The Village of La Garde Freinet
La Garde-Freinet is one of Provence's best-preserved villages; its architecture has remained in near perfect condition.
The stone houses with their Roman tiles are tidily arranged around the town centre, characterized by narrow and sloping streets, little alleyways carved into the rocks and shady squares. The village of La garde Freinet stands proud over the Maures Hills and the accross to the sea …
The actress Jeanne Moreau formerly lived in the village, Vanessa Redgrave has a property here and more recently actor Jonny Depp has purchased in nearby Plan de la Tour.
Many artists reside here or come to stay regularly. La Garde-Freinet is a discreet village, sheltered from the gaze of the adjacent Riviera, perched high up and snug against the giant plain of Le Luc, a few miles inland from the coast.
During the summer months whilst the inhabitants of St Tropez and port Grimaud are sweltering through the night, up the hill in La Garde Freinet a slightly cooler nights sleep can be found ( it's still rather hot!).
Legend tells it that the Saracens and Barbary Coast pirates founded La Garde-Freinet and used it as a base to pillage the neighbouring villages. Although it seems unlikely that such seafarers would choose to live so far from the coast...
Whatever the truth, when you take the hilltop roads you will easily understand why the village's first inhabitants chose this rocky spur as their lookout post for potential invaders coming from inland or the sea.
The wide road leading from Grimaud to La Garde-Freinet winds its way through dense and proud chestnut groves, where you can also admire cork oaks and maritime pine trees.
La Garde-Freinet is the ideal departure point for discovering the Maures Hills.
A two-hour itinerary from the village will take you from Rue Saint-Jacques to Aire de La Planète square, via the village cross with its amusing history (ask at the Tourist Office!) and Fort Freinet, where the first inhabitants lived.
The village and surrounding areas offer a vast range of walking itineraries. One of the most picturesque leads to Col des Fourches pass and towards Vidauban and Gonfaron.The footpath can only be accessed from the Fort on foot, by bike or on horseback and offers uninterrupted views over the two adjacent valleys.
You may like to extend your walk to the "Roches Blanches" - although these rocks appear to be covered in snow, they are actually made of white quartz. The effect is quite striking, though. This is where goats and sheep cross on their way to their Summer or Winter grazing grounds.
The traditional Saint Clément "Bravades" are held here on the first weekend of May. Although less spectacular than the more famous "Bravades" held in Saint-Tropez, this military and religious celebration is marked by a procession of soldiers to the shrine of the village's Patron Saint, located in a chapel 1 km from the village.
If you're looking for somewhere nice to dine, La Garde-Freinet offers an excellent choice of Restaurants - you'll love the views if you drive up to the village at sunset.
When the Mistral wind blows, the inland scenery offers a symphony of colour, where the hills stand out sharply against many shades of blue and grey, fading towards the horizon.
