The [Cap d’Antibes] affords a delightful little walking excursion. To visit the “Cap” from Antibes, leave the town by the small gate, the
Porte Fausse, between the sea and the Porte de France, and then take the first road left by the side of the sea and the telegraph-posts. Ascend the hill, to the church, by the terraced steps of a “Via Crucis,” bordered with the usual 14 chapels, each with a group representing some part of the passion of our Lord. At the top is N. D. d’Antibes, frequented by pilgrims. The north aisle, which is the oldest part of the building, is of the 9th cent. Behind it is the [lighthouse] built in 1836, on a hill 187 ft. above the sea. The building is 82 ft. higher, and ascended by 115 steps. On the top is a fixed white light, visible at a distance of 28 miles. Fee for one person, ½ fr. The view is splendid. Before descending, observe the road to the Villa Thuret and to the Hôtel du Cap, a first-class house, 10 to 14 frs. Omnibus at station. The villa and grounds of Thuret are now a Government school for the culture and study of semi-tropical trees and shrubs. It is said that the first gum trees introduced into France were planted in 1853, and those in this garden in 1859. (For [Antibes], see also p. 169.) The great tower on a rock to the W., overlooking the sea, is a powder-magazine.
Croix des Gardes. Theoule.
Drives to the west of the Hôtel de Ville.—[La Croix des Gardes], 2½ m. N.W., and 498 ft. above the sea. The nearest way ramifies from the Frejus road by the E. side of the Belle-Vue hotel. The cross rises from a column on a block of granite. The view is extensive. By the side of the road will be observed considerable plantations of the Acacia farnesiana, from whose flowers a pleasant perfume is distilled.
[Cannes to Napoule], 6 m. W, Cab with 1 horse and 2 seats, 12 frs.; with 2 horses and 4 seats, 16 frs. 1 hour’s rest allowed. By omnibus, 30 c., leaving Cannes at 1 for the Bocca. At the Bocca it corresponds with the omnibus to Napoule, 50 c.; which, as it does not return till 4.30, affords ample time to walk on to [Theoule] and back, 2 m. W. The Napoule road commences from the western, or what is also called the English, portion of Cannes. It passes the little Scotch church, behind which are the Square Brougham and the public gardens. Farther W. is Christ Church, one of the three Episcopal Chapels. A short distance beyond, on the right side of the road, is the villa Eléonore-Louise, where Lord Brougham died. The house is hidden among the trees, but the garden is easily recognised by 2 large cypress trees growing by the side of the rail. Three m. from Cannes, on an eminence covered with pines, oaks, and cypresses, on the S. side of the road, is the poor little chapel of [St. Cassien], the patron saint of Cannes, whose day is held on the 23d of July, in much the same manner as the Pardons in Brittany, called here Roumeiragi. Napoule is a small hamlet by the side of an old castle on the beach, at the foot of wooded hills. From it a very pretty road by the coast, cut in the face of the cliffs, leads to the hamlet of Theoule, on a tiny plateau over the beach, at the foot of the Estérel mountains. The restaurant of Theoule is better than that at Napoule. Between these two hamlets, and spanned by the railway viaduct, a narrow precipitous valley penetrates into the mountains. From Theoule a road extends to Trayas.
Estérel. Pégomas.
[Cannes to the Inn of Estérel], 12 m. S.W. and 830 ft. above the sea.
Carriage there and back, 35 frs. Cab with one horse and two seats, 18 frs.; with two horses and four seats, 22 frs. After passing the Bocca and St. Cassien, the carriage crosses the Siagne, having on the right or north Mandelieu nestling in the sun, at the foot Mt. le Duc, 1265 ft., a little to the east of the flat peak La Gaëte, 1663 ft. Afterwards the Riou is crossed at the village of Le Tremblant, 167 ft. above the sea, whence the ascent is continued by an excellent road amidst picturesque scenery to the Inn and Gendarmerie of Estérel. The inn is situated to the N. of Mt. Vinaigre, having to the east the Plan Pinet, 876 ft. above the inn, and to the west Mt. Vinaigre, 1193 ft. above the inn. The path to the summit of Mt. Vinaigre commences near the inn. The culminating part, 1030 ft., of the carriage-road is about 1¼ m. west from the inn at a place where four roads meet, almost immediately below Mt. Vinaigre, which is ascended from this point also.
7 m. N. from Cannes by the Plaine de Laval and the wide valley of the Siagne, passing the Hôtel Garibondy, is the village of [Pégomas], pop. 1350, on the Mourachone, a slow-running stream, in some parts hidden among bamboos. Beyond the mill of the village is a pretty but difficult walk up the ravine of the stream. Omnibus, 75 c. Cab, 12 or 16 frs.; 1 hour’s rest.
About 3 m. N.W. is [Auribeau], pop. 480, prettily situated on the Siagne. Cab, 18 or 22 frs., with 2 hours’ rest.