Travel Guide Castellar

Perched 7 kilometres from Menton and at an altitude of 370 metres, the village of Castellar offers an exceptional view of the Mediterranean. This picturesque village dominates the commune of Menton and the bay of Garavan. Long and narrow streets, houses with yellow, ochre or orange facades, vaulted covered passages: discovering this place will give you a foretaste of neighbouring Italy! The village is also the starting point for many hikes and is crossed by the GR52. In the 16th century, after the siege of Nice by François I, the village was fortified by an outer wall of which only two vestiges remain today. Do not miss the Lascaris Palace and the Casa Grande, former residence of the Counts of Lascaris built in the 17th century. Without forgetting the very beautiful Saint-Pierre church built in the 15th and then rebuilt in the 17th century which houses many paintings from the 16th to the 19th century, a stucco statue of the Virgin and fifteen painted cartouches representing the mysteries of the Rosary. Next to the bell tower, an engraved stone reads "asylum for the poor": it is the last remnant of a medieval hospital for the sick and needy farmers of the region. Go down rue Garibaldi to the exact location of the ancient ramparts to the Place Georges Clemenceau to admire the magnificent view of the sea and the surrounding peaks. Seven chapels stretch as far as the Col du Razet via the D2566: Saint-Pierre church, Notre-Mère-des-Miséricordes, Saint-Antoine-Abbé, Saint-Sébastien, Saint-Roch, Saint-Bernard chapel, and the Chapel of the Holy Spirit.