We forked left for the third time at the next crossroads, crossing a valley. At one point we thought we might end up too much east but no worries: we eventually reached a wider path not far from the main coastal road and the railroad, turned almost 180°, and headed southwest. We crossed the above-mentioned valley again, now lower, and soon reached our starting point.
Distance: 12 km
Climb: 610 m
Duration: 4h 20
Map: IGN 3544 ET Fréjus St-Raphaël Corniche de l’Esterel
Our GPS track in shown below. Just ignore the small marked detour at Sainte-Baume!
Recently the local newspaper, Nice Matin, wrote about a 24-year old talented chef from Nice, Julia Sedefdjian, who only a year after opening her restaurant Baieta in Paris got a Michelin star. The menu in her restaurant reflects her roots in Nice. One of the dishes is her version of bouillabaisse; steamed fish served with sauce niçoise.
But what is sauce niçoise? Julia’s recipe is of course her secret so I googled sauce niçoise and it seems that there are several versions with different vegetables. I tried and modified different French recipes and settled with the following recipe which I think goes best with white fish fillets and at the same time reflects the choice of typical ingredients here in Nice.
By all means add some seafood to your choice of baked or steamed white fish fillets if you wish your dish reflect more bouillabaisse. You can also use more anchovy fillets if you like. I used them sparingly because I didn’t want them to overpower the delicate taste of fletan, halibut, which was my choice of fish. Serve your fish with some greens and new potatoes, lentils or grains. In the photo, the fish is served with wilted spinach and panisses, local chickpea cakes.
2 servings sauce niçoise
2 small and tasty tomatoes
1 shallot
1 clove garlic
4 anchovy fillets
4 black olives, pitted
2 tbsp. olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
Dip the tomatoes into boiling water for 1- 2 minutes, then peel and coarsely chop them. In a small casserole, warm olive oil over medium- low heat. Peel and chop the shallot and peel and mince the garlic. Add them to the casserole and sauté for 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, anchovies, olives, and black pepper. You can first soak the anchovies in water for 10 minutes to reduce the amount of salt in them.
Let all the ingredients simmer for 5 minutes. With a hand-held mixer, purée the sauce. It will be quite thick, you can add 1- 2 tbsp. of boiling water if you wish. Place the fish on the plates and divide the sauce around it.
Théoule-sur-Mer (36 km from Nice) is a small coastal town between Mandelieu-La Napoule and Miramar. The landscape here is already more provençale and the Esterel mountains with their typical red colours add a special spice to the surroundings.
This easy walk called Circuit d’Aguille starts from the Esplanade of Charles de Gaulle in the town centre.
We walked along the paved promenade Pradayrol to Plage de l’Aguille where the trail forked uphill. We first ascended to signpost #515 and then descended to Pointe de l’Aguille. After admiring the magnificent pebble beach of Gardanne we took the same path back, continued to the coastal road RD6098, turned right, and followed it about 100 m. We then forked left and continued along rue de l’Allée des Pins then rue A.Ballif.
At signpost #518 (pointing to St Hubert, Théoule Supérieur) we forked right and followed another good trail to the highest point of this walk. Best views were to the north and east (The Napoule Bay and Cannes). The trail continued towards St Hubert above Théoule-sur-Mer, and we soon reached paved streets. We took Chemin de la Calade (steep stairs down), crossed the main RD 6098 road again before reaching our starting point.
We hope our GPS track shown below is useful, as well as the description in the Randoxygène guide (in French; link above)
Duration: about 1h 35
Distance: about 5 km
Elevation gain: about 200 m (includes detour to the Gardanne beach)
Map: 3544 ET Fréjus St-Raphaël Corniche de l’Esterel
Here is another great recipe to make when Mediterranean blood oranges are in season. I have chosen fresh duck legs, cuisses de canard, which have less fat than the traditional confit de canard, duck legs preserved in their own fat and salt.
Braising which means first lightly frying and then slowly stewing under lid makes the duck legs fondant, tender and melting.
2 servings
2 fresh duck legs
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp. flour
100 ml red wine
100 ml chicken stock
1 organic blood orange, zest and juice
6 baby turnips
1 bouquet garni, a bay leaf and some thyme sprigs tied together
Freshly ground black pepper
Place a heavy casserole such as Le Creuset over medium- low heat and gently fry the duck legs on both sides until golden brown.
