06/09/2026
🌊 Skip the beach for one morning.
Everyone comes to the Riviera for the sea. Nobody looks up. Twenty minutes above Menton there’s a village on a ridge, dirt tracks going off in every direction, and a view with Italy on one side. 🇮🇹
📍 CASTELLAR — above Menton, Alpes-Maritimes
I didn’t follow a route. I parked in the village, took a path, and wandered. That’s the whole method. 🥾
🅿️ Park in the village
🗺️ There’s a map board at the start — pick anything
🌅 Go early, the light is softer and so is the heat
🎒 TAKE WITH YOU
💧 Water, more than you think
🥪 A sandwich
🧢 A hat
⚠️ There is no bakery up there. Buy everything before you go up. I checked. 😅
🫐 AND IN SEPTEMBER
The bushes along the paths are heavy with wild blackberries. Warm from the sun, completely free.
I was going to keep some and show you my blackberry tart. 😌 I ate every single one. The tart will have to wait for next year.
Save this one for your next Riviera trip 📌
And follow for more of the Côte d’Azur nobody photographs 💙