Saorge
 

I was just rereading the post about the new book on small villages in Spain and came across Capo's comment that Peillon and Saorge are his favorite villages (from the Small Villages in Provence book.) We will be staying a week in Menton just before Thanksgiving and I'd like to see this place. My map, however, has a disconcerting note near Saorge--"traverse impossible" Why would that be on the map? Would it be foolish to try to see this place in November? Might it be "snowed in?" Capo, or anyone else who's been there, please tell me more about this place and advise me on whether or not to attempt to see it in late November. Thanks.

Hi jmv. I just happened to check in today and noticed your thread title. Saorge is quite a way up the Roya River valley and, as such, it's possible it might be difficult to get to, due to snow or something else, in late November (I visited it in mid-October.) "Traverse impossible" does sound like one of those "winter-only" notes on maps. You say that note on your map is "near" Saorge; does it appear to be before one would reach Saorge?

In any case, I'd think that someone at your hotel, or at the tourist office in Menton, could confirm whether or not the road would be passable all the way to Saorge. Even if you couldn't make it all the way to the town, it's still a very scenic drive up that river valley, and Breil-sur-Roya is a nice little town which I'm sure you could get to.

Another picturesque little hilltown much nearer to Menton that I really like is Gorbio. St-Agnes (I think that's the correct name) is also supposed to very nice but I didn't make it there.

Good luck and have a great time in that area. Menton is supposed to be the sunniest city in France, so I hope your weather is reasonably nice when you're there.

Thanks Capo for responding on Saorge (good idea to inquire at Menton tourist office) and for suggesting other small towns in the area. Gorbio sounds more Italian than French but I assume it's so near the border as to be almost both. We've always sort of harbored the idea of wintering in Menton especially for its sunny reputation. This will give us a chance to get a taste of what it would be like. I'll report back. Thanks again.

You're very welcome, jmv. I do recall seeing some roads on my Michelin map of that area marked "impassable in winter" or something to that effect. The Roya River valley road wouldn't seem to be one of those, however, since the elevation (I think) is not that great.

Re: &quot;<i>Gorbio sounds more Italian than French but I assume it's so near the border as to be almost both.</i>&quot;

Well that entire area was part of Italy for quite some time. Nice's main &quot;square&quot;, Place Massena, is referred to as &quot;Turinesque&quot;, for its architecture, and Nice has another square named after Garibaldi.

From the website, &quot;Savoy, French Political Geography&quot; (http://www.1upinfo.com/encyclopedia/S/SavoyFr.html)...&quot;<i>Emmanuel Philibert greatly restored the territory and fortunes of the region and moved the ducal residence to Turin (1559), after which Savoy became essentially an Italian rather than a French state. . . . Finally, by the Treaty of Turin (1860), Piedmont, then the ruling part of Savoy, ceded French Savoy to France. The region was annexed after a plebiscite.</i>&quot;

Some webites on Gorbio:

http://www.villedementon.com/uk/gorbio.htm
http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/alpmarit/gorbio/gorbio.htm
http://www.beyond.fr/villages/gorbio.html

thanks for all this really detailed information and for the websites. i'm off to check them out.