After a day out at Lac de St. Cassien, (a beautiful lake about 7km long set in a stunning natural environment and which we promise to feature next year) we sometimes take the more scenic D2562 road home rather than the A8 motorway.

This journey leads us through Peymeinade, a pretty village situated only 5km from Grasse, and under an hour’s drive from Nice airport.

Each time we drive down its wide and tree-lined high street, (avenue de Boutiny), with its 80 or so shops and businesses, our attention is drawn to the many hanging baskets and large earthenware pots brimming with colourful geraniums and petunias. Small fountains and decorative round-abouts adding further interest.

But, eager to get home, we’d never stop and continue our homeward bound journey - totally unware of the hidden Peymeinade that we were later to discover and enjoy.

It’s always an embarrassing moment when asked “Have you visited . . .” and the name of a town or village would be mentioned. And we’d respond and say, “We’ve driven through it on our way to . . .” and name a better known, more touristic place.

Peymeinade is definitely a case in point - and it is thanks to Philippe Aubin (Les Toques de Provence) and Madame Michèle Strazzulla (Peymeinade Tourist Office) that we’ve come to appreciate this lovely, but quite unassuming, village.

Background History

After the plague disseminated many of the villages in the region, in 1496 Balthazar of Grasse, then Lord of Cabris, brought in 52 families from the region of Menton to repopulate the village of Cabris.

As time went by, so the population increased until a few of the inhabitants decided to move away and create new homes on a small hill situated lower down from Cabris The name Peymeinade originates from the d’Oc language, “Pey” meaning hill and “meinada” family, or a group of children.

By 1701 these homes formed a hamlet and in 1724 Peymeinade became a parish with a church and Presbytery. 1786 saw the first requests from the people of Peymeinade for independence from Cabris. In 1846, a secondary road was constructed to connect Grasse to Brignoles.

A few years later, the Conseil Municipal de Cabris accepted the splitting of the towns - and on 19th June 1868, the Préfet des Alpes Maritimes published the decree that created the commune of Peymeinade.

In the beginning, the Peymeinadois cultivated grapes, wheat, olive trees, hemp and kept sheep. Then, during the 19th and 20th century they changed their cultivation and grew jasmine, roses, violettes and tuberous plants for the perfume industry of Grasse.

By 1935, Peymeinade was a small village of some 600 inhabitants. Its sole source of income came from cultivating jasmine flowers (60 tonnes a year). Today there are over 7,220 inhabitants but only a dozen Jasmine growers producing around 4 tonnes of flowers a year.

Peymeinade today

Nowadays Peymeinade’s primary source of income originates from its business and commercial industries. It is now the second most commercial town after Grasse. This fact is reflected in the commune’s continued effort to offer numerous free parking spaces to entice shoppers to their town. We generally park at the one situated Place du Centenaire just next to the Tourist Office.

If you’ve time, do try to visit this Tourist Office. Not only will you receive a very warm welcome but you’ll find a good selection of brochures and leaflets concerning Peymeinade (and the region in general). The Tourist Office also produces a list of Bed & Breakfast’s, furnished lettings and Gîtes available in the area which they’ve personally visited and given their seal of approval. And, every Friday during the months of July and August they organize free tours of the village. Although in French, it’s one of the best ways to learn about Peymeinade and its history.

From the Tourist Office, it’s only a short walk to Square Cauvin, with its oasis of greenery and attractive fountain. This replaces a much bigger and older fountain built in 1883. There are a number of wooden benches that invite you to enjoy the warm summer’s sun, while a bust of Joseph Cauvin, Mayor of Peymeinade from 1945 to 1954 stands close to the few steps that will lead you to rue Joseph Cauvin, and the historic heart of the village.

This is grouped around Place Gervais-Court, not far from the church of Saint-Roch. Here you’ll discover an array of beautiful 18th century houses and a particularly lovely fountain with ornate lion heads. Although all the houses have been well restored, the most remarkable is “la maison Beauchamp”, with its fantastic trompe-l’œil on the east side of the house. Painted by Guy Ceppa (a local French artist who specializes in this form of painting) in 1996, it shows four windows with shutters in various open and closed positions and, just under the eaves, a pretty round window with a black bird perched on the ledge..

The artist (who lives in Saint-Laurent-du-Var) works closely with France’s Monuments Historiques and has as his mission (and passion) to refresh the architectural patrimony of the surrounding communes. To achieve his stunning works of art, he uses the old techniques typical of Provence (chalk coating and natural colours originating from either vegetable or mineral substances).

The same artist also painted a wonderful sundial on the south facing wall of the house in April 2001.

Walking back down again and towards the main high street you’ll pass the local library and Pétanque Club.

