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Your property in Valbonne
Whether it’s grand, traditional residences, modern luxury villas or stunning apartments, the options are extremely varied when it comes to property in Valbonne.
Within its historic centre, smaller houses and apartments are on offer, while the wider town’s residential footprint has expanded significantly in recent decades meaning a wealth of larger houses and villas are available.
Inside Valbonne
The historic town stands in contrast to the winding layouts of nearby villages in the area, providing wider, straighter streets and a more symmetrical design thanks to its Roman influences.
The centre of town is full of original features, such as beautiful squares and arcades filled with shops and restaurants, while the Sophia-Antipolis Science Park to the east of Valbonne has attracted engineers and researchers from across the globe, fuelling the growth in the residential area around the centre and international schools, including the Centre International de Valbonne.
Set amid rich woodland, the town is in a rural location, but is close to enchanting towns such as Antibes and Cagnes-Sur-Mer, both less than a 30-minute drive away.
Landscape
Situated in a basin halfway along the Brague river, Valbonne encompasses its old town in the north-west, and Sophia Antipolis in the east.
The largely flat town with its gently sloping streets is close to the coast with similar, small and picturesque villages surrounding it.
To the north, the wide-open expanses of the Préalpes d’Azur regional park offer space for outdoor exploration.
Education
Valbonne is superbly located for families relocating to the region, with its ISC Côte d’Azur international primary schools, and the Hive Academy (formerly ICS School) following the American curriculum for children aged 11-18.
Alternatively, the highly sought-after Mougins School, an international institution located near the high-tech park of Sophia Antipolis, teaches students aged 3 – 18 and follows the British curriculum., while the Centre International de Valbonne is a French language schools with classes geared towards international students, including Anglo-American, Spanish, Italian, German and Chinese.
For further education, the University of Côte d’Azur in Nice is considered among the top 20 universities in France. It includes 13 member institutions, including the prestigious Nice Sophia Antipolis University through to the École Supérieure de danse de Cannes Rosella Hightower, created in 1961 by the prima ballerina whom the institute is named after.
Activities and Entertainment
The grid-like design of Valbonne takes nothing away from the feel of the town, whose centre has an extremely relaxed but vibrant feel.
Its Renaissance-era Place des Arcades hosts some of the town’s exceptional restaurants and cafés, while its numerous arcades accommodate chic fashion shops, antique dealers and interior design boutiques.
Central Valbonne offers excellent glimpses into its past, with the town’s monastery providing a fine example of Romanesque-Gothic design, alongside other notable historical sites.
Beyond the town, the area provides excellent hiking and cycling terrain in vast expanses of natural beauty, such as in La Brague and La Valmasque parks, and is close to the Opio Valbonne 18-hole golf course and 9-hole Victoria Golf Club.
In Sophia Antipolis, the home of Europe’s first technology park, families can visit the Aquasplash waterpark, hike in the surrounding countryside or escape to nearby beaches.
Art and Culture
Great celebrations of traditional culture take place in Valbonne, a town with a full events calendar.
Its Feast of St Blaise celebrates grapes and other local products, while its streets come to life with theatre, music and visual arts during the three-day Festival des Arts de la Rue.
During the summer evenings, the abbey hosts free classical and jazz music concerts, while the area’s weekly produce markets and monthly antique markets are extremely popular.
Food and Drink
Food in the town is inspired both by the nearby coast and its abundance of seafood, as well as heartier dishes favoured in its rural surroundings.
The town’s restaurants have a fantastic atmosphere, and besides traditional food from the area, there are international influences with Indian and Moroccan eateries, while exceptional modern cuisine is served at the Michelin-recommended La Table by Richard Mebkhout.
Valbonne’s excellent wine offering includes a local speciality made using indigenous Servan grapes.
Accessibility
Valbonne is located roughly midway between Nice Côte d’Azur Airport (25 kilometres), which serves domestic and international destinations, and Mandelieu Airport in Cannes (17 kilomteres), which serves private aircraft.
The village is also close to the A8 autoroute, which spans the Côte d’Azur from east to west.