Gourdon – a medieval town in a class of its own
The city is one of the Côte-d’Azur’s smallest and has just 450 inhabitants. With its authentic charm, it rightfully deserves its classification as one of France’s most beautiful villages.
Located at an altitude of 760 meters, the city has a unique view of the Loup Valley with a panorama stretching over 80 kilometres of coastline from Nice, in the east, to Théoule-sur-Mer, in the west.
Chateau de Gourdon and the city
The village is built around its medieval castle with beautiful towers. Today, the castle is privately owned and is closed to the public.
However, the beautiful castle gardens can be visited in groups by pre-booking. The garden was designed by André Le Nôtre and is laid out in terraces with centuries-old boxwoods.
At the foot of the castle, the streets of Gourdon are characterized by houses with beautiful Provençal facades and many craft shops with attached workshops where artisans manufacture local products.
Although the city is quite small with a single main street and only a few adjacent alleys, it still offers several interesting experiences.
See photo gallery and link to restaurants at the end of the article.
Place Victoria, located at the end of the main street at the edge of the cliff, is a tribute to the British queen of the same name, who visited the city in 1891. The campsite offers the most beautiful views of the Loup Valley and the Mediterranean coastline.
The religious heritage is represented in the form of the Romanesque church of Saint-Vincent, which was a chapel from the 12th century and, later, became a parish church at the beginning of the 17th century, as well as the chapels St Pons and St Ambrose.
Worth experiencing in Gourdon
- Chateau de Gourdon and the castle gardens
- Church of Saint-Vincent
- The wash-house
- Chapel Saint-Pons
- The viewpoint of Place Victoria
- The local craft shops
- Lunch at one of the city’s restaurants
History of the city and castle
Gourdon is both one of the smallest and oldest medieval towns in the region. The city’s history dates back to the 8th century when it was built as a defense against the Saracens.
The castle, Chateau de Gourdon, was built in the 12th century and then rebuilt in the 17th century into the castle we see today.
Until 1235, the castle was in the possession of the Counts of Provence, after which it changed owners among noble families until 1918, when an American woman, named Miss Mae Noris, bought the castle. She converted it into a museum, and the castle was open to the public until 2015 when a family from Paris took it over and closed it to the public.
Chateau de Gourdon
Read a more detailed description of the castle and the city’s history here on Wikipedia.
Photo gallery from Gourdon
The wash-house
The tourist office at Place Victoria
Small patio with flowers in the old village Gourdon, France
Place Victoria
Perfume boutique
Saint-Vincent church
Gourdon seen from above
The garden of Chateau de Gourdon
“Path to Paradise”
In the old days, before modern roads were built, the only access to Gourdon was via the mule track “Chemin du Paradis”, which runs between the town of Bar-sur-Loup and Gourdon.
Legend has it that once upon a time, Bar-sur-Loup did not have its own cemetery and therefore had to transport the dead off the village up to Gourdon to be buried. The path was then given the very telling name “Chemin du Paradis”.
Nowadays, it is a nice hike between the two villages.
By Tommy Sverre – 2024