The library, which opened in July 1974 with just 300 books, is homed in the building of the old Town Hall. It honours Paul Cauvin, a native of Peymeinade and bears his name. His was an illustrious military career and upon his death, his wife contributed over 1,000 books to the library.

The Pétanque Club carries a part of history too. The outer wall of the club was built during the phase known as the “Funny War” (1939-1940) as a defense against Mussolini’s army. Upon the request of the Mayor, the 63rd Bataillon de Chasseurs Alpins set about building the wall - and proof of their hard labour is still there today - with two memorial plaques celebrating their endeavours.

The wide high street invites you to a leisurely stroll past numerous boutiques, restaurants, cafés, greengrocers, flower shops and other shops. In summer huge plane trees shade the pavements, where water features and colourful hanging baskets make shopping a very pleasant outing.

If you have time, you should also visit Les Jacourets. It’s best to drive there as it’s just a little too far to reach on foot. This is a charming, if rather small, hamlet, presently undergoing restoration work but maintaining the architecture of the 18th century. A small road side shrine, dedicated to St. Lazare, has been restored by a local inhabitant.

Les Jacourets also has extensive views both down into the valley and up towards Cabris and Spéracèdes. A miniature micro climate exists too - as shown by the assortment of large succulents and spectacular Bougainvilleas growing there.

And as throughout the region, you’ll find the Canal de la Siagne (see insert) which offers a pleasant and gentle walk.

Living There

Prices for real estate in and around Peymeinade are fairly reasonable (when compared to those nearer the coast) and with a little patience and research, you could find yourself a really nice home that won’t cost you the earth. As a guideline, a two bedroom bungalow with a varanda, garage and 1500m² garden with a pool would cost around €395,000. Something slightly bigger, in a more upmarket part of town and comprising of 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, laundry room, celler and 1940m² garden would be in the range of €560,000. Prices can go even higher in the more secluded and residential areas, as, for example a 3 bedrooom, 2 bathroom and 2550m² garden might fetch €925,000.

You’ll find 14 well established estate agents in Peymeinade and a little “window shopping” will soon give you an idea of current house prices.

With free parking, shopping is also made easy here. Quite apart from the diverse selection of grocers, butchers, banks, hairdressers, bakers, a medium-sized Casino supermarket found along the high street, and a local market held every Monday morning on Place du Centenaire, there’s also a large Intermarché supermarket on the outskirts of Peymeinade on Route de Draguignan heading towards Grasse.

For those amongst you keen on sports, Peymeinade offers a variety of disciplines such as Football, Tennis, Gymnastics, Atheletics, Hiking, Riding, Karate, and Cycling. But the more gentle arts of painting, choral singing, guitar and patch work exists too thus offering a broad range of fascinating hobbies or activities to enjoy.

Peymeinade’s location also makes it ideal for day trips to Saint-Cézaire with its roman remains and Grottes, Fayence home to the International Centre of Gliding, Lac de St. Cassien with its sailing, canoeing, fishing and pedaloes and of course Grasse and its perfume museums and industries.

And, like so many towns and villages in the area, Peymeinade also holds a series of festivals and celebrations throughout the year.

So, when next travelling through this part of the world, make it a point to come off the motorway and try a scenic route instead - and discover, like we have, some remarkable hidden gems.

Insert

Le Canal de la Siagne

Website

With a length of 44km and flowing through towns such as Antibes, Grasse, Mouans-Sartoux, Mougins, Le Cannet and Cannes, this remarkable and historical canal merits closer attention.

It must be said that it is thanks to the intervention of Henry, Lord Brougham, that the building of this canal ever occurred.

As the well known (by now) story goes, in 1834 Lord Henry Brougham, accompanied by his sickly daughter Eleonore, intended to go to Nice in search of a mild climate along the French Riviera.

Unfortunately, not only was the River Var a raging torrent, but cholera had broken out in Provence and thus he was forced to turn back, first to Antibes which he didn’t like - and then to Cannes - which he loved immediately.

Discovering that water was very scarce in Cannes, (and the region as a whole) and realizing its importance economically, he interceded with King Louis Philippe in 1835 so that work could commence on the canal’s construction.

This work was carried out by the General Irrigation and Water Supply Company of France Ltd in 1866 and inaugurated two years later in 1868. It was then sold to the Société Lyonnaise des Eaux et de l’Eclairage in 1880.

Today, the canal still exists, although regrettably, much has been concreted over and thus the wonderful serpenting of its waters are no longer visible.

Thankfully, due to the dedication and perserverance of a number of local inhabitants, part of the Canal de Siagne still manages to breathe fresh air and warm its crystal waters under the Riviera sun.

Long may it be so.