When most people think of the Côte d’Azur, they visualize elegant, glittering cities like Cannes, Nice, St. Tropez or Antibes. Grand hotels and opulent beaches. Extravagant villas, splendid boulevards and stylish promenades. Of course, all of this is true but what many people who never venture very far from the …

Active Provence Winter Holiday It’s never too early to start thinking about your winter getaway. Perhaps the warm winter sunshine along the French Riviera coast in Provence is tempting. Maybe you are drawn to traditional skiing and snowboarding in France’s Savoie region or in Liguria’s Piedmont. We are truly blessed …

Mercantour Merveilles Valley History It’s hard to imagine even today what drew early Man to this remote valley in the Mercantour. The Merveilles Valley is the Alpes-Maritimes’ natural treasure trove. The area inspired Bronze Age Man to create tens of thousands of carvings on the creamy coloured rocks. They leave …

Walking Long Distance in France The impressive network of GRs (Grandes Randonnées) in France is no secret to keen hikers. Here, in the Alpes-Maritimes (Département 06), walkers from all over the world tackle the long distance trails including GR 5/52/52A among other routes. Here, is a listing of some of the …

It’s true, that since the days of M. Mayle’s “Year in Provence” – if not before – that the very mention of Provence seems to manage to make, even the most stalwart and practical among us, swoon. We, at Space Between are semi usurpers – clinging on to the boundaries …

Wow is the word for Notre Dame de la Menour, 800m high in the wild mountains inland from the Riviera coast. It began as a Romanesque chapel linked to the defensive walls—you can see the nearby ruins. The chapel was rebuilt in the 17th century and oriented correctly to the …

Whether you are a keen skier, you probably recognize famous French ski resorts such as Val d’Isère, Courchevel, Chamonix, Méribel and Megève. It may surprise some people that besides lavender and rosé, Provence has several ski resorts readily accessible from major centres such as Aix-en-Provence, Marseille and Nice. So, if …

It was a hot, humid August day, so we took our time over lunch in a restaurant near the Place du Grand Jardin. None of us had much energy to wander, even though our plan was for Steve Wilkison to give us a walking tour of his adopted hometown. Steve, …

A Sea of Sheep I pressed my back tight against the stone facade of the ancient house on the narrow street where I stood. Around me were dozens of other people doing the same. How, I wondered, was that huge mass of sheep barreling toward us going to fit through? …

At first blush, many visitors may not realize that the Alpes-Maritimes department expands from the beaches of the French Riviera to the ski resorts of the southern Alps to the Italian border. Surrounded by the Var and the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, the Alpes-Maritimes has densely populated urban areas, famous Côte d’Azur cities, …