Sospel - commune in Alpes-Maritimes, France

Sospel small town in the Alpes-Maritimes Département of France.

Get in

Sospel lays about 30 minutes from Nice and 15 minutes from Menton on the autoroute A8 with exit Menton in the Alpes Maritime (365m above sea level) Bus service from Menton line 910 service every 1 - 2 hours depending on the time of day and the fair is cheap at €1. Train from Nice 5 or 6 a day is €5.80 single.

Get around

By car is best. Buses are cheap and the train is not to bad either but the service are not always conveniently timed

See

Loads of architecture from Roman to renaissance and beyond. There are many maginot line forts to visit around the town many open just at weekends or during the week in the summer months. Fantastic walks and horse rides in spectacular scenery.

Do

• Horseback riding
• Walking
• Mountain biking
• Paragliding
• Rock climbing
• Canoeing,
• Nature walk

Buy

Market day is on Thursday. There are loads of stalls particularly if the weather is good. Local products include honey, pesto, olives, fruit and veg. Property here is cheap compared to the coast.

Eat

Best Pizza La Cabanon by the Post Office. Best is Corsican Pizza house is L’Estabi in rue St Pierre. The Mordangne does some really great galletes and steaks too. For a snack try Suota Loggia in place St Nicolas by the Pont Vieux. And maybe the PMU Bar in Place de la Cabraia.

Drink

• Bar de Rome, Rue St Pierre. Most evenings this is where many of the local Brits and other English speakers go.
• Bar du Marche The terrace here is where you’ll see the world go by during daylight hours and on into the evening in the summer.

Sleep

• Villa Amiel. It's a really top notch place to stay. Fashionably tatty on the outside but a joy on the inside with extra large rooms and just the right amount of attention.

• For something slightly off the beaten track, go to the loft of le Mas des Oliviers, an independent studio attached to the 250 year old mas, with all mod cons including aircon and english free to view t.v. and your own kitchenette, easy access in a 2 hectare olive grove.
• Very private and charming house: Sospel Nature, (dead link: December 2020), 5 minutes from the center of the Village with a beautiful backyard and small river going through (Bevera). Perfect for family vacation. Can sleep 6 people
• For somewhere traditional, private and looked after by an English family that have lived in Sospel for 30 years, stay at The Apartment, 27 Boulevard de Verdun. An apartment in a traditional French villa, perched on the side of the valley overlooking Sospel, just a short walk from the centre. Fabulous views, self catering, sleeps 5 (perfect for families). To discuss bookings, call 01273 771 636.

Go next

Menton is only 30 minute by car or bus. Monaco is only 45 minutes by car and Nice is about 50 minutes by car or train.