A short stop at Tourrette-Levens

We have winter again with cold nights and days only slightly above freezing point. The progressing spring has stepped aside for a while and everything is once again covered by snow. No wonder my thoughts are on the forthcoming trip to Spain as well as the earlier trips to the Mediterranean, especially the one I made with a few friends to the South of France a few years ago in March.

Here are some photos taken during that trip in the lovely mountain village of Tourrette-Levens some 15 kilometres and a half-an-hour drive inland from Nice. There is a castle dating from the 12th century on the hilltop. However, we didn’t find the château open and I learnt only later that it houses, in addition to various artworks on the grounds, a natural history museum with a magnificent collection of butterflies and other insects, le Musée des Papillons.

Stone sculpture of a panther by Emmanuel Augier in the courtyard of the castle.

This lovely statue was standing in a private garden.

Another interesting place to visit is the museum of traditional occupations, le Musée des Métiers traditionnels, exhibiting close to 7,000 tools representing some 40 traditional occupations since the Middle Ages. The museum is the accomplishment of a private collector who has had a passion for the field for more than 25 years. However, because of the unlucky timing of our stroll in the village we could only have a peek into the courtyard. Must pay another visit to the montée du Château some time.

Courtyard of the Musée des Métiers traditionnels.