Cime de Baudon and Mont Agel loop

From the D53 coming from La Turbie, park in the car park on the right in the Bompin residential area, at an altitude of 659.

(S/E) To minimise walking on the road, head towards marker 564 by going straight ahead through the housing estate and then immediately turning right. Marker 564 indicates Bompin 610 m (do not rely on this to calibrate your GPS, as this altitude is incorrect on all maps). Cross the road and take the path running alongside a property fence, then head towards Peille through the woodland until you reach the D53.

(1) Follow it to the right for about 700 m until you reach the path on the left.

(2) A blue mark on the ground indicates the direction to take further down. You arrive in the village of Peille below the old via ferrata. Walk up through the village along its narrow streets until you reach marker 550.

(3) The direction to the Cime de Baudon is clearly signposted and the yellow markings are fairly regular. Reach the Col du Saint-Bernard at marker 552.

(4) Continue along the marked path to the fork at around 890 m. Marker 554 is missing.

(5) Do not miss the path on the left, which follows a mountain bike track at the start, then climbs steeply over rocky ground until it reaches a ridge, which you should follow to the right.

(6) Leave the return path on your right. Continue along the ridge to the Cime de Baudon.
Wild goats and a 360° panorama. If the sky is clear, you may be able to see Corsica.

(7) Retrace your steps to the start of the path on the left.

(6) Descend via the path which initially plunges into rocky terrain that is sometimes unstable, and reach the Col de la Madone. There are memorial stones in memory of the American soldiers killed on 6 September 1944.

(8) Cross the road and take the path that climbs southwards to the Cime de Gariglian.
View to the north over the Cime de Baudon, from where we have come, and nearby the forest of Radio Monte Carlo antennas along the Crête des Cabanelles, beneath which sheep graze in summer, and further south Mont Agel, off-limits as it is military land with air traffic control radars.

(9) Reach the Baisse des Cabanelles (elevation 1039m), from where you can look down on Menton and the coast all the way to Italy.

(10) Continue down the path which leads into pleasant woodland to marker 508.

(11) Take the path that climbs to the right. Soon, follow the fence of Roc Agel (''owned by the Princely Family of Monaco and then by the Monte Carlo Golf Club'') until you reach the hairpin bend on the tarmac road leading up to Mont Agel.

(12) Go through the gate and follow the path along the fence.
“A lovely flat spot under the umbrella pines with a view of the Lérins Islands makes for a pleasant spot to stop for a snack.” Then head right for about 250 m along the path, which narrows again.

(13) At the 846m mark, turn left and follow the yellow markings.

(14) The path then leaves the undergrowth and leads us through the fragrant heath to the side of the road.

(15) The path does not follow the road but a downhill mountain bike track to the car park (S/E).

There is no opportunity to refill with water, and it can get very hot towards the end of the route, which is west-facing and in full sun.
A number of signposts have disappeared, although they are still shown on IGN maps; there are many well-marked paths at junctions and it is easy to take a wrong turn.
The GPX track on the Visorando app or a GPS device can be very useful.

Visit to the village of Peille.
360° view from the Cime de Baudon over the Mercantour, the sea and beyond Nice to the Estérel Massif.
Below Mont Agel, the route follows the Roc Agel estate belonging to the princely family of Monaco, as well as the golf club.