We had decided to explore Le Val d’Escreins on the first day of our three-day stay in Vars. A natural reserve situated between the Vars Valley and Queyras, it is called “little Canada” in the local guide because of its forests and steep impressive mountain ranges on both sides.
From the main D902 road, the valley can be reached along a paved although narrow road that goes as far as Refuge de Basse Rua (1760 m). The upper valley in the southeast is surrounded by 3000 m+ mountains, such as Pic de la Font Sancte (3385 m).
The Valley offers both easy trails for families and more demanding hikes that go over 3000 m. There are discovery trails where one can become acquainted with the local flora and fauna.
We planned an afternoon hike there, and chose to take the trail that went to the upper valley to an oratory, and to combine it with sentier des arbresremarquables, a path that ran parallel to the main trail for a while (marked as purple in the image).
We started from the parking at the refuge, and followed the trail (also a GR trail) to the oratory following the Rif Bel torrent (signposted and marked with purple signs). At about 2100 m elevation, we forked left (the GR trail continued southeast), and started to ascend more steeply, still mainly in the woods. The oratory came into sight just above the tree line at about 2300 m elevation.
On the way back, we took the right-hand trail a bit below the oratory signposted as arbres remarquables. The forest was beautiful as expected, but not exceptional. However, the path was better than the one we climbed on the way up. We soon joined the main trail again, and headed back to the starting point.
La Merenda is a tiny restaurant in Vieux Nice that still serves authentic Niçoisecuisine. It all started in 1966 when Jean and Christiane Giusti opened the restaurant not far from the Cours Saleya. La merenda in nissart means a snack.
In 1996 Dominique Le Stanc, the famous 2-star chef from Negresco, took over. He brought his expertise to La Merenda respecting the culinary traditions of the region.
There are small wooden tables that can only be reserved by going there personally. No cheques or credit cards are accepted, and you cannot phone the restaurant. If Le Stanc’s bicycle is parked in front of La Merenda, it means that the restaurant is open. It is closed Saturdays and Sundays.
The menu features classic Niçois dishes: pissaladière, stockfish, pâtes aux pistou,sardines farcies, daube de bœuf à l’orange…The menu changes slightly according to the season. This is where you come when you want to taste beautifully prepared local cuisine.
We have visited Le Merenda before in summertime which is the best season for the cuisine du soleil of Nice. At quarter past 12 on a July Monday the tiny restaurant was already full. We were again just as impressed by the happy and simple atmosphere and great food with local wine.
For starters, we chose Tarte à la tomate and Beignets de fleur courgette. For main courses, we had Petits farcis et mesclun and Lentilles saucisses “Perugina”. Don’t worry about the French names of the dishes, they can explain them in English if needed.
And in La Merenda you can well order dessert because the portions are modest in size. We both had Salade de peches aux framboises. Delicious!
We got inspiration for this hike called Les Crêtes de la Selle from a hiking booklet purchased from the Var tourist office.
It was our 3rd hiking day in Vars. As on the day before, this hike started from the charming village of Ste-Catherine (10 minutes by car from les Claux, the main resort in the Vars Valley). We used the same parking in front of the school (parking des écoles).
La Selle (2405 m) is actually a point on the ridge called Les crêtes de la Selle, and also the highest point of this loop trail.
We soon saw that this trail was much less frequented than the two previous itineraries. We hiked along a dirt road south-southeast till we crossed a bridge (Pont de la Salce) over the Chagnon Torrent, then continued along a good trail in the woods named Bois de Laver. There were yellow markings. Once over the tree line, we continued in the same general direction having the summit of Paneyron in front of us, and Peynier with its mast on the right-hand side. The landscape consisted of vast alpine meadows, with lot of animal-made paths.
Eventually we reached Cabane du Vallon, and a big flock of cattle nearby. At the hut, we turned 180° following the trail that still climbed towards the ridge. The markings were perhaps a bit unclear (and some markings had been toppled, the cows perhaps!) as we took the wrong trail. We soon saw the signpost at La Selle (pictured), hiked there, and could start our descent to the Chagnon Torrent Valley. Once there, we followed the torrent and descended back to the dirt road that we had used in the morning.
