fronted by a terrace built by the brothers Thaon of Lantosque in 1685. Part is occupied by a school and part is let. The chapel is now the parish church. At the east end is a small petrifying spring. From the château an avenue of ill-conditioned cypresses (the best have been cut down) leads to the [Grotte St. André]. Fee, ½ fr. each. It is a natural tunnel, 114 ft. long and 25 ft. high, through the limestone rock, under which flows the stream St. André, dammed up at the outer end to enable the man to take visitors through it in a boat. Near it are a restaurant and shop in which petrifactions are sold.
From the “Grotte” up to the 8th kilomètre stone the ravine becomes so narrow that there is barely room between the high cliffs for the road and the stream. It is so picturesque that those who have come to visit the cave should walk up this distance, 1 mile, before returning. Those in carriages generally pass up this way and return by Falicon, a village perched on the top of a steep hill above the river St. André.
[To the Observatory], 1215 ft. above the sea, constructed in 1881 at the expense of M. Bischoffsheim. Take the Abbatoir tram the length of the Place Risso (see plan), where take the corner to the right and ascend by the Corniche road. If on foot, on arriving at a well beside a house, ascend the hill by the mule-path. The views are charming. The establishment possesses 1235 acres of land. On the highest part are the various buildings for astronomical purposes. A few yards below, on the west side of the mountain, is a handsome building 228 ft. long and 46 broad. In the centre is the library, and the wing at each end dwelling-houses.
[ Nice to Cuneo by St. Martin Lantosque.]
([Map, page 165], and Map of Rhône and Savoy.)
Nice to Cuneo by St. Martin Lantosque.—Diligence from Nice to St. Martin, 37 m. N. From St. Martin to Entraque, on the north side of the Col di Finestra, 8 hrs. by mule, considered equal to 25 m. From Entraque to Cuneo by Valdieri and Dalmazzo, 24 m. N. by coach.
Levens. Lantosque.
The diligence from Nice ascends by the west side of the river Paillon, and after passing the villages of [St. André] (p. 179) and Tourette, near the ruins of Châteauneuf, arrives at [Levens], 1826 ft. above the sea, pop. 1560, Inn: H. des Étrangers, where the coach halts a short time. After Levens it crosses the Col du Dragon, and then descends into the prettiest part of the valley of the Vesubie, where it passes through the village of Duranus, 18 m. from Nice, pop. 1500. Then, after having traversed a tunnel 88 yds. long, crossed the Vesubie, and passed by the hamlet of Le Suque (Suchet), 25 m. from Nice, it reaches the village of [Lantosque], 28½ m. from Nice, 1640
ft. above the sea, pop. 1910, Inn: H. des Alpes Maritimes. On a plateau 765 ft. above Lantosque, and 1¼ m. distant, is La Bollène, with a large hotel, charmingly situated amidst hills covered with chestnut trees. The coach next halts at Roquebillère, pop. 1800, on the Vesubie, 3½ m. from Lantosque, 32 from Nice, and 1968 ft. above the sea. It is the station for the village of Belvédère, pop. 1250, with a comfortable hotel on a plateau 755 ft. above Roquebillère. St. Martin Lantosque.
Col di Finestra. From Roquebillère the coach proceeds up the valley of the Vesubie by the villages of Berguerie, St. Bernard, and St. Sebastien, to [St. Martin Lantosque], 37 m. from Nice, pop. 1956, and 3117 ft. above the sea. An ancient village at the junction of the Vesubie with the Salèses. In the “Place” where the diligence stops is a very good inn, the H. des Alpes. Down in the town is the Belle-Vue pension, 6 frs. Up by the side of the promenade are some good pensions. On the opposite hill, ½ hour walk from St. Martin, and 700 ft. higher, is the village of Venanson, pop. 250, commanding splendid views of the surrounding valleys. The lower parts of the mountains are covered with chestnut and cherry trees, and the higher with large firs. From St. Martin commences the bridle-path to Entraque, by the valley of the Vesubie and the [Col di Finestra], 8269 ft. above the sea, called thus from a fancied resemblance of a cleft in the peak to a window. Mule and guide to Entraque, 22 frs.; time, 8 hrs. 1¼ m. up the Vesubie is the stone which marks the boundary between France and Italy, and 6¼ m. farther the inn and the chapel of the Madonna di Finestra, 6234 ft. above the sea. Many rare plants are found here, especially the remarkable Saxifraga florulenta, on the ridges of rock above the sanctuary. Half an hour beyond, a lake is passed among jagged peaks, and, in about another ½ hour more, the summit of the pass, 8269 ft., is attained, commanding an extensive view both towards Italy and France. At Entraque there is an inn, and a coach daily to Cuneo.
Valdieri.