Mountain bike tour (AE) Brouis pass - Mount Grazian panorama
Description
Superb ridge walk on a track, technically easy and short. Arrival at the top of Mount Grazian, breathtaking 360° view of the sea to the south and the eastern end of the Mercantour with Mount Bego and the Marguareis massif to the extreme north-east.
Park at the Col de Brouis, altitude 879 m, located between Sospel and Breil-sur-Roya on the RD 2204. The view is already magnificent, with the village of Saorge clinging to the steep slopes opposite you on the north side.
You can also choose to cycle to the Col de Brouis from Breil on the RD 2204, or on the GR 52A, or from Sospel.
Marker 124. Take the track that leaves on the north side to the left of the inn. It will pass quickly to the south.
Continue straight ahead (do not take the track that goes left towards the antennas and the cime du Bosc).
You follow the GR52 A route up to the marker 119 at the Col de Paula.
There, the GR will go down on the right by a path,
You take the right track.
(The track on the left leads to the very pretty perched hamlet of Piene-Haute: on the way back you can choose to make a detour to visit this eagle's nest, its churches and chapel and its castle, and enjoy the breathtaking view).
Along the way you will see some old border markers.
A few hairpin bends and you are at the top of Mount Grazian, which dominates Sospel and its fields, nothing stopping your vision, Mount Grazian being an isolated summit.
Return by the same route.
Remember to take water, the route is in full sun.
Avoid the hottest hours of the day in midsummer; in summer, early mornings or evenings are best.
Technical Information
Altimetric profile
Starting point
Points of interest
Chapel of the Visitation of the White Penitents of Piene-Haute
Dedicated to Saint Elizabeth, the seat of the Penitent's Brotherhood of Piène-Haute, reactivated in 2015, it is located in the hamlet square and is part of the urban fabric. It is likely that its construction pre-dates its late painted decorations.
Piène Haute Castle
Located at the end of the rocky ridge on which the village is located. One can see from this castle, the tower of the Cruella in Breil sur roya, the hamlet of Libre, the village of Fanghetto.Until 1815, this castle was the most advanced strategic position of the Republic of Genoa in the Roya Valley. In front of him stand the Savoiese positions of Breil on Roya, the castle of Ar Casté and the tower of the Cruella. Known as impregnable, the castle is at stake in many battles. The Breillois seized it in 1239 and kept it until 1252, when they had to return it to Genoa. The Provençals took him in 1335. He resisted several attempts by Savoie, then was abandoned in 1815 when the Republic of Genoa joined the house of Savoie-Sardinia. Abandoned for nearly a century, it gradually deteriorated. After the war it became private property and remains so to this day. Do not visit each other.
Saint-Marc Church of Piene-Haute
Built at the beginning of the 18th century, the main façade dominates a small square at the end of the hamlet. Its chevet and presbytery are founded on a sheer cliff 200 m above the Roya. A narrow rocky passage leads to the old castle, to the north.
Piène Haute hamlet
The hamlet of Piène Haute has 60 inhabitants in the winter and 150 in the summer.The ruins of the old castle testify to its age. Its name «Piène Haute» has sparked many debates during this long history. Primitively “Penna” and then “Penna Alta” (some translate «Piène Haute») it has turned into «Piena» not to confuse it with another «Penna», located in Abruzzo. The name of Piène Haute was definitively retained in 1947 when it came to France. The hamlet of Piène-Haute (600 m altitude) is relatively isolated due to its original military location (a medieval Genoese stronghold). Access by road was only created after the village became part of France. The village overlooks the Roya on a 200m-high cliff, with a very wide view of the Mercantour peaks and the sea. The village as a whole is spectacular, both for its linear layout and for the well-preserved homogeneity of its appearance. The church of Saint-Marc, a Historic Monument, features Baroque Ligurian decoration from the early 18th century. The Chapel of the White Penitents (Monuments Historiques) has preserved its neo-Gothic decor from the late 19th century. The small houses in the hamlet, like the roads, are carefully maintained and planted with flowers by the locals, who maintain a pleasant overall unity. Château de Piène-Haute (private) is a former Genoese stronghold of medieval origin (11th-17th centuries), built on a rocky ridge at the end of the hamlet, overlooking the Roya.
Additional information
Contact
Phone : 04 83 93 98 34
Email : breil-tourisme@menton-riviera-merveilles.fr
Open period
All year round.
Subject to favorable weather.
Updated by
Office de Tourisme Menton, Riviera & Merveilles - 27/12/2023
www.menton-riviera-merveilles.fr/boutique/
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