Walk from Saorge to the Sainte-Croix chapel

The Breil tourist office, which will be completely renovated in 2021, has been awarded the "Qualité tourisme", "Station verte" and "Accueil vélo" labels. It offers a bright and welcoming space with a shop, opening directly onto the main village square.In the Roya Valley, the village of Breil-sur-Roya, commune of the Mercantour National Park, stretches all along the stream which serves as a harmonious setting for swans, fishermen and kayak enthusiasts. Known as the " Land of Olive-trees ", Breil-sur-Roya is a very lively village also offering a rich baroque heritage and many festivities such as the famous " Stacada ". Breil-sur-Roya offers a rich baroque heritage and numerous festivities, including the famous Stacada, a traditional festival celebrating the contestation of local potentates every four years on the third or fourth Sunday in July. Breil is also rich in craft activities and associations, and proposes a wide range of sporting activities: mountain bike routes, white water activities including canyoning, hiking... Between the sea and the mountains, Breil is located halfway between Italy and Italy! 24 km from the sea at Ventimiglia, in the Liguria region, and 39 km from Limone Piemonte (an alpine ski resort) in the Piedmont region. The landscapes and vegetation range from 151 m to 2080 m (Pointe des Trois Communes - Authion massif), in a very great and rich diversity.

A village in the shape of an eagle's nest, Saorge is a monument in itself, a witness to medieval architecture. This village, which looks like a "Tibetan village", entirely listed, is an ancient fortress clinging to the side of the mountain in the shape of an amphitheatre.Saorge is an important point on the "Route of the Baroque and Historic Organs of the Roya Valley". A village with Ligurian origins, for a long time it was a stopover on the salt route, a strategic axis between France and Italy. It has a rich historical and religious heritage with, in addition to the Monastery, which is part of the National Monuments Centre, a Baroque church, three chapels and the remains of fortified castles. With its narrow streets and vaulted passages, once defended by three castles, the fortress of Saorge, reputed to be impregnable, was nicknamed "the lock of the Roya".

From the esplanade of the Monastery where you can contemplate Saorge "village in the sky" hanging in ampitheatre from the restanques, enter a world of serenity: the baroque Franciscan convent, with the church and its terraced garden in a green valley.The village of Saorge overlooks the Roya Gorge at the gates of Mercantour Park. Listed at the Centre des Monuments Nationaux, the Monastery, a former Francosiscan convent founded in 1633, is baroque in style. It has retained its original structure, painted decorations and food garden. The Church has remarkable walnut woodwork, paintings and liturgical objects. The cloister is decorated with 17th century frescoes illustrating the episodes of the life of St Francis of Assisi, as well as an exceptional set of nine period sundials. The refectory preserves 17th-century frescoes on monastic virtues. The garden, a veritable haven of peace open to the mountains, consists of an organic vegetable garden and an orchard, arranged in terraces with several irrigation basins linked together. The monastery welcomes writers, translators, writers-in-residence writing from April to October. - For the visually impaired public, the Monastery offers mediation tools: a tactile model and tour guides in Braille and thermoformed leaflets, very well designed, produced by a specialised association in collaboration with the Valentin Haüy association. - For the mentally handicapped public, adapted tours are offered, in-house, by reservation. - For the deaf and hearing-impaired, the Monastery can call upon the services of LSF interpreters, externally, by reservation and only for groups. - To date, for the time being, no specific accessibility equipment is available for people with motor disabilities.