Bonson - Provence Web


Français	Magazine	Departments	Villages	Map
	Restaurants	Hotels	Accomm.	Camping

Bonson

Pop. : 603 h. Area : 632 ha Alt. : 485 m
Department of the Alpes Maritimes

35 km from Nice , by the RN 202 for 20 km until the Charles Albert bridge,
then turn left, cross the Var river and take the D17 then the D27.

Bonson is a perched village typical of the Nice hinterland. It clings to the Mont Vial mountain and is built lengthwise like a breathtaking viewing area, overlooking the Var and Estéron valleys from the top of a sheer drop of 300 metres.

Although in the 11th century a fortified château stood where today's cemetery has been built, not all the traces of the past have
disappeared in Bonson, since the large church with a square bell tower that towers over the village purportedly dates back to the 14th century.

Today you can walk round the village, along a street with a panoramic view.

There is no excuse for not taking this walk up and down the village. It will enable you to discover Bonson's intimate streets that are still medieval even today, with their ochre, ivory and orange house fronts and the blue and brown shutters, covered passageways and stone lintels worn by time, terraces with breathtaking views, decorative pottery and earthenware jars where succulents grow.

Similarly you will be impressed by the unforgettable panoramic view to be enjoyed from the top: faraway plains, where the Var and the Vésubie flow, and hills covered with olive and fig trees, some of which have been eroded into strange shapes. An untouched natural setting, just a step away from the tourist-filled Côte d'Azur!

Historic sites to visit :

Church of St Benoît (1494). St Hospice chapel.
Recently restored Chapelle du Passet .
Visits every day from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The remains of a feudal château.

Leisure activities :

Walking (Val d'Estéron paths to the Baisse
du Collet or Saint Hospice chapel).
Feast of St Benoît (end of August).
The olive tree festival (end of June).