"Gourdon, a picture-perfect stone village " a Gourdon Travel Page by Beausoleil

Gourdon is a perfect day trip from Nice, Grasse or some other nearby towns. We were staying in Vence, decided to visit Tourrettes for lunch and then drove on up to Gourdon on a beautiful day in November.

It is a major tourist destination receiving about a million visitors every year so visiting out of season is a very good idea.

One of the main reasons people visit Gourdon is the panoramic view from nearly everywhere in town. You look down a narrow cobblestone street and suddenly realize that at the end of the street your gaze is drawn to the distance . . . and it goes a long way.

Then there is the town itself . . . picture perfect. The buildings are all lovely light-colored stone and absolutely glow when the sun is lowering. The shadows created are magical.

You come to a terrace or the end of a street and look out over the valley of the Loup River and you know why you travel.

I'm not sure how I'd feel in the main tourist season when you are jostled at every turn, but in the autumn when the trees are changing color and the sun is low in the sky, it is absolute magic.