Belvedere: Holiday Apartments and Holiday Homes

The Gordolasque Valley lies 12 kilometres upstream from Belvédère. The Gordolasque is a tributary of the Vésubie, lies within Mercantour National Park and forms an alpine valley.

Anyone wishing to rent a holiday apartment in Belvedere can consider this village as a destination.

Geographical location

From Nice, the starting points for the hiking trails in the Gordolasque can be reached by travelling up the Vésubie Valley, passing Belvédère and continuing along the Gordolasque road to its end.

Nature

The Vallée des Merveilles can only be reached on foot from the Gordolasque. Trout fishing is possible in the Gordolasque mountain stream.

Culture and history

The parish church of Saint-Pierre and Saint-Paul in Belvédère dates from the 17th century and has a square bell tower made of tuff. The Chapelle Saint-Antoine on Rue Saint-Antoine dates from the late 15th century and houses an altar, paintings and murals.

The forgotten chapel trail in Belvédère is a hiking trail that explores rural chapels, as well as the religious heritage and local history. The Chapelle du Planet lies above Belvédère on the GR52A and is dedicated to Regina Coeli Fenestra. The Chapelle Saint-Grat in the Gordolasque is associated with protective practices used by farmers against storms and crop pests.

The protective ritual known as Coulagno is still practised today in the Chapelle Saint-Blaise, and the chapel offers views of the Vésubie Valley. The ensemble comprising the Vallée des Merveilles and Fontanalbe is classified as a historic monument. More than 36,000 rock engravings from the Copper and Bronze Ages have been discovered in the Vallée des Merveilles.

Traditions

The Fête de la Polente takes place the day after Mardi Gras. On the Place des Tilleuls, there are seven square stone areas and a large area that is still used for cooking the sauce and polenta over a fire. The festival “Le retour des bergers” takes place on Saint Michael’s Day; the herds descend from the summer pastures into the village, and the shepherds are celebrated by the entire population.

The Saint-Blaise festival is celebrated every year on 3 February in the chapel of the same name and includes a mass as well as a cabbage farandole led by the couples who were most recently married during the previous year.

The Musée du Lait displays historic equipment used to make butter and cheese, as well as old tools from shepherds’ working lives. The Musée du Lait has been housed in the former dairy cooperative since 1911 and conveys traditional knowledge of butter and cheese production. It can be visited by prior appointment through the information office of the Office de Tourisme Métropolitain Nice Côte d’Azur.

Other places in this selection: Sainte-Agnès, Cuébris, Lantosque, Mouans-Sartoux, Fontan, Marie, Valbonne, Magagnosc.

To the higher-level travel overview: Alpes-Maritimes.