Most of the parcs departemental in the south of France lie hidden in the back country. Off the top of my head, I can name only two that you are ever likely to see “accidentally“, passing through by car or by train, and these two could not be more different.
The Esterel (with its red rocks) is the star of the pack, charming and spectacular: you will fall in love at first sight.
The Vaugrenier nature reserve, conversely, when you first pass it on a French Riviera mainline train just outside the station of Villeneuve-Loubet Plage, is likely to go entirely unnoticed: one would not suspect what lies concealed behind the facade of a somewhat scruffy forest.
Like many an ugly duckling, however, the Vaugrenier turns out be full of surprises.
The approach on foot – turning left out of Villeneuve-Loubet train station, the coast on your left hand side – is, if anything, even less promising.
Villeneuve-Loubet Plage is the uncontested eyesore of the Riviera, little more than a sprawl of shops and fast food joints that have been built for the inmates of the Marina Bay holiday prison.
The Vaugrenier has a surface area of little more than 1 square km, but within this small frame, the ugly duckling from Villeneuve-Loubet, packs a mighty punch of variety.
There are park-like alleyways …
… as well as dense jungle forests …
… and, above all (or rather: below all), there is a swamp.
This is what this patch of land used to be and what it would revert to in a jiffy if left unattended. Following a downpour the previous afternoon, most of the Vaugrenier appeared to have dried up fairly quickly.
But one did not have to search very hard or long to see where all the water had gone.
On the swamp’s observation platform, quite a few birdwatchers were there to welcome us, if that is the right word. Which it is not.
They gave us to understand that we were intruding upon something sacred and significant, mainly by signalling their fear that we would do something silly (such as talking at a level above a revered hush) to scare away the pair of yellow-backed throat warblers they must have been eyeing the entire morning.
They also sneered (if inaudibly) when they saw our point-and-shoot camera. So we took our pics, made our excuses, and left.
Birdwatchers were not the only people in the Vaugrenier that morning. There were mothers with small children, pensioners on a stroll, joggers, there was even a large group of sporty middle-aged walkers with trekking poles. All this on a grey November day in midweek, outside any school holiday season.
To put this observation into context, please consider that we have, over time, visited some of the most spectacular natural beauty spots in a region which is home to millions of people and which attracts millions of visitors every year.
Sometimes we meet a handful of folks on the site itself and in the approach, sometimes not even that many. Rarely have we have been surrounded by so many people in a nature reserve.
One reason for the apparent popularity of this ugly duckling from Villeneuve-Loubet is that the Vaugrenier is so easy to reach. Some of the other parks and forests require a long bus ride on top of the journey on a train, and a walk to boot. The Vaugrenier, conversely, is a 10-minute stroll away from the Villeneuve-Loubet train station.
But there may be a second reason: the fact that the park’s immediate surroundings are so ugly.
Humans, after all, need a little beauty in their lives. Where else would you go in Villeneuve-Loubet Plage on an overcast November morning if you feel like clearing your head a little – to Vinny’s fast food kiosk in the parking lot of the shopping centre?
Whatever reasons the visitors may have had for making the trip, few seem to have come for the Roman ruins, which are among the area’s most interesting and expansive, the remains of a small but busy community of artisans that was established here in the era of Emperor Augustus.
What has been preserved is essentially the outer wall of the ancient temple. You have to add the rest in your head, admittedly, but at least can do so undisturbed.
There is no suggested route for you to explore the Vaugrenier, which means that you have to make up your own. (We saw a sentier educatif advertised and followed the arrow to the first fork less than one hundred metres away, but there was no indication of which lane to choose. After that, we stopped looking for the trail. Neither did we ever come across another sign or marking.)
But since the park is small, you should not be afraid of losing your way: you will soon enough come out in a place from where you can retrace your steps, an entrance or a parking lot where a map is on display.
Which allows you to throw all caution to the wind and follow each and every one of your whims. If something looks interesting: just go for it! Isn’t that what you have always been wanting to do on a hike?
Finally, on the way back to the train station, you will pass the Mix Market on your left hand side. But do not just pass – walk in instead for a spellbinding dip into a European food culture which is, in many ways, fascinatingly different from our own.
The Mix Market opened in 2017 as the “largest Russian supermarket in France“, serving a community which is of increasing importance for the Riviera (perhaps for Europe as a whole?).
Many of the food items on sale are highly convenient for visitors with unlavishly equipped holiday flats or hotel rooms since they require little preparation (such as the pirogi) or none at all (smoked fish, Christmas cakes. They sell caviar, too. Here’s a tip: if you don’t like yours straight off the spoon, you can also use it to salt your fries).
On top of all that, the shop offers a large selection of Russian beers to wash it all down. But do not get carried away, at least not instantly: the house rules are strict!
