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French-Italian-villages-France-Italy
French-Italian-villages-France-Italy

French Italian villages near Monaco.

Beautiful French Italian villages only 30 minutes to the Côte d’Azur.

French Italian villages near Monaco, one of them Saorge is a very beautiful  village perched along a narrow rock spur that juts out into the Vallée de la Roya, high above the river. Saorge is classed as one of the “40 most beautiful villages of France“. The main village streets traverse narrowly between the buildings at very different levels, with smaller streets and steps leading up and down between them. The view from anywhere in the village is spectacular, looking outward to snow-capped mountains in the middle distance (into May and June) and the deep gorge and rushing white-water river below. My best travel tip for this area is to base yourself in the central village of Breil Sur Roya, from here you can easily reach all the wonderful surrounding villages similar to SaorgeSaorge is 11 km north of Breil Sur Roya where we were based. There are so many interesting French & Italian villages north of Monaco, you can spend weeks exploring this area.

Saorge, one of the beautiful French villages

French Italian villages near Monaco

One of my best trips was staying in Breil Sur Roya in the south of France, 45 minutes north of Monaco. Our landlord was Riny Doyle, who rents a cute 2 bedroom apartment in the village where we stayed, he has a 2 rooms B&B in his villa called l’Abricot. Riny  invited us on a couple of occasions to sample some local cuisine and barbecue at the “villa“, Riny & Susan are wonderful hosts, their hospitality was fantastic, I hope to visit them at Breil again sometime in the future. This is certainly one of the nicest French Italian villages near Monaco.

Riny Doyle’s home in Breil Sur Roya.

French Italian villages near Monaco

A beautiful setting foe a memorable lunch.

Lunch with Riny & Susan

French Italian villages near Monaco

Many thanks to Riny & Susan for their wonderful hospitality.

Riny’s B & B at Breil Sur Roya.

French Italian villages near Monaco

This is the great outdoor kitchen at one of Riny Doyle’s B & Bs on top of the mountain in Breil Sur Roya.

The French and Italian rail lines run through Breil so it is very easy to travel anywhere. There is a great market every Friday at Ventimiglia on the border 30 minutes drive or 20 minutes by train from Breil.  The lovely French village of Breil-sur-Roya is particularly known for trout fishing. The Roya river runs through town and is open to trout anglers from March to September. Part of the trout run is reserved for fly-fishing. Trout anglers share the river with white water rafters, another popular local sport. The streets are narrow and many of the old houses are nicely restored or truly ancient. On the main square you’ll find many buildings painted with trompe-l’oeil scenes. The heart of the town is the narrow old streets parallel to the river, lined with high buildings, and the even narrower connecting streets (ruelles) that pass as tunnels through the buildings.

Lunch with Riny

French Italian villages near Monaco

Riny was a great host, an Aussie who has lived in Europe for many years.

Looking across the lake in Breil Sur Roya

French Italian villages near Monaco

The village sits beside the lake below the mountains.

View from our apartment

French Italian villages near Monaco

The photo above is the view of Breil Sur Roya taken from the balcony of Riny Doyle’s 2 bedroom apartment.

Jodie O’Neill & Deborah Holliday

French Italian villages near Monaco

The girls are happy after their shopping spree at the Ventimiglia market.

Here is a video clip of Riny’s B & B.  

Riny's Bed & Breakfast in the South of France.
 

Airole

French Italian villages near Monaco

  One of the nicest French Italian villages 14 km south of Breil and 14 km north of Ventimiglia on the coast is Airole. A beautiful Italian medieval village with a population of 461, it has a delightful town square where the locals meet to chat, play chess & enjoy a vino or an espresso.

Cold beer in Airole.

 French Italian villages near Monaco

Enjoying a beer in the village square.

Australian blonds drinking wine in Italy

For a good room rate in this area just book through THIS LINK.

French Italian villages Roya Valley.

French Italian villages near Monaco

The Upper Roya Valley begins at the Col de Tende (1871 m) on the French-Italian border. It runs south about 35 km to Breil-sur-Roya and then another 8 km to where it crosses back into Italy. (The Lower Roya Valley flows into the Mediterranean at Ventimiglia.) The Upper Roya Valley is a region of mountains and valleys, with swift rivers, thick forests, and villages with an Italian flavor.

