Baou de Saint-Jeannet

Saint-Jeannet

A landmark for the whole Côte d'Azur, the Baou de Saint-Jeannet raises its limestone cliff to 802 metres above the village. The Provençal word "baou", according to Frédéric Mistral, means a "steep rock with a flat top" — the very definition of this plateau perched more than 300 metres above the village. The site was frequented as early as the Palaeolithic, as shown by the station des Colles, where flakes of worked flint were found, and then occupied in the Bronze and Iron Ages. In the 15th century the chapel of Notre-Dame, popularly known as Notre-Dame des Baous, was built here. From the 12th to the 16th century, the Castellet sheepfold and the jas de Barrière bear witness to intense pastoral activity, of which dry-stone walls and enclosures survive. It was in the mid-20th century that the Baou entered sporting legend: the climbers of Nice trained here, giving birth to a climbing mecca that today counts 470 routes spread over 17 sectors. The site also fed the imagination of painters, from Félix Ziem to Raoul Dufy, Marc Chagall and Auguste Renoir, who captured its silhouette from the 18th century onwards. Since 2022, part of the Sources sector has been under surveillance following the collapse of a hundred-tonne block of rock, a reminder of the fragility of this legendary cliff.

Getting there : Start from the village of Saint-Jeannet (Alpes-Maritimes) via the Castellet circuit; demanding walk, not advised in summer (very exposed south face); summit equipped with an orientation table and a rescue helipad, in the Préalpes d'Azur regional nature park

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound