A visit to Beuil, France, Part II

Walking amongst the houses, there are many passageways, some with large, brightly lit arches across them, and others narrow and somewhat dimly lit during daylight.
Even many of the doors are interesting. Our friends told us that the ground floor of a home was often used in the past to house the family's livestock; for example, cows, horses, chickens, goats -- the old-time equivalent of our garage for the car these days. Other doors, by contrast, are very artistically made with beautiful stonework to frame them.

In the close proximity of the walkway the houses appear to reach high.There are some very ancient lines of family history in the village. With great fondness for their roots to this amazing place, the older families vie with each other, playfully quoting records to show that they have been there the longest. It's reminiscent of the flavor of Tolkein's books in which the Hobbits know their ancestry inside out, spelling out each generation and taking great pride in their origins.

In some places the mountain rock juts right out of the house walls.

And the construction of some of the walls is fascinating and beautiful to look at.

The variety of colors and shapes of the rock and materials used to construct the houses combine to form a unique mosaic effect.




These houses near the edge of the village have a clear view of the valley.The walkway leads to the limits of the front end of town, and turning left onto a road, leads the way round the side and back of the village to an open hillside. From there you can see this beautiful view. On clear days, before general pollution levels reached what they are today, Mont Blanc could also be seen in this view.
With or without Mont Blanc, however, this is a wonderful place to visit!

A visit to Beuil, France

Beuil is a small village in the Maritime Alps of France, 77 km north of Nice, dating from at least the thirteenth century. We were invited by some very dear friends to visit for a weekend and we had a really special and memorable time.
There are two main routes up the mountains to Beuil; one is via a steep and breathtaking gorge, and the other is by a more gentle road up through neighbouring towns.

Along the main road entering the village there is a gravel car park which serves much of the town since the homes within the village are packed tightly close together, into and against the mountain, and are mostly not routinely accessible by car.

Continuing up the tree-lined road there is a very nice hotel and restaurant, and before our departure on Sunday we all went there for a meal. It is a popular place, with veranda as well as indoor tables, and so it is good to reserve beforehand.


Walking downhill from there into the village there are a couple of small shops.

Walking a few paces further, the church square comes into view. It is a 17th century church with a Romanesque bell tower.Going farther into the heart of the village homes, the scenes are beautiful.Our friends told us that during their youth everyone nearby used to come to the wells to get water and do their laundry.
Downhill from the wells are more homes overlooking the valley.
The view is fabulous and there are small plots of garden area below the houses. Unfortunately many of the young people need to move to the larger towns and cities to get jobs and, increasingly, the gardens are untended.

It was incredibly special to stay for the weekend visiting in such a beautiful place. There are yet more interesting views of Beuil to come, so stay tuned for another post to continue this article!