Utelle village and southern French Mediterranean Alps day hike

Join UIMLA-certified mountain guide Fabrice on a hiking day trip in the scenic Mercantour National Park, in the French Cote d’Azur. Fabrice will prepare a tailored program based on your background and preferences.

Alps

1 Day

May - Oct

Intermediate

Description

If you are a nature and history enthusiast, and you are staying in Nice, Cannes, Monte Carlo or any other city in the French Riviera (also known as Côte d’Azur), don’t miss this fascinating hiking outing!

Mercantour National Park (685 km²) is a large mountain area comprising 7 valleys, located in the French Riviera region, in the southern Maritime Alps (3,297m). It is the area where the southern French Alps meet the Mediterranean Sea, offering a great variety of landscapes, including rugged mountains, alpine lakes, fir forests, olive groves, and fig trees.

The hike will begin and end at the medieval village of Utelle (2,080m), perched on a hill above the beautiful Vésubie Valley, only an hour away (64km) from Nice Côte d’Azur International Airport. Built as a fortress from non-Roman Saracen raiders who invaded the area during the late Middle Ages, Utelle is one of the 16 villages included by the Métropole Nice Côte d’Azur commune in the famous “Perched Villages’ Route”.

The loop trail will take us from Utelle’s old stone streets up into the mountains. We will hike along Mediterranean terraces full of trees and flowering plants, with stunning views to far away 3,000-meter alpine peaks, still covered in snow during springtime. We will reach the Madone d’Utelle sanctuary (1,174m), a chapel that serves as an annual Catholic pilgrimage site, which overlooks Utelle from the southwest, offering beautiful panoramas all around.

This tour is open for travelers looking for both easy and technical hikes. I can tailor the program to fit your prior hiking experience and preferences.

Explore the picturesque Mercantour National Park in this fascinating getaway from the French Riviera. Send me your booking request now!

If you are looking for similar activities in the area, I recommend the Saorge perched village trek and the Calern Plateau hike near Cannes and the French Riviera.

Price includes

- Guiding fee

Price details

Please note that the price doesn’t include meals. A picnic including fine local products can be provided with an additional €10-charge per person.

The program for groups of 10-12 people costs a total of €300/group. For larger groups, please contact me to request conditions and prices.

Details

More info

We can help you arrange transportation from Monte Carlo, Nice or any other city in the French Riviera. If interested, please contact us for more information and rates.

Required equipment: • Light walking boots • Breathable jacket • Micro fleece and mountain t-shirts (if possible, avoid cotton t-shirts) • Cap • Water bottle (1 liter per person) • Sunscreen and sunglasses

Meeting point

Utelle village (Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, France). It is about an hour drive from Nice Côte d’Azur International Airport, taking M6202 (former N202), M2565, and then M32 routes.

About the guide

Fabrice

4.90

(39)

Mountain Leader

I am a hiking guide (International Mountain Leader) who has been working all over France (including Provence and the Alps), Italy and Portugal since 2001. I speak fluent English due to my frequent trips to Taos Ski Valley (in New Mexico, USA where my family runs a great hotel and ski school), and my hiking trips in the American Southwest.

I live mainly in Nice (French Riviera), but I also move all over the Alps working in different alpine valleys. I often visit Martinique (French Caribbean island), where I enjoy rainforest and tropical hikes.

When I´m not guiding, I also work as a photographer, and like to climb, ski, play tennis, or kitesurf in my spare time. Additionally, I really enjoy botany and history.

I can guide you for a half day or for as many days as you like. I´ll take you to discover my favourite French Riviera alpine region, and the wild and large Mercantour National Park (counting 8 different valleys) near Nice, Monte Carlo and Cannes.

In my region we can enjoy the Mediterranean landscape at sea level. As we move into higher altitudes, we will discover alpine lakes, larch or pine forests, orchids and alpine flowers, open meadows, spectacular medieval perched villages and old baroque chapels and churches, with great historic value.

We can also discover the hiking hotspots in Provence such as Calanques National Park, Verdon gorges, Sainte Victoire and the Var region, with Saint Tropez a particular highlight.

I also love to hike in Italy in the very famous world heritage Cinque Terre (the amazing national park of the "Five Lands"), or in Liguria near San Remo.

And finally, I always enjoy taking my guests to the northern Alps: to Chamonix and Mont Blanc´s amazingly large panoramas or to the great Vanoise National Park, the largest in the heart of French Alps.

Languages

French | English

Certificates

UIMLA

Request more information

What people are saying about Fabrice

Mark

5.00

Highly recommend hiring Fabrice as your guide for exploring southern France. As someone unfamiliar with the region, I wasn't up to the task of planning a hike on my own. Particularly a hike in the winter. Fabrice made it all easy. He is incredibly knowledgeable of the region's geography and weather and so was able to tailor a hike just based on the next day's weather forecast. A critical skill for hiking in December. I learned about the natural landscape, vegetation and even how to hike with less stress on my knees. He also taught me about Nordic hiking which is something I definitely want to try again. For sure, I'll be hiring Fabrice again on my next trip to France.

Sue

5.00

Fabrice is a first-class guide! Taking into account last-minute weather changes and after assessing our fitness, he quickly customised an exciting itinerary that led us from the Préalpes to the beautiful hilltop villages of Gourdon, Tourettes-sur-Loup and Saint-Paul-de-Vence. He pointed out great photo opportunities, so we managed to take plenty of nicely-framed photos on our smartphones. Fabrice also introduced us to the game of pétanque and thanks to him, we were able to understand and appreciate the games as they were being played by the locals during our trip.

Daniel

5.00

Fabrice was a wonderful guide with a wide knowledge of not only the history of the area but the flora and fauna of the French Mediterranean coast. The hike provided beautiful views of the cities along the coast as well as the mountains behind them. Highly recommend both the hike and the guide.

matthew

4.00

Fabrice is an adept guide. He took us on some amazing hikes. We were happy to have him guide us to get the most out of our 3 days in Chamonix.

Elias

5.00

Had a wonderful hike with Fabrice as our hiking guide. Highly recommend! If you are from the East Coast of the U.S., recommend going one skill level down from what you think is the right fit for you, since the elevation/altitude of the Alps makes the hike harder than you are likely used to (less oxygen in the air). I did the "moderate plus" thinking it would be easy for me--it was a serious workout! :)