The Baou des Blancs rock

The hike starts at Vence Tourist Office.

• From the tourist office, go along Avenue Isnard to the end of Avenue des Poilus. You will arrive at a little crossroads, turn left and cross the bridge. Once you have crossed the bridge, turn left. Carry on for around 100 m and turn right onto Chemin Saint Martin. After walking uphill for around 200 m, you reach Chemin du Riou. Go straight ahead and you will reach the road to the Vence Pass. This is an uphill road with a few bends, offering many views of Vence and Pays Vençois. To the left you can see the ruins of the Templar abbey within the Domain of St. Martin. These ruins are thought to date back to the late 12th century. The Templar order was abolished by the Pope in 1312 after an intervention by the King of France, Philip the Fair. The road then plunges into the Lubiane Valley and enters an area of quarries. A very steep, narrow path starts on the right in front of the quarry, near a plaque commemorating the victims of the Nazi mines. We will leave this difficult path and carry on along the road until we have passed the quarry and the last house, where there is another easier access road with a little parking space. This path, which goes off to the right, opposite the old quarry to the left of the road, goes behind the sheepfold and joins up with the “EDF path”.
• At the top of the Baou, you will be greeted by some exceptional panoramic views:

• To the east, on the other side of the Var Valley, the village of Aspremont "sits" between Mount Cima (880 m) and Mount Chauve (854 m). Opposite, overlooking Var, are the hills where the famous Bellet wines are made. Behind is Mount Agel (1,150 m) which overlooks Monte-Carlo and the Tête de Chien (556 m) south of La Turbie, with the last foothills of the Alps in the background. Cape Ferrat stands out on the Mediterranean and closer by, Mount Boron (178 m) marks the entrance to Nice harbour - Nice Airport - and to the south is the whole coast running from Cagnes-sur-Mer to Cape Antibes, with the Lérins Islands in the distance.
• Closer to us are the village of Saint-Paul, perched on its rocky spur, the woodland massifs surrounding La Colle-sur-Loup, and further in the distance the Valbonne woods. The Super-Cannes on one side and the Esterel massif on the other, with a variety of peaks including the Pic de l’Ours (recognisable by its TV relay station), surround the Bay of Cannes and the Gulf of La Napoule. To the west, on the other side of the Malvan Valley, is the summit of the Malvan (1,023 m), the Puy de Tourrettes to the right (1,267 m) and the Pic de Courmettes to the left (1,248 m).
• On the other side of the Loup Valley, the Haut Montet (1,335 m) which overlooks the Caussols rock plain with the Thiey mountain in the background (1,552m) and the Audibergue mountain (1,642 m). To the north, the Cheiron mountain range, whose highest point is at 1,777 m, provides a glimpse of the tops of the ski lifts at the resort of Gréolières les Neiges. Lastly, on either side of the Cagne Valley, the Baou des Noirs rock (680 m) and the Baou de Saint-Jeannet rock (800 m) blend in with the Baou de la Gaude rock, at the same altitude.

• Return to Vence following the same route.