We didn’t see any other hikers (or herders) up on the ridge. Only on the way down, there was a couple enjoying their picnic by the torrent.
This was another almost clear day, and we could again enjoy the views to Les Ecrins in the north, La Mortice and Point Jean Rostand in the east.
Orange in the Rhône Valley is well known for its magnificent Roman Theatre. In the Roman times, days off were spent at the theatre watching farce, song and dance, and occasionally Greek tragedy. It is said to be the best-preserved Roman Amphitheatre with its 36 m high and 103 m wide stage wall still standing.
In 1869, when still under reconstruction, the first modern time performance was staged, initiating the Summer Opera Festival called Chorégies d’Orange.
Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida was performed on the 2nd and 5th of August in 2017. We were lucky to get tickets in April; there were not that many left at this point! We booked a room at Hôtel Arène, a comfortable hotel in the old town with only about a 5-minute walking distance from the Roman Theatre. We had to book for two nights at a special festival rate. This was not a problem as Orange is in the middle of Côtes du Rhône wine growing area. It is interesting to spend some time visiting the wine shops and vineyards exploring lesser known Côtes du Rhône wines which are difficult to find elsewhere. Having visited Séguret last year, and Châteauneuf-du-Pape previously, we now decided to drive over the Rhône River to explore the wines of the Laudun Chusclan region.
Our visit to Orange coincided with an exceptional heatwave, canicule, with temperatures soaring to 38-39°C in the afternoon. A well air-conditioned hotel room and restaurant were very welcome. We did nevertheless some shopping; cushions were essential! On the day of the opera, we had a light lunch outside under the plane trees before an afternoon nap at our hotel.
The performance started at 21.30 but we were advised to be on venue before 9 PM to find our seats. The weather was now much cooler with some mistral, and even a possibility of thunderstorms was forecasted later that night. Everyone had their fingers crossed that fine weather would last long enough!
Finally, the audience had found their seats, the darkness fell, and exactly at 21.30 the conductor of the orchestra lifted his baton, and the magic of Aida started….
The hike we describe is another great tour from St-Véran (2040 m). The village of St-Véran is situated about 115 km from Nice as the crow flies, and it is a 4-hour drive over Col de la Bonette and Col de Vars. This 10.7 km loop trail is truly alpine as it runs above 2500 m (8200 feet) all the time.
Three mountain passes, two countries, and several lakes; this is Tour de la Têtedes Toillies! The views are stunning all the way but it is essential to choose a clear day for this itinerary that circles Tête de la Toillies (3175m).
To reach our trail head, we took the shuttle bus from St-Véran (5km; 6€ return fare) that runs during the peak season. The shuttle stopped under the Chapelle ofClausis at 2240 m elevation. From here, we walked 2,6 km along a dirt track towards the Refuge de la Blanche following the signposts. At 2500 m we came to a crossroads that marked the start of today’s loop, and headed south towards Col de la Noir (2955 m). Because of the steep ascent to this mountain pass, that also was the highest point of this hike, we had decided to do the loop anticlockwise i.e. to be done with the hardest climb first.
We continued south along a good trail, passing the beautiful Lac de la Noire (2887 m), and descended further south, then southeast. The verdant plateau and Lac de Longet (2641 m) became visible below us. Above the lake, we merged with the GR trail that ascended from Maljasset in the Ubaye Valley. We followed the GR trail east to Col de Longet (2673 m) that marked the Italian border. From Col de Longet, we had a great view of Mont Viso (3841 m) and several lakes on the Italian side.
After a short but steep descent on the Italian side, we came to another crossroads where we forked left heading north towards Col Blanchet (2897 m), where we re-entered France. The vast green upper valley above St-Véran was below us. We descended along a good path, passing Lac Inférieur, and reached the crossroads at 2500 m thus closing the circle. We walked back to the shuttle bus along the same dirt track that we used in the morning. It is possible to take the trail running in the alpine meadows, too.
Elevation gain: 980 m
Distance: 15.8 km (our log starting from the shuttle bus stop)
I have seen, and tried, numerous French recipes for zucchini cakes, galettes decourgettes, where you miraculously fry nice, round and high vegetable cakes from a batter in your frying pan. Well, mine just turn out to be flat and uneven.
