Aspremont - Provence Web


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Aspremont

Pop. : 1,869 h Area : 944 ha Alt. : 530 m

Department of the Alpes Maritimes

13 km north of Nice, by the D14.

8 photos

From the top of its promontory, Aspremont still towers over the Var plain as it did in the Middle Ages when the village was a stronghold of the Counts of Provence, and then of noble families such as Chateauneuf, Chabaud, Marquesan, Borriglione, etc.

When you enter Aspremont you will discover a superb perched village where there are still some souvenirs of that distant past: the platform on which the castle was built, and further north at the top on Mont Cima there are some ruins, all that is left of the original village.

Aspremont used to be fortified, and is an unusual perched village. Its houses are built in a spiral, in concentric circles around its beautiful gothic church, forming a sort of crown around the summit of the hill.

The village itself is also surrounded by circular terraced fields, where typically Mediterranean fruit trees, vines and olives trees grow.

Aspremont is overlooked by Mont Chauve, ("Mount Bald), a spur of bare rock 1053 metres high, where stands yet another abandoned fortress: Fort d'Aspremont built at the end of the 19th century. All that remains is the surrounding wall, a ditch spanned by a bridge, pillboxes built on three levels, and a powder magazine.

Any visit to the village of Aspremont requires some physical effort (very steep stairs), but the reward is waiting at the end of the road: cobbled alleys, vaulted passageways, some magnificent medieval houses built from dressed stone and more recent colourful housefronts, secret gardens and flower-filled terraces with their bougainvilleas and laurels, small fountains and a large wash-house, nooks and crannies, etc.

And everywhere you will be dazzled by the same view of the Big Blue in the distance: pure paradise!

Historic sites to visit :

13th century church: St Jacques Le Majeur.
St Claude chapel and St Roch
Ruins of the medieval village : Villevieille.
Birthplace of François Xavier de Maistres.

Leisure activities :

Hiking and mountain biking. Tennis.
Summer festivals :
Fête de la St Claude 6 June,
fête de la St Jacques 24 and 25 July
Antique fair, end of September.

Tourist facillities :

2 hotel-restaurants.

Neighbouring villages :

Castagniers (4km), Tourette-Levens (6km),
Colomars (6km), Falicon (10km).