So said Nietzsche, as he climbed the steep path that leads from the shore to Eze and revived step by step, at the time of day when the molten sun dilutes in the water: Eze, jewel of the perched villages on our French Riviera.

From the Mediterranean beaches, back turned to the sea, one can make them out, balanced on a bare cliff, fixed to a rocky balcony or drowned in a crown of greenery encircling a dome which overlooks the valleys. In all, there are over 100, spread over 163 districts on the French Riviera.

Without exception, all of them are witnesses to the history of Alpes-Maritimes whether political, military – Vauban increased the ramparts in the area – economic, religious and artistic...  All have welcomed the great figures which are part of our heritage: Nietzsche at Eze, Saint-Exupéry or Camus at Cabris, Éluard, Picasso, Cocteau or Man Ray at Mougins, Chagall, Montand, Signoret, Prévert at Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Bréa in the Haut Pays Niçois. They came, no doubt, because the imagination is more fertile near the sky with paradise unfolding far below for those on the lookout for it.

So, whether the sky is clear or the clouds threatening, it’s time to be adventurous and set off up and up into the mountains to explore the high altitude Riviera.

From Cannes, the road climbs up to Grasse, passing by Mougins and then Cabris with its viewing point towards l'Estérel and Lac de Saint-Cassien. There is nothing against going even higher, with frequent stops before getting back to Aiglun and the waterfall at Vegay which unleashes its icy curtain for 140 meters.
Winding under the pines, roads with hairpin bends lead to the border of the River Var, where Bonson, fixed to the spine of a rocky outcrop, watches over the valley and, in summer, lives to the rhythm of the thrills of artistic freedom during the “Peu” Festival.

But, to tell the truth, every valley has its crowning jewel, not rare, but each one absolutely unique.
The Gorges du Loup is the setting for Gourdon, the eagle’s nest, the French Riviera’s true balcony, from where the passionate lovers of hang-gliding take their run up, the setting too for Cipières. In La Vesubie, wolves’ den in the heart of Borean, Venanson stretches along the length of a rocky outcrop with its barns and cowsheds clustered around a 17th Century church.
In La Tinée, the height is intoxicating at Bairols, which promises us paradise if only we go round it...without falling, or there is Ilonse. At Entrevaux, even higher, one sets foot in the Middle Ages.

In la Roya, seven churches, one housing a listed Italian organ, govern the life of Saorge, while Tende looks out over the Vallée des Merveilles and the hamlet of Granile, buried in the depth of the mountains, hides extremely rare trompe l’oeil frescoes.

In the Paillon valley,there is Lucéram standing proud with its seven chapels and, at Christmas, hundreds of Nativity scenes, and also Peille, classé counted as one of the most beautiful sites in France, where there used to be a gallows and, much later, room for the rebel poet, Leo Ferré.

In the Menton area not far from Eze, one appreciates the might of Rome in discovering the Trophée d’Auguste at La Turbie, from where you can enjoy the most spectacular view of the Manhattan of the French Riviera, the Principality of Monaco, with its towers and as well, a palace perched on a rock.