|
 |
Below: |
Guidebooks |
Maps |
Length: 508 km Hightest altitude: 970 m
NOTE: The trail is still there (June 2000) but the FFRP guide is not listed on their website and is apparently no longer available.
This hike follows the international GR51 (Grande Randonnée) trail roughly east-west along the coast. The eastern end begins at the train station in Cap Martin (between Monte-Carlo and Menton). There's a good steep climb at the beginning, but once you're up there where the cool air and the view is, it's pretty much flat, except for the occasional drop down to a valley and back up again.
Some of the villages the GR51 passes through are:
[map] Ste. Agnes (above Menton),
St. Martin de Peille (above Monaco);
[map] Drap (above Villefranche and Beaulieu-sur-Mer), Tourrette-Levens, Aspremont, Colomars,
Gattières, St. Jeannet;
[map] Gorges du Loup,
Gourdon (just below the village);
[map] le Bar-sur-Loup, Cabris,
Auribeau-sur-Siagne;
[map] Gorges-du-Blavet (south of Bagnols-en-Forêt);
[map] le Muy, Roquebrune-sur-Argens, Cogolin [map];
[map] Pierrefeu-du-Var;
[map] Toulon;
[map] Cassis and Marseilles.
Guidebooks
The FFRP "Topo Guide" GR 51 - Balcon de la Mediterranée (ref. 506) has maps and descriptions of the complete itinerary from Menton to Marseilles (508) km, as well as suggested shorter hikes of from 1 to 6 days.
Maps
Scale 1:50,000 maps are a good compromise. Detail is acceptable and you don't need to carry too many maps for the whole hike. We like the Didier Richard (1:50,000), below, but we no longer find them everywhere.
- #26, Pays d'Azur shows the trail from Menton past Cannes to Le Muy.
- #25, Maures Haute-Pays Varois shows from Le Muy/Cogolin to Pierrefeu/ Hyères.
- #24, Collines Provençales shows the western part, between Toulon and Marseilles.
We like the 1:25,000 map detail, but you would need to carry over a dozen for the entire trail.
If you want the detail, here are the 1:25,000 "blue" IGN maps required for the length of the GR51 trail, listed in order from east to west:
- 3742 OT (Nice - Menton) From the coast east of Menton, north on GR52 to join the GR51, then west via Monti, St Agnes, Gorbio; near Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, La Turbie; past La Gorra, Drap (on the Peillon river), Cantaron, Tourrette-Levens, Aspremont, Colomars; cross the Var river on the Pont de la Manda; Gattieres.
- 3643 ET (Cannes - Grasse) Gattieres, St Jeannet; off the top of the map briefly, then back south to the area southeast of the Col de Vence; St Barnabé Courmes, Bramafan, Gorges du Loup; near Gourdon, Bar-sur-Loup, Magagnosc; north of Grasse at the tennis courts; briefly off the west edge of the map, then back on and south past Auribeau-sur-Siagne; cross the autoroute west of Mandelieu-La-Napoule; past La Napoule, Théole-sur-Mer; across the Esterel.
- 3642 ET (Vallée de l'Estéron) very briefly on this map, for the north loop between St Jeannet and the Col de Vence area.
- 3543 ET (Fayence) a short loop near Cabris and Spéracèdes, then back onto the Cannes-Grasse map.
- 3544 ET (Fréjus - St Raphael) La Napoule, Théoule-sur-Mer; across the Esterel, Col Notre-Dame, Col de Baladou, Mont Vinaigre; cross the autoroute by the Barrage de Malpasset; pass south of Bagnoles-en-Foret.
- 3544 OT (Le Muy - Lorgues) Colle de Rouet forest, Le Muy, Roquebrune-sur-Argens; short loop east and south on the 3544 ET map; south east across the forests, including Col de Valdingard and near Vallaury.
- 3545 OT (St Tropez - Ste Maxime) Grimaud, Cogolin; near Cavalaire-sur-Mer
- 3445 OT (Cuers - Pierrefeu-du-Var - Collobrieres) northwest through the forests between Collobrieres and Pierrefeu-du-Var; past Puget-Ville
- 3345 OT (Signes - Tourves) past Col de la Bigue, Bellgentier
- 3346 OT (Toulon) Sollies-Ville, Le Revest-les-Eaux, Ollioules
- 3245 ET (Aubagne - La Ciotat, Ste-Baume) pass between St Cyr-sur-Mer and La Cadiere-d'Azur, Cassis
- 3145 E (Marseille) Cassis, les Calanques, to la Madrague southwest of Marseille.
The IGN also has a series of 1:100,000 maps for France. Two of these IGN "Topo 100" maps cover the Mediterranean coast from Marseille to Menton:
- Top100 067 (Marseille-Carpentras) From Marseille (west) to Toulon (east).
- Top100 068 (Toulon-Nice) From Toulon and on east to Nice.
- Top100 061 (Nice-Barcelonnette) from Nice to Menton and the Italian border.
|
|