La Brique

French Italian villages near Monaco

The village is both pretty and interesting, with colorful buildings, ancient churches, arcades, vaulted passages, streets to explore, and the pleasure of a fast-flowing river that’s joined by a mountain stream in the center. The stream is called “Rio Sec”, or dry river, but was full of spring water when we were there. Many of the buildings are of natural stone and many are nicely renovated with pastel facades and green doorways and steps. The 14th-c medieval Chateau des Lascaris perched above the village is in ruins, with only some walls and a tall, round donjon tower remaining. Partial reconstruction, however, has been started, and the castle is used for medieval festival weekends. Reconstruction will be followed by archaeological digs on the site.

Fanghetto

French Italian villages near Monaco

  The tiny village of Fanghetto in Italy is 10 km south of Breil & has a population of 10 people, and the only reason I include it in this post is there is one delightful restaurant that only opens for 3 or 4 evenings each week for dinner. It is like eating in somebody’s home, the food is wonderful.

French Italian villages

French Italian villages near Monaco

Great food, Veal Escalopes with Mushrooms in Fanghetto, magnificent.

Sospel in the south of France.

French Italian villages near Monaco

Sospel dates back to the 5th century, when it served as an important staging post on the royal road from Nice to Turin. The old toll bridge used by travellers to cross the Bévéra, built in the 13th century, still stands. It was bombed by the Germans during World War II to prevent contact between the French Resistance (“The Maquis”) and the Italians. Much of the town was destroyed. Renovated after World War II it now houses the tourist office. Ruins of a tower, part of a château belonging to the counts of Provence, are all that remain of the 14th century city walls. (From Wikipedia)

For an excellent room rate is Sospel or nearby just book through THIS LINK.

Deborah, Riny, Jody & David Herd.

French Italian villages near Monaco

Welcome drinks at the local railway station.

Super travel tips.

French Italian villages near Monaco

Breil Sur Roya is the perfect place to stay if you want to explore the French Italian villages in this wonderful area. So convenient to take the train or drive to the French Riviera or Cinque Terre in Italy, or you can just spend  days wandering around all the wonderful medieval French & Italian villages perched on top of the surrounding mountains. Book your hotel here for guaranteed lowest rates + you decide when to pay, now or later.

 

Accommodation. To rent a very nice two bedroom apartment in Breil Sur Roya email Otherwise you can have  B&B rooms at the Villa l’Abricot  on top of the hill with great views, email [email protected]

 
Hotel bookings. Here is a great site , book now & decide when to pay, now or when you check out.
 
The French Riviera is at your doorstep and offers all the pizzazz, style & opulence you could ask for. I suggest however you also consider the lessor know Italian Riviera, specifically the Cinque Terre. I’m surprised how many people I speak to who don’t realise this wonderful area exists, do yourself a favor and check it out. However please remember you can spend weeks exploring the many interesting French Italian villages north of Monaco.
 
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For a great room rate at the A-One hotel opposite the beach just book through THIS LINK.               

 

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 That’s all folks

1g Duck

 

               

La vie en rose - Louis Armstrong
                               

  Here is my post on Brussels.

 

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A short drive or train trip will take you to Cinque Terre

 

Counter only started June 16 2020.

Author: David Herd

My history, particularly over the last 30 years is dominated by overseas travel. I sold my home in Australia October 20th 2011 and have have been living in Thailand since then. I don’t know where the time has gone? It seems like you go to sleep one night, wake up the next morning, and 20 years have flashed by. Not sure how many years I have left, however I have enjoyed a wonderful charmed life, and if it all ended today I would leave this world with no regrets. I was born in Sydney halfway through the last century, started my travels in the 60s with the usual U.K. Europe adventure at the age of 20, back to Australia and worked in Sydney, Melbourne & Adelaide in Sales & Marketing with multinational companies including Sanyo, Canon & Remington. Engaged to be married 3 times and never quite made it to the alter, finally realized by the mid 90s I was not cut out for "long term relationships" so I moved to the Gold Coast in Queensland in January 1987, worked for a couple of banks as a Financial Planner, I took a year off work in 1998 to travel and never went back to full time work again, after 25 fun filled years on the Coast I packed up and moved to Thailand. What is the purpose of this blog? Well I really want to use it to record my travel experiences & to display my photographs, give and receive travel tips, comment on places I visit, restaurants I eat in and use it to replace the autobiography I intended to write, apart from all that it helps me fill in my day. :) I moved to Thailand mainly because I wanted to keep travelling while my health allowed me to, there are huge advantages being closer to all the places I want to visit. Cost of living in Thailand is around 35% of the cost in Australia, plus flights are 50% cheaper because you are much closer to everywhere. ???? Consequently I am able to travel to many more places compared to living in Australia. Having said all that, it is & has always been my intention to return to Australia when my travelling is finished, I predict this will happen around 2021.

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