About Valbonne

Though traces of human habitation can be traced back as far as the Iron Age, the area of Valbonne was only referred to as Vallis Bona up until 1519 when the village which is now Valbonne was first inhabited. Built alongside the abbey, the village was instigated by Augustin de Grimaldi and built by the monk Don Taxil, who imported Italian artisans to create a Roman style village. Unlike many other towns in and around the French Riviera, Valbonne’s hilltop location is not centred around a spiral road system, but instead the village comprised ten streets crossed by ten further streets. Valbonne is also a commune divided in to two parts, the old medieval town and as mentioned, the new technology park at Sophia Antipolis.

Ordinarily one would want to talk about tourist facilities when discussing a town on French Riviera, but as mentioned, Valbonne is different and the facilities to hand are based more on a technological front than for pure entertainment. The technology park at Sophia Antipolis is quite remarkable considering its location. At present it is believed to hold over 1,000 companies who employ over 25,000 staff, yet all of this started when the University of Nice chose to relocate parts of campus up in to the hills above the city, so creating a new centre for research and development. The actual park now extends to over 2,500 hectares and its expansion has also seen the creation of the three new municipalities of Roquefort-les-Pins, Colle-sur-Loup and Villeneuve-Loubet.

The main attraction to Valbonne is the period architecture. Though there are art galleries or visit and Valbonne is home to the international glass maker Ada Loumani who both works and displays his creations at La Galeria. The buildings which remain include the 13th century Abbey built by Benedictine Monks and which has been undergoing continuous renovation since the 1970’s and which now contains the ‘Vieux Valbonne’ museum.

The place des Arcades is in the centre of town and the hub of the gastronomic community. Amazingly, with a registered population of 13,000 residents, Valbonne and surroundings boasts over 50 restaurants, though this is predominantly due to the number of people employed at Sophia Antipolis. All tastes are catered for and through a sense of competition, plus being slightly off the beaten track as far as the more traditional French Riviera town, prices are extremely affordable. The joy of good local food can be sampled at restaurants such as Le Coin Gourmand and Le Valbonnais.