Day 2951 (Monday) 7th July 2025

Huw took this photo last night, which is pretty impressive because we only had about ten drops of rain.

We had a bit of an early start and headed up to La Gaude, which is a beautiful little town north of Nice. It took over an hour to get there but it was worth it. They had a Bollywood party there yesterday and we missed it! We were there for the clearing up job.

The views are pretty impressive

as was this giant cranberry hibiscus.

After La Gaude we went a bit further to Saint-Jeannet, which was also seriously pretty. We had a coffee in a beautiful restaurant with wonderful views.

La Gaude is a French commune located in the department of Alpes-Maritimes , in region Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur . Located 10  km north-west of Nice, the village of La Gaude extends between the municipalities of Vence and Cagnes-sur-Mer.

Its inhabitants are called the Gaudois.

Geology and relief 

The village is overlooked by the Baou de Saint-Jeannet and is part of the Provençal Middle Country. The area of ​​the municipality is 1310 hectares and its altitude varies from 24 to 349  metres.

The territory of La Gaude, in the Nice hinterland, stretches between hills and valleys.

The Baou des Noirs, the baou from Saint-Jeannet (in the centre) and the baou from La Gaude.

History and toponymy 

A Roman occupation is well attested to La Gaude. The Romans probably built military posts in La Gaude and the surrounding area, as evidenced by the many remains found in these places: tombs with compartments and under tegulae, inscriptions, rooms, ancient roadway connecting the district of the White Lands to Vence . At the foot of the village, a Roman cenotaph, next to the old Julia Augusta way, nowadays called Aurélia way, testifies to human occupation since antiquity. This Roman road passed near the current ruin known as the Templar bastide.

After the attacks of Saracens , the ix th  century, the inhabitants descend from Saint-Jeannet on a fertile plateau. In the x th century, the village forms in the places called La Condamine and Trigance. “La Gauda” is cited in 1075. A commandery of the Templars is established in the village, as evidenced by a document from 1155. An important village undoubtedly existed at the origin in the district of the Grande Bastide, around a parish and a fabulous castle attributed to the Templars , called castle of Gaude. But the village converts to Cathar heresy: become one of the haunts of the Albigensians who were condemned to the Lateran Council in 1204, the village is burnt and ruined from top to bottom. It rises from the ashes later and later, the xiii th  century, as the Alleganza or Alliganza (bottom Latin alia people, "another country"), when came to an end the wars against the Vaudois edges of the  Var. When the Var becomes a border, La Gaude is again destroyed.

In the xv th century, the village is completely depopulated by an epidemic of plague in 1467 and deserted until the xvi th century. A few houses then reappeared, becoming an independent community in 1599 by separating from Saint-Jeannet . Plagues and wars did not favour his resurrection, tempted by a contribution from Genoese colonists from Oneglia among whom were several Pisani, who later became lords of La Gaude: M Charles Pisani was the last bishop of Venceand lord of La Gaude from 1783. Several marquis, lords of La Gaude and Saint-Jeannet are known at the beginning of the xviii th century under the name of Claude Claude II and III of Villeneuve-Torenc.

New looting in 1704 and 1707, the last of which lasts five days and five nights, does not begin its rehabilitation.

In the xx th century, the face of La Gaude is transformed with the arrival of the water. Seduced by the location, Marcel Pagnol chose it as his place to stay, after having acquired a property there (the current Domaine de l'Étoile ).

The name of La Gaude appears from 1026 on the Cartulary of the Abbey of Lérins in the form of Alagauda. Variants of this name are attributed to it such as Gauda or Alagaudam. The etymology of this name is not established. The current name of the village is La Gaude, but Alagauda is still used in the language of Oc.

Town planning  

Typology 

La Gaude is an urban municipality. It is in fact part of dense or intermediate-density municipalities, within the meaning of the municipal density grid of INSEE. It belongs to the urban unit of Nice , an intra-departmental agglomeration grouping together 51 municipalities and 942,886 inhabitants in 2017, of which it is a suburban municipality. The agglomeration of Nice is the seventh largest in France in terms of population, behind those of Paris , Lyon , Marseille-Aix-en-Provence , Lille (French part), Toulouse and Bordeaux .

In addition, the municipality is part of the area of ​​attraction of Nice , of which it is a municipality in the crown. This area, which includes 100 municipalities, is categorised in areas of 200,000 to less than 700,000 inhabitants.

As always on a Monday here’s What’s happening in France this week. The Local France.

Heavy traffic is forecast for Friday, July 11th, and Saturday, July 12th  (Photo by Valentine CHAPUIS / AFP)

Brevet results are due out, USA’s tariff pause on EU goods is due to end, the Fêtes de Bayonne get under way, and France play their second game of Euro 2025 - here's what's happening in France this week.

Monday

Exam nerves: The results of this year’s brevet exams – taken by nearly 900,000 pupils aged 15 or 16 – are due to be published from Monday, July 7th, to Friday, July 10th. Fashion: Autumn / Winter collections hit the catwalk of Paris Fashion Week, which runs through to July 10th.

Strike: Public transport workers in Marseille will walk out on the first day of a strike in a dispute over new working conditions. The strike notice is renewable, so further action may be called.

Tuesday

Pomp and Ceremony – France’s President Emmanuel Macron and Brigitte Macron will begin a three-day State visit to Britain.

Wednesday

Fêtes de Bayonne: Known for drawing large crowds, this five-day event celebrates Basque culture with the famous bull run, large parties, street performances, traditional dances, and fireworks. You can even buy a traditional outfit (in the colours of white and red) at a local market nearby to better join in the celebration. The event will run from July 9th to 13th. 

Tariffs: The US pause on higher tariff rates for EU nations, including France, ends.

Euro 2025: France’s second Group D match against Wales kicks off at St Gallen, Switzerland.

Thursday

Court: The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is due to rule in a case involving South African athlete Caster Semenya, who argues World Athletics discriminates against her by requiring her to take drugs to lower her natural testosterone levels.

Appeal: A court in Paris will rule on the appeal of a woman who was found to have defamed Brigitte Macron last September.

Media: France’s Ligue de football professionnel (LFP) will unveil its own pay-TV channel to broadcast Ligue 1 football, after recent deals with Mediapro, Amazon and DAZN all floundered.

Friday

Heatwave? We wouldn't be foolish enough to put this in the Agenda, but weather forecasters are predicting another nationwide heatwave starting over the weekend. Keep an eye on Météo France or our heatwave section for the latest predictions and weather warnings.

Inflation: France’s national statistics office Insee will reveal confirmed inflation figures for the month.

Traffic jams: Roads watchdog Bison Futé forecasts predict two days of very heavy traffic on France’s key arterial routes as holidaymakers set off on their summer getaways. A red travel warning has been issued nationwide for Friday, while a similar warning is in place for most of the country on Saturday, except for the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, which is upgraded to black – the highest level.

Saturday

Rugby: The second men’s Test between New Zealand and France kicks off in Wellington.

Sunday

Shut down: Bad news for users of the RER C in and around Paris. More than 120 projects are in the works on the longest and oldest line in the Île-de-France region, necessitating a six-week interruption of services from July 12th to August 23rd between Paris-d'Austerlitz and Avenue-Henri-Martin, Versailles-Château - Rive-Gauche and Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. During the closure, SNCF Réseau will replace 5 km of track and four sets of points, as well as reinforce flood prevention systems in a tunnel below the level of the Seine in Paris.

. . . and don't forget that Monday is a public holiday for France's Fête nationale on July 14th.