The Ultimate Guide to Peillon Village in France

Peillon Village in France is a hilltop village near Nice known for its’ medieval stone houses and incredible mountain surroundings. It’s the perfect off-the-beaten-path day trip on the Cote d’Azur and can be visited by public transport as long as you don’t mind a bit of a hike!

Trust me, the views of Peillon make it totally worth it!

How to Get to Peillon Village

There are a few ways to get to Peillon depending on where you are coming from and what you plan to do that day.

But I highly recommend visiting Peillon Village from Nice! Especially if you like a bit of adventure since every single one of these options includes a little hiking.

If you want to avoid hiking altogether, I don’t recommend taking public transport.

You can drive straight up to Peillon Village if you’ve rented a car, which would be the best option for any travelers who struggle with hiking/walking longer distances.

However, if you are wanting to save some money and get some incredible views while hiking into Peillon, here are three options that will get you there from Nice!

Also, if you happen to be coming from Monaco or Menton and want to get to Peillon by public transport, you will need to first travel to Nice and then follow the options I’ve laid out below.

The Easiest Way to Get to Peillon – Rent a Car

There is a parking lot right at the entrance of the village, so you can technically drive right up to it if you rent a car! Since there are no tours or public transportation that can take you straight to Peillon, this is the easiest way to get there.

Every other option includes hiking, so if you’re not up for a hike, you’d better rent a car.

Nice to Peillon by Bus & Hike (SUNDAYS ONLY)

From Place Garibaldi, you can take the L1 “Hopital Pasteur” direction to Pont Michel, then switch to the Bus 66 Direction “La Turbie/ Peille Village.”

The first section of the trip may vary depending on where you’re staying in Nice, but the main goal is to get to the 66 Bus which takes you to Le Telepherique.

From there, you hike for about 35 minutes until you get to Peillon Village. This is a hiking trail that may be a bit overgrown, so come prepared! I haven’t done this trail myself since we hiked in from Peille instead, but I imagine that the two trails are pretty similar.

Nice to Peille by Bus, Then Hike to Peillon from Peille (SUNDAYS ONLY)

This is the option we took and I definitely recommend it! However, you do need to have your phone fully charged and your Google Map loaded beforehand since there are quite a few forks in the road along the trail from Peille to Peillon.

For this option, it’s the same as the first one (get to Bus 66!) except this time you get off at Peille Village instead. After wandering around this adorable French village for a while, you can start your trek over to Peillon.

The hike will take about an hour and a half and it’s about 4 miles long (6.4 km). It’s a single-track hike (or that’s what my husband told me! lol) which means it’s very narrow and you have to hike in a single-file line.

Make sure to check your map every time you come to a fork in the road.

Nice to Peillon by TER Train (EVERY DAY)

This third option is the most expensive but is for anyone who doesn’t want to hike on a trail to get to Peillon. There is still some hiking to do, but it will be on a freeway, so a bit easier to hike.

If that is still difficult, you may be able to Uber, but I wouldn’t count on that option since Ubers most likely wouldn’t be that far outside of Nice.

After you get to the Peillon- Sainte-Thecle stop, it’s a 43-minute hike to Peillon. Most of the hike is on the freeway road, but there is a trail that will lead you straight to Peillon.

For some reason, this trail was closed when we visited. If that’s the case for you, you can just walk along the freeway all the way to Peillon.

Luckily, you get views like this from the bottom which make the hikes totally worth it! Can you believe they built this incredible village on that rock?!

Where to Stay in Peillon

There aren’t many options, but all of them are gorgeous and will make your trip unforgettable! Check out the views and amazing stays below.

Here are the best hotels in Peillon, France in the Old Village:

Auberge de la Madone

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This hotel in Peillon is the perfect place for a great view of the village while still being in it! Auberge de la Madone is one of the only hotels in Peillon and has great reviews. Click here to check it out!

Peillon Village Charming House

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This VRBO is a great place for the whole family to escape to the French hilltop town. It sleeps up to six people and has a great view of the valley. Click here to check it out!

