Gourdon
Gourdon, a small village nesting on the cliff, overlooks Vallée du Loup in Maritime Alps. This village is a medieval fortress with a XII century church and is known as one of the lavender farmings suppling to certain perfumeries in Provance. Before entering the village, there is a large parking aside, which allows you to have a gorgeous panorama with the extend mountain ranges. Importantly, there is a tap available to refresh up.
This small village has got what visitors need: souvenir shops, ice creams, nice restaurants, and of course some identified fragrance boutiques, etc.
Deep in to the village, there is a main square, where the tourist office is situated and provides also a sublime view from the cliffs toward Mediteranean sea. If the weather is good, the cities Nice and Cannes can be seen clearly.
Hiking: chemin du paradis
From Gourdon to Bar-Sur-Loup, the hiking itinerary is called the “Chemin du paradis”. Its length is approximatively 8km and the elvation is around 600m. I chosed to start from Gourdon to go down to Bar-Sur-Loup and re-climb up, but you can do the reverse, which may be easier!
If you are interested in giving a try the hiking, I made a GPX file for help, you can download here and import into your GPS device.
Go to Bar-Sur-loup
If you decide to follow my step, beginning from Gourdon, the starting point is just at the left side of the entrance of Gourdon. As soon as you see the stairs, there is a sign shown as the photo:
You then follow the sign to begin the journey. Be prepared to take a deep breath to overlook the fantastic view to Gorge du Loup.
Going further down, there is a sign shown as the photo:
You can choose either to the left or to the right, they both you will lead you to Bar-Sur-Loup. If you follow my GPX, it will take you to go to the right direction. Here I share some photos during my hiking:
When you see this church shown in the picture, it means that you have arrived in Bar-Sur-Loup:
Bar-Sur-Loup
In Bar-Sur-Loup, you will see immediately the church Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur du Bar-sur-Loup in the main square:
Surrounding this square, there are some bars and restaurants available for you to take a break with the landscape of the valley:
In addition, you can easily find a drinkable fountain at a corner of the square for filling up your water bottles and to get ready to climb back to Gourdon.
Go to Gourdon
The way to return to Gourdon, you need to pass by the Chapelle Saint-Jacques to find another path. You will then see a sign which indicates to go right, and please follow the sign to go to Pont-Du-Loup. Unfortunately, the direction of Pont-Du-Loup is badly shown. It is not a wooded path but an asphalt road, which will take you to a bridge and cross it. After crossing the bridge, you will see this sign:
Follow the sign, you will reach a crossroad where is the conjunction for the path of Gourdon to Bar-Sur-Loup and the path of Bar-Sur-Loup to Gourdon.
Of course, it is always an option to do it in the reverse itinerary. The choice is in your hand!