Ruins of Château Renard from Les Beaumonts

Starting from the Route d'Aspremont and directly accessible by public transport from Nice-Nord, this short hike on the slopes of Mont-Chauve will take you to Crête de Grauss and the ruins of Château Renard for a panoramic view of the hills of Nice and the Baie des Anges.

Details

2862342
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 3.79 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 1h 35 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 169 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 168 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 492 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 328 m

Photos

Description of the walk

There are few parking spaces at the Les Beaumonts bus stop on the Aspremont road (RM 14).

Yellow-red markings

(S/E) Take the path that climbs up the valley on the right-hand side of the road. Then cross the valley to continue on the right-hand side under the pretty undergrowth.
Further on, the path crosses the valley and winds up to the right (stone marker, direction Aire Saint-Michel) and quickly reaches an area of low vegetation until it reaches an intersection.

(1) Turn left and follow the level path through the wild olive trees. Then cross an oak grove and reach a clearing with a beautiful olive tree on the right.
Continue along the path on the right to reach a stony track marked by a gas pipe (yellow triangular markers).

No markings

(2) Climb up to the right along the gas pipeline track. You will quickly gain some height and the view opens up to the right towards the hills of Nice, the baous in the Vençois region and the sea and the Estérel in the distance.
After two steeper sections, you will reach a major intersection with the GR® 5.

Red and white markings

(3) Turn right (towards the electricity pylon) and follow the GR® trail southwards with the sea in the background until you reach the ruins of Château Renard.

No markings

(4) At the château, turn right between a beautiful oak tree and the low wall to find a path that zigzags down through the scrub.
After passing along the edge of a dry stone wall, the path turns right and passes under this low wall. Continue straight down to join a more clearly marked path, signposted in yellow and red.

Yellow-red markings

Continue along this narrow, well-marked path, following the main trail and markings until you reach the intersection.

(1) which will allow you to descend the valley through the undergrowth and return to the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 329 m - Bus stop "Les Beaumonts"
  2. 1 : km 0.53 - alt. 406 m - Intersection
  3. 2 : km 1.41 - alt. 429 m - Gas trail
  4. 3 : km 1.94 - alt. 489 m - GR® 5
  5. 4 : km 2.59 - alt. 461 m - Château Renard
  6. S/E : km 3.79 - alt. 329 m - Bus stop "Les Beaumonts"

Notes

The start of the hike is accessible by bus from Nice-Nord (lines 63 and 76), stop "Les Beaumonts".
This is an easy hike, but sturdy footwear is recommended on these stony paths.

Worth a visit

(4) At Château Renard, you can visit the entrance to the Grotte de la Ratapignata (meaning "bat" in the local Nissart dialect) by following the yellow-red marked trail northeast.
(3) You can extend this hike by climbing up to Crête de Grauss and Mont-Chauve d'Aspremont by following the GR® 5 on the left.

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.1 / 5
Based on 8 reviews

Reliability of the description
3.9 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.1 / 5
Route interest
4.4 / 5
Alexchipie
Alexchipie
• Edited:

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 17, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Very busy route : Yes

A very busy hike with lots of children and lots of people coming and going on narrow paths.
Not a particularly interesting hike in my opinion; the view is beautiful, but the crowds and noise spoil it.
I would not recommend it.

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Collines
Collines

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 21, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

We were delighted and had a wonderful afternoon.

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manoudeli
manoudeli

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 14, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely hike, especially if you push on to the Falicon pyramid, as Sergio from Nice suggests. However, in this case, the path that goes up to the pylon and then to the GR5 is just a rough outline of a path, but you can get there. After all, I may have taken the wrong path...
Be careful at point 1 labelled 'Intersection' on the GPS – be sure to turn left!
Quite a few people on the way back.
Thank you for this post.

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berlib
berlib
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 22, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A very pleasant walk with no particular difficulties. At the start, the walk under the trees is particularly pleasant and the crossing of the olive grove, whose terraces have disappeared, is interesting. Beautiful view of the sea and Nice... Was the "Renard castle" really ever a castle... or was it a barn? Thank you for sharing.

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sergio de Nice
sergio de Nice
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 06, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful short hike lasting an hour and forty minutes on a well-marked trail at the start, but then more hazardous in the section above Falicon that leads to the pyramid or cave of Ratapignata (be sure to turn right after Château Renard and follow the small path that runs along a low wall to the pyramid; after that, there are no more markings, you will need to follow the direction of the easily visible electricity pylon and take the GR5 trail on your left). The return trip follows the route mapped out by Visorando, with no possibility of getting lost (always keep left) to return to the starting point at a place called Les Beaumonts. Weather permitting, the view is magnificent at 360° from the highest point. This is an easy hike that is suitable for children over the age of five.

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grislin Frédéric
grislin Frédéric

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 06, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Very good hike with several possible routes. Thank you to the GPS for guiding us.
Lack of signposts, but very good for children.

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Michele7
Michele7

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 08, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

There are several possible routes during the hike, which are not always well marked, but thanks to the app's GPS, we were able to readjust our route.

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jmgrislain@hotmail.com
jmgrislain@hotmail.com
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 20, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

In the uphill direction, the markings are not very visible, but there is little risk of getting lost.

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