Take a Stroll in … Valbonne, France

Although not the most familiar name on the Riviera, this medieval village has plenty to lure you away from the glamorous resorts

I could never tire of the Côte d’Azur: a golden thread of sensory delights with its sentries of fragrant pines, the relentless chirrup of cicadas, chic boutiques, bouillabaisse and the sparkle of an impossibly blue sea. Neither, it seems, can the millions of tourists who flock here each year.

But few look beyond the cosmopolitan glitz and glamour of the coastal resorts and head inland to a lazier, quainter and altogether more French way of life. Just 13 kilometres north of Cannes and 25 minutes’ drive from Nice airport, Valbonne is one of my favourite inland villages on the Riviera; still considered part of this exclusive strip of coastline, but refreshingly removed from its frenetic activity – the very place to take a stroll.

The village was founded in 1519 alongside a 12th-century abbey and, influenced by Roman military camps, was laid out along a grid pattern, in contrast to the spiral layout of many of its neighbours. Two principal perpendicular avenues converge at a forum known as Place des Arcades. Today this attractive, quintessentially Provençal square, with its cheery pastel facades and parasols shading café tables from the midday heat, is Valbonne’s beating heart. Traffic is banned for much of the time, so it is just the place to while away a happy afternoon of people-watching with a citron pressé. Historical clues are etched and scrawled everywhere: the arcade of the prominent Hotel Les Armoiries is engraved with ‘1628’.

Wander from the square down any of the side-streets and you’ll find ochre stone houses with porches smothered in vines or exuberant bougainvillea, doors with lintels decorated with the emblems of penitents and journeymen, and the occasional snoozing cat. On Friday mornings, though, the village is shaken from its slumber to host a busy market, considered one of the best in the area. Spilling from the square on to the surrounding streets is a veritable riot of scents and colours; stalls are crammed with mushrooms and gleaming olives, rubbing shoulders with bunches of lavender and jars of local honey. Nibble your way around here and you almost won’t need lunch.

At the bottom of the village stand the 12th-century Église Saint-Blaise, its attached monastic abbey, the Moulin des Moines (now a restaurant) and ancient carved stone monuments. The abbey has been painstakingly restored and, together with its integrated museum proudly displaying Valbonne’s heritage, is the place to make for if you want to immerse yourself in history. The village is also noted for its many art galleries and creative workshops (especially for ceramics, pottery and glass) and has hosted several major exhibitions. A busy cultural calendar blends modernity with tradition in the form of numerous festivals: antiques, theatre and wine-making.

But the preservation of the past doesn’t mean Valbonne is a backward-looking village. Independent fashion and interior decoration boutiques make it a shopper’s delight even on non-market days; on the western side is a new retail complex, and the outskirts are home to luxury villas and modern housing estates, accommodating workers at the nearby Sophia Antipolis technology park, acknowledged as the Silicon Valley of France. The presence of several international schools also draws a cosmopolitan crowd, and dining options in the village cover Moroccan, Italian and Indian cuisine; there’s even a pub, where you can get a pint of Guinness in the unlikely event that you tire of the local wine.

Speaking of which, no visit can be complete without a taste of Valbonne’s speciality: a wine produced from the local servan grape that is celebrated at the Saint-Blaise festival every January and preserved until Easter – proving that Valbonne’s heart truly beats all year round.

In the Area

There is enough in Valbonne to satisfy a day of eating and exploring – but venturing further afield is a breeze thanks to the Côte d’Azur’s excellent public transport system, with bus journeys between any destinations costing just €1. The coastal train is similarly inexpensive , linking Cannes with Ventimiglia across the Italian border in just over 90 minutes and taking in Nice and Monaco on the way.

To start with the immediate surroundings, hop on a bus to Biot just 15 minutes down the road from Valbonne for another dose of French village charm. Visit the renowned glassworks Verrerie de Biot – larger than its counterpart in Valbonne – and the eponymous museum dedicated to the artist Fernand Léger. Admire the restored frescoes in Biot’s bijou church and then enjoy a coffee under the vine-clad arcades next door.

The 630-hectare Parc de la Brague, covering a limestone plateau and river valley north and west of Valbonne Sophia Antipolis, is a sweet-smelling paradise with a peaceful marked trail for hikers and nature lovers, taking around three hours to complete.

Mougins, where Picasso lived his final years, is barely seven kilometres from Valbonne. The village retains a compact, exquisitely preserved old centre, perched up high and affording dreamy views towards the coast. Higher in the hills is Grasse, nine kilometres in the opposite direction and synonymous with perfumery since the 17th century.

If you yearn for the coast and slightly more buzz, head for the manageably sized Antibes. The pretty cobbled streets, ancient ramparts and artistic heritage – the town featured in many of Picasso’s paintings and now has a museum in his honour – take care of the old-world French side.

There is plenty here for your glitz fix too. Gaze at the astounding waterborne wealth at Port Vauban, the Mediterranean’s largest marina where berth prices exceed €1 million, or take the petit train from the old town for Cap d’Antibes, the wooded promontory studded with millionaires’ hideaways.