Travel Guide Roquebillière

Roquebillière is the main town of the canton. In the heart of the Vesubian country, this pretty village has also become a popular tourist destination thanks to the only thermal spa on the Côte d'Azur (Berthemont-les-Bains). But this was not always the case: Roquebillière had already been rebuilt six times since the 6th century when a huge landslide destroyed part of the village in 1926, killing many people. It was relocated to the opposite bank where the church had already been built to benefit from a better stability of the ground (a very curious Templar church!). The present village was therefore rebuilt opposite, on the right bank of the river. A former medieval community and the seat of a priory, there are a few alpine houses with lofty attics, a flour mill and traditional mountain barns. A water town known since the Romans, it came back into fashion around 1850. Still on the right bank, the church of Saint-Michel-du-Gast, begun in the 15th century and completed in 1533 at the instigation of the Knights of Malta, combines the late Provençal Romanesque - the bell tower - with the Gothic, with its three naves with ribbed crossings. Inside, a beautiful 16th century altarpiece of Saint-Antoine-du-Désert from Nice with predella. The baptismal font is decorated with a Maltese cross. And you can also visit the old village on the left bank.