Cabris
Provence-Beyond (Beyond the French Riviera) ®
Alpes-Maritimes (06) 06530
Population: 1307
Altitude: 550 m
Nearby:
[ Grasse | St. Cézaire | St. Vallier | le Tignet ]
Photos:
A view of the village (21 k)
The "campanile" across the rooftops (16 k)
Below: [ History | Hiking | Grotto | Lodging ]
Cabris is a beautiful village perched on a high promontory extending out to the south from the Plan de Provence hills.
The panoramic view from the top of the village, beside the 17th-century church Notre Dame de l'Assomption, is spectacular.
The "Table Panoramique" is in good condition, and helps identify Nice and the Fort du Mont Alban in the east, past Cannes and the Isles de Lérins and around to the Lac de St. Cassien and beyond to the west. The distinctively steep-sided butte at the Gorges du Blavet is easy to recognize.
Both the old church and the old-looking "Le Vieux Chàteau" restaurant-hotel are on the Place Mirabeau at the top of the village. The church was built around 1600, and very nicely restored in 1966. The walls and archway along the side of the Place Mirabeau are the remains of the Chàteau des Marquis de Clapiers-Cabris that was there from the 10th century until its destruction during the revolution.
Going down into the old village are narrow streets between tall medieval houses, stone steps in hidden alcoves and arched passages. The buildings are in good condition and well tended, with many colorfully restored.
The D4 road from Grasse enters the village beneath rows of "marronniers" (horse chestnut trees). On the village side of the road, the outdoor tables of several restaurants are set back beneath the shade of many more marronniers on Le Petit Pré. On the other side of the road is a huge grassy field, Le Grand Pré, open and inviting, and ringed by shady marronniers for picnicking. There's a childrens' playground, with slides, swings and teeter-totters, at the far end of the field.
Next to the road junction at the village "center" is the Place des Puits, where several terrace cafés and a small fountain are shaded by a pine, a plane tree and a marronnier .
Name
First record, 1252: Castrum de Cabriis; Cabre is Provençal for a steep rocky area, taken from the name for goats.
History
Cabris is said to date back to the 5th century BC.
Prehistoric: There are several prehistoric sites in the area, including bronze-age tombs, dolmens at Clauds and Stramousse, about 1 km to the east. At the Croix de Cabris, in the hills northwest of the village, is a partly-natural pseudo dolmen called Pierre Tabulaire.
Celtic-Ligurian: The remains of a Celtic-Ligurian camp is located at Les Oudides (or Laudide, northwest of the village.
Roman: Several Roman artifacts have been discovered here.
Medieval: Cabris was deserted in 1400 and resettled in 1496.
The commune was part of the fief of Grasse-Bar, and then the Clapiers de Gréoux until 1789.
- Numbers
- Syndicat d'Initiative - tel: (33) 493 60 55 63; 9 rue Frédéric Mistral, 06530
Grotto
The Grotte Parc Archeologique des Audides is about 4 km out of the village, on the little D4 road towards St. Vallier-de-Thiey.
- Hiking
- Maps:
- IGN (1:25,000) 3643 ouest "Grasse"
- Didier Richard (1:50,000) #26 "Pays d'Azur"
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The GR51 (Balcony of the Cote d'Azur) passes through Cabris, entering the village via an arched tunnel through the walled houses at the west side (photo, above).
North of Cabris, connecting trails from the GR51 go to St. Vallier and, via the GR4, over the Plateau de Caussolss and the Plateau de Calern, past the domed telescopes of CERGA.
To the south, the GR51 circles around Le Tignet and on to Auribeau-sur-Siagne and down to the coast. Near Le Tignet, the SD2 trail goes up through St.Cézaire-sur-Siagne and points north.
The Cabris Syndicat d'Initiative publishes a small guide with several local walks and hikes described.