Luxurious Home In Pedestrian-Only Medieval Hill Village

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This luxury home is in Vieux Peillon and is definitely worth a stay! The bathtub in this place is amazing. Go check it out!

What to Do in Peillon

Get to the Best Viewpoint of the Town of Peillon

If you love a bit of rule-breaking, then this stop is for you! If you plan to hike into Peillon from Peille or from Le Telepherique, then you are going to pass right by this incredible viewpoint.

The only downside is that there is a gate blocking it.

Don’t worry, you won’t be jumping into someone’s backyard. There’s nothing there except for a platform covered in graffiti and this incredible view. Here is the exact location of the viewpoint so that you don’t miss it:

Wander the Village of Peillon

As with every pedestrian hilltop village, the best part of visiting is walking around the village until you familiarize yourself with every corner.

There are plenty of narrow streets to wander through and get lost in. These steep streets may have you stopping often for breaks, but it’s worth it! Plus, since there are no cars, this is the only way to visit Peillon.

Visit the Church Sainte-Saveur at the Top of the Village

Unfortunately, the church was closed during our trip, but the views from up there were just amazing! There’s also a map that shows which cities are in which direction and how far away they are.

Eat at a Michelin Guide Restaurant: Les Plaisirs

If you are looking for a fancy meal during your trip, then you have to check out Les Plaisirs. It is a Michelin Guide restaurant, meaning that it isn’t a Michelin Star restaurant but it WAS included in their guide and on their website.

Jake and I didn’t eat here (baguette with cheese, anyone? lol) and the restaurant is not open year-round, but check out the Les Plaisirs website for prices and if you need to make a reservation.

Get a Better View from the Parking Lot

Visit La Chapelle des Penitents-Blancs & La Chapelle Notre-Dame-des-Douleurs de Peillon

After the parking lot, there is a little area with two churches that you can continue to explore: The Chapel of the White Penitents (Chapel of Penitents-Blancs) and the Chapel of Notre-Dame-des-Douleurs.

The flowers and vines on the buildings there were absolutely gorgeous.

Visit the Saint Roch Church Viewpoint of Peillon

This church isn’t even on the map, but my husband just noticed that it looked like it would have a great view of the village so we headed over.

You actually have to follow a trail that goes behind some houses and is quite overgrown, but it is only a few minutes walk to an adorable little pink church with one of the best views of Peillon!

I dropped a pin at the location so that you guys can get there too. Here is the exact location on Google Maps:

The church wasn’t open (and it wasn’t even marked on Google Maps so I’m not sure it ever is open!) but it’s an area definitely worth visiting.

The viewpoint is incredible and I can’t believe Jake found it! There is a fence there, but if you continue down the trail a bit you can find a place without a fence.

Hike Down to Sainte-Thecle TER Train Stop

If you hiked into Peillon from Peille or from Le Telepherique, you may want to hike down the hill for a few more views of Peillon.

After visiting the Saint Roch church, you can continue along that trail until it meets back with the freeway and then head down to Sainte-Thécle from there.

The whole hike down, you can catch views of the hilltop village behind you. Once you reach the bottom, the view is even more impressive as you can really appreciate that they built a whole village on a giant rock!

If you’re up for walking even longer and want to save a bit of money (this is for the budget-travel-crazies only!!) you can continue walking past Sainte-Thecle until you reach the first bus stop which is “Les Chenes Verts.”

From there, you can hop on the Ligne d’Azur bus and head straight back to Nice.

Again, Jake and I are a little crazy and we’d rather walk than spend money every single time, but my feet were really hurting after walking from Peille to Peillon and then all the way to Les Chenes Verts!

It was worth it though! There were so many cute towns on the way, plus we got to eat quite a few plums that we plucked off trees on the way.

Go Camping at Camping de la Laune

Lastly, if you want to stay close to Peillon on a budget, you can go camping at Camping de La Laune. The website is in French, but you can stay in a Chalet or bring your own camping gear.

I’m not sure if they have camping gear to rent, but you can get $10 sleeping bags and $25 tents at Decathlon in Nice. This was our original plan, but we ended up turning it into a day trip instead.

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