Riviera: Hilltop Villages of the Hinterland

Three days in the hinterland behind Nice, a few kilometres from the beaches but a world away. The route links Saint-Paul-de-Vence, an artists' village whose Maeght Foundation holds Giacometti and Miro, Tourrettes-sur-Loup, the town of violets clinging above the Loup gorges, then Gourdon, an eyrie at 760 metres from which Corsica is visible on very clear days. Grasse, world capital of perfume with its historic houses, and Mougins, a gastronomic village where Picasso spent his final years, close the trip. This is a Riviera of olive trees, dry-stone walls and craft workshops. The villages are pedestrianised, with paid parking below: expect to walk up. Saint-Paul is saturated from 11am to 5pm in summer, so come early or late in the day.