Gourdon is one of the official “Most Beautiful Villages In France” and a real favorite of mine. It’s the closest one to us here in Vence, about 26 kilometers (or 16 miles). By car, it’s about a 45 minute drive due to the winding mountain roads that you take to get up to it. It is indeed a beautiful village, very small and perched atop a towering rocky cliff overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Whenever we have visitors I always take them up to Gourdon. It’s also one of my favorite regular bike rides.
The Vence 7 Village Loop
This is one of my favorite rides from Vence. I’ve been making this loop for almost ten years and honestly, I never get tired of it. I start in Vence, head over the Col de Vence and ride through seven villages before I arrive back in Vence, completing a big circle that has a little bit of everything: climbs, downhills, villages, beautiful valleys, stunning mountains and more. It’s a regular ride that I try to do at least once every two weeks.