Coaraze (; ; ) is a commune in the

Alpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; ; ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the France–Italy border, Italian border and Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'A ...

department in the

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (commonly shortened to PACA), also known as Région Sud, is one of the eighteen Regions of France, administrative regions of France, located at the far southeastern point of the Metropolitan France, mainland. The main P ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

in southeastern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Geography

Coaraze is a small village in the

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million hinterland Hinterland is a German word meaning the 'land behind' a city, a port, or similar. Its use in English was first documented by the geographer George Chisholm in his ''Handbook of Commercial Geography'' (1888). Originally the term was associated wi ...

, in the valley of the River Paillon. The closest town is Contes, away. The village itself is built on a

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

mount at the foot of Mount Férion (1,414 metres or high).

History

Erected as a ''baronnie'' in 1629, Coaraze was under Spanish administration from 1744 to 1748. In the nineteenth century the old trail was replaced by a road.

Population

Its inhabitants are called ''Coaraziens'' in French.

Tourism

Coaraze is one of sixteen villages grouped together by the

Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur The Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur () is the ''métropole'', an Communes of France#Intercommunality, intercommunal structure, centred on the Communes of France, city of Nice. It is located in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department, i ...

tourist department as the ''Route des Villages Perchés'' (Route of Perched Villages). The others are: Aspremont, Carros,

Castagniers Castagniers (; ; ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. Population Tourism Castagniers is one of sixteen villages grouped together by the Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur tourist department as the ''Route des ...

Colomars Colomars (; Nissart: ''Couloumas''; ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes '' département'' in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Inhabitants of Colomars are called ''Colomarsois''. Colomars is a part of the Pay ...

Duranus Duranus (; ; ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. Population Tourism Duranus is one of sixteen villages grouped together by the Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur tourist department as the ''Route des Village ...

Èze Èze (; ; ) is a seaside commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. It is located on the French Riviera, 8.5 km (5.2 mi) to the northeast of Nice and 4.5 km (2.7 ...

Falicon Falicon (; ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. Population Tourism Falicon is one of sixteen villages grouped together by the Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur tourist department as the ''Route des Villages ...

La Gaude La Gaude (; ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. History To the south of the village, a restored Roman stele is close to the Aurelian Way, the Roman road that passed near the present cultural centre. ...

Lantosque Lantosque (; Italian language, Italian formerly and Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lantosca'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, regi ...

, Levens,

La Roquette-sur-Var La Roquette-sur-Var (, literally ''La Roquette on Var (river), Var''; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in southeastern France. It is one of sixteen villages grouped together by the M ...

, Saint-Blaise, Saint-Jeannet,

Tourrette-Levens Tourrette-Levens (; ; ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. Climate Population Tourism Tourrette-Levens is one of sixteen villages grouped together by the Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur tourist departmen ...

and

Utelle Utelle (; ; ) is a commune about northeast of Nice in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. Geography It is perched on a hill along the Vesubie Gorge not far from the Mercantour National Park. Sights Formerly an agricul ...

. Coaraze is a member of the ''

Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (, ) is an independent association created in 1982 for the promotion of the tourist appeal of small rural villages with a rich cultural heritage. As of 2024, it numbers 176 member villages (independent Communes of France, ''communes'' or part ...

'' (most beautiful villages of France) association.

Personalities

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau ( , ; ; 5 July 1889 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, film director, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost avant-garde artists of the 20th-c ...

Jules Engel Jules Engel (; March 11, 1909 – September 6, 2003) was an American filmmaker, painter, sculptor, graphic artist, set designer, animator, film director, and teacher of Hungarian origin. He was the founding director of the experimental anima ...

* Paul Vérola: poète, écrivain, cousin du Tsar par alliance

References