Good base for riding in alpes maritimes

[doxter]

looking to visit this region of france provence just north of Nice

anyone recommend a nice base town / city to support a weeks biking - looking to do some good hills / mts in the rides , ideally the town will have some evening enjoyments

 

[L'arriviste]

looking to visit this region of france provence just north of Nice

anyone recommend a nice base town / city to support a weeks biking - looking to do some good hills / mts in the rides , ideally the town will have some evening enjoyments

Not many towns and cities of larger size. This is a hilly region running down to the coast so turning inland means climbing and heading for the coast means downhill.

Grasse can be nice if a little touristy with all the parfumiers there but it's a popular base for cycling.

Lower down, Biot is a small artistic town and offers a good mix of terrain: if you remember Kiserlovski crashing under a van in Paris-Nice 2011, that was Biot.

Saint Paul de Vence is picturesque and very much a (well-to-do) holidaymakers' mecca. Another good cycling base.

Next door, the Var is actually much better for cycling if you can get there. Draguignan is a busy military town (and a proper French one rather than a made-for-tourism town) surrounded by some excellent long and steady cols, particularly those that head up beside the tank factories to the Gorges du Verdon and Moustiers. Breathtaking scenery and quietish roads up there.

 

[doxter]

thanks for that my friend , dont mind going further afield to var - so long as its possible to get there from Nice by public transport - think the luggage overhead rules out riding from there you see

 

[L'arriviste]

thanks for that my friend , dont mind going further afield to var - so long as its possible to get there from Nice by public transport - think the luggage overhead rules out riding from there you see

In that case, stay in or around Manosque. It's a hotbed of cycling and produces a number of professional riders. From there you can enjoy some of the region's best scenery, Mont Ventoux and the Gorges du Verdon from the western approach. Train from Nice changing either in Marseille or (better) Aix-en-Provence.

Also further north in the Alpes-Haute-Provence, consider Digne-les-Bains and the excellent cycling base Sisteron. Both excellent towns, off the tourist trail, very reasonably priced and really good roads in the vicinity. Towns in AHP are usually reached by a train ride from Nice changing once in Aix-en-Provence.

 

[LugHugger]

Try Callian, Fayence or Montaroux. Check out Tour du Haut Var coverage for immediate riding possibilities. You'll be an hour from the coast on two wheels via the maritime range and two hours or so from the eastern end of the Gorge du Verdon which is essential riding. This is my favourite place on the planet to ride.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Not really sure what's wrong with Nice itself as a base. Lots of small to mid warmup climbs in the vicinity, and then you can go further afield for some tougher ones like Turini, Baisse de la Cabanette, and even as far as Couillole (which is over 16km at about 7,5% and has some of the best views of any climb in France with the gorgeous Gorge de Cians):

 

[justanotheradam]

Saint Paul de Vence is picturesque and very much a (well-to-do) holidaymakers' mecca. Another good cycling base.

Was just searching about Saint Paul de Vence, good to hear it is a good cycling base.

Cheers

 

[winkybiker]

Callian is a nice little town. I stayed there a few years back. Didn't ride, but the cycling looked like it would be good.

callian sunset by winkyintheuk, on Flickr