So, I thought why not bake these fries in the oven in a non-stick cupcake form, which almost everyone has in the pantry these days. I did it, and the result was so good that I want to share it with you.
Serve these zucchini cupcakes with nice steaks, roasted tomato halves, and a glass of rosé for a carefree summer dinner. The recipe is gluten free.
For 6 zucchini cupcakes:
2 eggs
3 small to medium zucchinis
About 50 g grated Parmesan
A small handful of finely chopped parsley
Freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
Oil a non-stick cupcake form with olive oil.
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Coarsely grate 3 small to medium zucchinis, courgettes. Chop finely the parsley and grate a good handful of parmesan.
Beat the eggs. Add the zucchini, parmesan, parsley, and black pepper and mix well. Divide the mixture into the cupcake form and bake for 25 minutes.
It is possible to start hiking directly from the village of St-Véran, without using the shuttle bus to the most popular trails 5 km or so away.
On the 2nd day of our stay, after having hiked around Tête des Toillies the previous day, we decided to do a shorter hike, and explore the mountain ridge called Montagne de Beauregard above the village. The western flank of the mountain consists of vast alpine meadows, and there are several ski lifts. We could see that this area clearly was less popular although it offered interesting alternatives and great views.
We started the hike straight from our hotel and ended it in a café in St-Véran. We first walked up to Chapelle St-Marie Madeleine above the village. Next to the chapel, there was a signpost that showed the way up along a dirt track to Beauregard and as far as Pic de Chateau Renard. The latter is the highest point of the ridge at 2989 m.
We started ascending along the track as far as a crossroads, where yellow markings indicated that the trail continued left (there were no more signposts), thus leading hikers automatically to Beauregard, to the westernmost tip of the mountain ridge at about 2400 m elevation. It was also the upper station of a ski lift.
To reach the mountain ridge itself, we climbed up from the Beauregard plateau, and very soon found a good trail. We continued along the trail that climbed gently, heading southeast. The ridge consisted of several small mostly unnamed peaks that gradually got higher. The north-eastern flank of the Beauregard Ridge was very steep. Staying away from there, you could well walk outside the trail in most places.
We continued along the ridge till about 2600 m elevation. From here, we had great views down to St-Véran 600 m below us. We started to descend, now taking shortcuts first along the bare upper slope, then along the alpine meadows. We came to the dirt track that we used during the ascent, and walked back to the village.
Note that up on this ridge you can very much make your own hike. It is possible to hike as far as the Pic de Chateau Renard using the trail network and the dirt tracks.
The round summit of Tête de Paneyron (2875 m) dominates the landscape east of Refuge Napoléon 2 km north of Col de Vars (2108 m) by the D902 road. From the summit of Tête de Paneyron, one can see several 3000 m+ peaks, such as La Mortice (3188/3169 m), Aguille de Chambeyron (3412 m) and Brec deChambeyron (3389 m).
Tempting as the summit was, we gathered some hiking info regarding Tête de Paneyron. Finding information was easy as some guidebooks had the description, and more was available online, mostly in French although we found at least one report in English. The trail is marked in the IGN map. Col de Vars in situated 106 km north of Nice as the crow flies, and driving there over Col de la Bonette takes about 3 hours.
We started the hike to Tête de Paneyron from Col de Vars. We walked past the cafeteria heading south about 100 m, then followed a dirt track circling the hill east of Col de Vars as far as to a sheep herder’s hut. A little before the hut, we forked right (east) and crossed a marshy meadow before starting to ascend. Some yellow markings were present, but mostly there were just cairns to show the trail. However, on a clear day it was very well visible all the time.
Higher up, above 2400 m, the trail ran along a ridge called Crete de Vallon des Prises. The incline became steeper at this point, with some loose slate. But even trail runners use this route, so the ascent was never really difficult. We reached a ridge just below the summit. The mountaintop was marked with a large heap of stones as well as with a signpost.
We were lucky with the weather, and could admire the 360° panorama before heading back along the same trail.
Elevation gain: 685 m
Duration: 4 h hiking time. Ascent 2h10.
Distance hiked: 9 km
IGN map: 3538 ET Aguille de Chambeyron Cols de Larche et de Vars
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