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Gorges

We will be travelling from Nice to St. Remy and wish to see some of the canyons without spending too much time before reaching St. Remy. What is the best route to take and how much time is needed to adequately experience this area?

Posted by
9110 posts

Assuming you mean Gorges de Verdon since Gorges is a town in Pays de la Loire, what does 'experience' mean: climbing, hiking, driving the rim - - and how long do you have really have - - and where are you coming from headed toward St Remy?

The best hike is close to eight hours one way and hard to do as an out-and-back in daylight. If just driving, the best views of the canyon from the road lies along the north side and you'd have to figure about thirty-five miles an hour plus stops - - the problem being that getting to and from that one-hour road segment might involve quite a deviation at each end.

Any way you cut it, it's not a casual operation.

Edit: Ack, missed Nice. Figure six hours for the route, maybe closer to seven. Straight shot is well less than three.

Posted by
149 posts

Ed, what are your thoughts on Gorges du Loup as a less time-demanding alternative? Like Chistine, my wife and I will also be driving from Nice to Provence (Lacoste) in May and I'm considering the inland Riviera en route. I'm thinking of doing Gorges du Loup between Tourettes-sur-Loup and Gourdon. We don't intend to hike, just take in the scenery between villages.

Posted by
9110 posts

The Loup gorge is narrower, but the road is right down in it.
The problem is that the stinking vegetation in the green seasons blocks the view for more than half of the time. (I'm a hiker, so a bit prejudiced.)

There's a heck of a lot to see in Provence, just what's in guidebooks let alone the backwaters, so I wouldn't make an effort to just drive any of the canyons unless they happened to be connecting routes between two points.

One good exception is the little walk (twenty minutes if you dawdle) to the source of the Vaucluse where it comes out of all the springs. The stroll starts from the parking lot at Fontaine-de-Vaucluse which is about a fifteen minute drive to the east from L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue.

Edit: Working off a damn phone and can't remember what I just read. In your case it's not going to take much longer and the scenery is better than using the secondary roads that split off close to Cagnes-sur-Mer and comes in to Gourdon from the south.

Posted by
149 posts

Thanks Ed, that's the insight I was looking for. Like you, I'm a hiker. My wife...less so. There are other days on the trip that will require a bit of hiking so I have to be mindful in its allocation. Any thoughts on adding the Col de Vence and Coursegoules for the views as part of the Inland Riviera from Nice? We'll be finishing the day in Lacoste where we'll stay three nights.

Posted by
3696 posts

Have to say if you have time to give Vaucluse a look. Had a wonderful day there a few years ago... one of my favorite stops in the area. Some nice restaurants and a bit of shopping as well. Beautiful town.

Posted by
9110 posts

Both Col de Vence and Coursegoules are worth a stop. They're obviously different, but it'd be hard pressed to pick one over the other.