Add the onion and garlic and continue sautéing for about 5- 10 minutes.
Add the flour and mix. Then add the wine, stock, and orange zest. Peel the turnips, cut the larger ones in halves and add to the casserole. Add the bouquet garni and some black pepper and simmer covered for 1 hour.
Juice the blood orange. Turn the duck legs over, pour the juice over them and continue simmering partly covered for 40- 50 minutes.
Le Cannet is located about 3 km north of Cannes. It is a chic; surprisingly quiet town and many small streets still have the atmosphere of a small South of France village.
The post-impressionist painter Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947) left Paris and stayed over 20 years in Le Cannet. The Bonnard Museum in a Belle Epoque house is situated on the Boulevard Sadi Carnot next to the town hall.
In early autumn, when we visited the museum, the air was cooler and the crowds had left the Riviera. We found a free parking on Bd Sadi Carnot. There’s a small parking house behind the museum. From Cannes, there is also a bus connection.
The Bonnard Museum is beautifully built, but it is small compared with the huge Paris museums. The museum opened in 2011, and it co-operates with Le Musée d’Orsay in Paris.
This summer’s exhibition, Inspirentes Inspiratrices, was dedicated to the ladies who had inspired Bonnard, Matisse, Vuillard, Picasso and many other renown painters and sculptors. Despite its size, the exhibition had a very high quality.
After the museum, we walked up along a narrow lane to Rue Saint-Sauveur. We had lunch on a large terrace with several restaurants while admiring the view down to Cannes and the Mediterranean Sea.
Poulet au citron, lemon chicken, is a classic French winter dish when lemons are in season. It is usually made with citron confit, preserved lemons. I have found a recipe to quickly make preserved lemons in microwave, and with less salt than in the traditional recipes. Make sure that you use organic lemons because the secret of the taste in preserved lemons is that they are not peeled.
Citron confit express,2 servings
1 organic lemon
50 ml water
A pinch of salt
Wash the lemon and cut into small pieces. Place all the ingredients in a small microwave bowl. Cover and microwave for 2 minutes, then mix. Repeat the process five times, then place the bowl in the fridge for 24 hours before using. In a pinch, citron confit express can be used at once but the consistence is better after 24 hours in the fridge.
2 servings Poulet au citron
4 organic chicken thighs, with skin
1 shallot
1 clove garlic
2 servings citron confit express
1 organic lemon
2 thyme sprigs
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp. olive oil
100 ml water
Fresh thyme leaves to decorate
In a heavy casserole, cocotte, warm the olive oil over medium heat and fry the chicken thighs on both sides until golden brown. Chop the shallot and mince the garlic and add to the casserole. Continue cooking for a few minutes.
Wash the lemon, cut into six segments and add to the casserole. Add the citron confit express, thyme? Water, and black pepper.
Cover and reduce the heat. Simmer for 45 minutes. Decorate with fresh thyme leaves and serve with new potatoes or green lentils.
NB! If you wish to have a deeper colour on the chicken thighs and lemon segments roast the dish without lid in 210° C for the last 20 minutes.
Magret et clémentines, duck breast with clementines, is a perfect winter recipe when Corsican clementines are in season. Almost 80% of the French clementine production comes from Corsica and these days organic clementines are available.
2 servings
1 magret de canard, duck breast
4- 6 organic Corsican clementines
1 organic orange, zest and juice
100 ml water
1 tbsp. runny honey, pref. lavender honey
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper
Chopped parsley to decorate
In a small saucepan, warm the honey, water, and orange zest over low heat. Let simmer for about 15 minutes.
Criss- cross the fatty side of the duck breast with a small sharp knife. In a heavy iron-cast frying pan over medium-high heat, fry the magret 8 minutes on the fatty side, then 6 minutes on the meat side. If you prefer your duck breast more well done, cook for 10 minutes on the fatty side. Place the duck breast on a cutting board and cover with aluminium foil.
Pour the fat out of the pan and set the pan over medium heat. Deglaze the pan with the orange juice and add the red wine vinegar. Peel the clementines and add the clementine segments to the pan. Reduce the heat and let the clementines cook for a few minutes. Add the honey- orange zest confit from the saucepan.
Slice the duck breast and divide on the plates. Divide the clementines on the plates and drizzle over the sauce. Decorate with chopped parsley and serve with green lentils or beans.
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