Protected by the beautiful San Peyre Hills to the north, the pretty village of Opio is perched some 300 meters above sea level. Situated 7 km from Grasse, 15 km from Cannes and 30 km from Nice airport. This very leafy woodland commune, covering an area of 947 hectares, of which 450 hectares are forest lands, borders with Chateauneuf-de-Grasse, Valbonne and Le Rouret, and has abundant wildlife and is still home to wild boar, badgers, foxes, owls and bats to name just a few "local residents".

Opio is a fairly small village which can be either reached by car or on foot. The macadamized footpath, chemin du Village, leads directly to the Town Hall and while a little steep offers a splendid panorama – the immaculate Golf Club du Grande Bastide, the Opio forest to the west and the Estérel Mountains in the distance. The village houses are very picturesque and well maintained with small tended gardens brimming with flowers, citrus and olive trees.

The main shopping area is located at the bottom of the village at Rond-Point de la Font Neuve. Here you'll find a good and well stocked Champion supermarket (with an ATM to your left as you enter), an excellent chemist, a very friendly post office, dry cleaners, butchers and a few other practical shops. A newspaper kiosk, located in the general car park, also sells a range of English newspapers and, during summer months, is open on Sunday mornings, as is Champion.

Opio's main landmark is Moulin de la Brague, a wonderful old olive mill that dates back to 1425 and has been owned by the same family (Michel) since 1848.  Today it produces between 700 and 1000 tonnes of olives (la caillette variety which is particular to the region and has an ultra fruity flavour) a year and is the region's number one olive mill as well as being the 3rd largest olive mill in France (the largest olive processing plant is Oulibo located in the Aude). Produced from mid-November to the end of March their AOC olive oil is highly-regarded and used by some of the grandest places on the Cote d'Azur: Le Moulins de Mougins, Le Carlton and Le Majestic to name just a few.  You can visit the mill and their olive shop every day except Monday mornings and Sunday.

Garden lovers are spoilt by a super garden centre called Nova Jardins located on route de Cannes. They have a wide selection of quality plants - both indoor and outdoor - as well as selling animal products, beautiful earthenware pots and statues, and pool items. They open early and can be visited 7 days-a-week; however they close during lunch hour so you might want to visit them early on Sunday mornings before going over to Champion to pick up your Sunday papers.

We also discoverd another unassuming place called Opiocolor, a Glass Mosaic factory. From the outside it looks just like a white rectangular building. The parking area has a row of international flags fluttering in the breeze and the parking gravel is made up of thousands upon thousands of crunched multi-coloured mosaics.

Apart from the sign "Opiocolor" nothing else would lead you to believe how far reaching this company is. At first we thought they were a small outlet who sold mosaics for swimming pools - or to people wanting to jazz up their bathroom or shower cubicle. But after a visit to their factory and a talk with their press officer - we discovered a remarkable story.

With only a staff of 48 and 4 sites; the headquarters, production unit and showroom is located here in Opio. They also have a shop in Paris, a subsidiary in Hong Kong and a workshop at Carthage (Tunisia) - Opiocolor is the top mosaic manufacturer  in France and the only factory of its kind in the country. The 2x2cm tiles can be found in more than 80 countries worldwide and the company's turnover amounted to €7,733,000 in 2002, nearly 60% of which derived from exports. Every year in June they also have a special "Mosaic Festival" where you can come and buy their mosaics either to replace missing ones from your pool or home or to create your own designs.

In 1989 the commune was chosen by Club Med to set up its Provence-Côte d’Azur vacation club. This site covers an area of 50 hectares and we've often found either cyclists or ramblers from the Club Med somewhat lost down our country lanes when out walking our dogs.

The commune is also an important cultivation centre for aromatic flowers – notably the rose - which are grown to supply the perfumeries of Grasse.  

A stele (inscribed stone slab often used as a gravestone) marks the spot along the D3 Chateauneuf-Opio road where Coluche (creator of Restaurants du Coeur) died in a motorbike accident.