Discovering the Ruins of a Medieval Village Behind Nice

The French Riviera never fails to astound me, no sooner have I crossed something off my ‘To-Do’ list than a new place / adventure presents itself.

This week we ventured up into the backhills of Nice to discover the ruins of the abandoned medieval village of Chateauneuf Villevieille – Chateauneuf des Contes.

View out to sea from the Medieval Ruins

The history of the village is an interesting story - The original settlement, which dates back to Roman times, was further down the valley from the ruins and prospered until the 6^th Century. However, following invasions from the Lombards and the Saracens, the villagers decided to take refuge on the nearest rocky peak and built themselves the fortified village of Castel Nuovo – Chateauneuf which was much more easily defended. 

Catching a glimpse of the ruins from the path up

Here they remained for over 1000 years until around the end of the 17^th Century.   A new era of peace was welcomed in, thanks in part to the signing of the peace treaty in Aix-La-Chapelle in 1748, and the villagers expressed a desire to return down the valley to the more fertile lands. The original settlement was re-inhabited and the medieval village on the hilltop was progressively deserted. By 1866 only two families still lived there. Back down in the valley the population thrived with agricultural activities especially the growing of beans, cherries and olives.

It is one of the best examples of ‘perchement’ and ‘deperchement’ – ‘moving up the hill’ and ‘moving back down the hill’ due to a basic human search for, primarily, security and then agricultural prosperity.

The drive up from Nice takes you through Saint Andre de la Roche and then Tourettes  Levens with it’s sculptures and perched chateau until you reach the junction at Colombiers. Take the right fork on to the M815 and this will bring you up to the Col De Chateauneuf. (06390 Châteauneuf-Villevieille, 43.800443, 7.292793)

It is approximately 1h drive from Cannes.

The ruins

There is a decent amount of shady parking and the trail head is well marked to the ruins. The walk actually starts on a road with a rather cool name – Route des Chevaliers de Malte (The Maltese horsemen’s road!). The walk sets off up the road but very quickly you follow a footpath off to the left signed to the ruins. This path brings you up to the ruined village tantalizing you with glimpses of some of the buildings before you actually arrive.

Eventually you will reach a crossroads and here you go left to actually visit the ruined village. 

The crossroadswhere you go left to visit the ruins.

Wander around the ruined walls, soak up the magical atmosphere of the memories the place holds, and of course the spectacular views in all directions. You could spend a whole day here as there is so much to see! Please be very careful of exposed edges and unsafe structures, especially with children in your party.

Some of the areas have been reconstructed by local heritage groups and you may see continuing renovation work.

Overgrown ruins

After your visit return to the crossroads and continue straight to the chapel and information board. 

You can now continue your walk up to Mont Macron (see below), spend some time picnicking on the big grassy area and / or just return back to the cars either via the same footpath or the road.

Crete du Mont Macron - (details include the hike up to the ruins from the car)

Total Distance: 7km     Elevation: 300m     Estimated Time: 3 hours   Difficulty: Easy/Medium

We continued our walk up to Mont Macron, the path is well-marked and not too strenuous and once at the top you will be rewarded with some magnificent 360 degree views.

Heading up to Mont Macron

Lunch at Mont Macron

The circuit then descends down quite a steep rocky path before turning right to follow the edge of the hillside back to the chapel beside the ruins.

You can then return via the road or footpath back to the cars at the bottom.

The full walk details can be found here on Randoxygene: Mont Macron Hike details

Looking back at the village and chapel

TOP TIP: The total loop takes approximately 3 hours but that does not include time to explore the ruins so make sure you leave yourself plenty of time to both explore the village and continue the hike.

Accommodation:
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