7 Incredible Things to Do in La Turbie (From a France Expert)
I’ve spent many weeks over three separate trips exploring the French Riviera, and, take it from me, La Turbie is an incredible hidden gem on the Cote d’Azur.
This town, often overlooked by tourists, offers a quaint, authentic, and laidback experience, with a heavy dose of exciting things to see and do.
Situated up in the hills overlooking the Mediterranean, La Turbie is known for 2 main things: the massive La Trophée d’Auguste monument ruins, and the incredible views over Monaco from just outside of town.
Beyond that, though, the town is absolutely charming and worth a stop in its own right. I loved my time in La Turbie.
In this post, I’m sharing everything there is to see and do in La Turbie, plus where to find the best viewpoints, and other practical information (like how to get here) for your visit.
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7 Incredible Things to Do in La Turbie
1. Explore Old Town
The old town of La Turbie is truly tiny – you can walk up and down every street in 20 minutes or less, but it feels untouched by the heavy hand of tourism.
Very few visitors come to La Turbie, so Old Town is still mainly just residences – no souvenir shops or services catering to tourists. The streets are cobblestoned, the buildings made of stone, greenery, flowering plants, and even potted plants accent the charming streets.
I was truly shocked to walk around La Turbie Old Town in the middle of the day and often see no one else in the streets. I loved the cute design of the Vieux Puits (the Old Well), above, which had been almost turned into a planter box!
You will find some shops, cafes, and restaurants on Avenue du General de Gaulle, the main street outside of Old Town for when you get hungry.
And of course, there are plenty of businesses, homes, and buildings in the newer part of La Turbie, where lots of people live and work. Still, even taking into account the New Town, it’s still a small area.
2. The Gates of La Turbie
There are four Portail, or medieval gates, to the city located around the perimeter of the old town.
The Portail de l’Ouest (West Gate) is the first gate you’ll enter from the main road, and the old Roman street, Via Julia, runs through this gate. You can also see a quote from Dante where he refers to La Turbie inscribed on the wall just outside the gate.
Portail du Reduit is certainly the most picturesque gate in La Turbie. This gate leads from the middle of Old Town to La Trophée monument. However, usually, this gate is closed and you have to go outside Old Town and walk up the Avenue Prince Albert I de Monaco (that’s a mouthful!) to reach the official entrance to La Trophee.
Even though it’s no longer functional, this is a very charming spot in La Turbie.
Portail de l’Est (East Gate) and Porail Giofredo are the two other gates in La Turbie.
3. Tete du Chien
Apart from La Trophée, one of the biggest draws for visiting La Turbie is the scenic viewpoint of Tete du Chien (literally: Dog’s Head) that overlooks Monaco. This spot is an easy 20-30 minute, slightly uphill walk that takes you out to the edge of the cliffs overlooking the coastline below.
Very conveniently, Monaco sits right under this overlook and you get absolutely incredible views of the country from above. It’s wild to see how tiny Monaco is and how packed and dense it is, especially surrounded by countryside all around.
While Monaco is definitely the main draw of this viewpoint, you can also look the other direction towards Nice, and see Cap Ferrat, Mont Boron, and a little sliver of Nice as well.
In the picture above, the large peninsula closest to the camera is Cap Ferrat (and hiking the coastal pathway of Cap Ferrat is a delightful activity). The smaller peninsula behind it is Mont Boron. On the side of Mont Boron facing the camera is the adorable village of Villefranche, and just behind Mont Boron is the city of Nice.
To get to Tete du Chien, you can walk from the center of La Turbie along Avenue du Cap d’Ail to Route de la Tete du Chien. After about 15 minutes of walking, you’ll come to a car barrier arm gate – don’t worry about the gate, just go around it and keep walking.
This is certainly one of the absolute best things to do in La Turbie – you can’t miss it!
4. Eglise Saint Michel
The Eglise Saint-Michel is the main cathedral in Old Town. The exterior is a lovely golden yellow, while the inside has beautiful pink marble on the walls and columns.
It also has a statue of Mary standing near the front altar, which felt very natural for a church to have. However, I was very amused by the statue in the back of the church, which featured Saint Michael killing a devil. It was more gruesome than I’ve seen in many churches!
5. La Trophée d’Auguste
La Trophée d’Auguste, or the Trophy of Augustus, is the defining feature of the town of La Turbie. The ruins of this enormous monument, first constructed in 6 BC, tower over the town.
The monument was built to celebrate the victories of the Roman Emporer, Caesar Augustus, and to “honor him like a god.”
After the fall of the Roman empire in 476, the monument was destroyed and sacked, before being protected and partially restored starting in 1850’s. What is left of the monument is just a small section of the original structure, which was an entire rotunda surrounded by columns.
The monument is surrounded by a decently large park, which has some walking trails, a panoramic view, a small museum, and of course, the Trophée d’Auguste monument itself.
You can walk all the way around the base of the monument, and then climb the stairs up onto the trophy itself.
The proportions of this monument are wild – it’s absolutely massive – and this is just one portion of the original monument! You feel very dwarfed standing right underneath it.
The view from the balcony on the Trophée is incredible, as you can look out over the village and the valley. I particularly loved the view of the Saint-Michel church, which is directly in front of the Trophée.
While you can’t walk directly behind the columns, there is a little viewing area to the side where you can see them from behind at an angle.
Just behind the monument is a small museum, where you can watch a short film about the history of La Trophée, as well as diagrams and a model of what it originally looked like. There are also some of the stone remains from the monument, and a statue of Caesar Augustus.
The walking trails in the park around the monument actually take you to the cliffside where you can look down over Monaco. The panoramic view is very nice – you can see a lot of the city.
I do think that the view at Tete du Chien is a far superior viewpoint, because:
- A. You don’t have the trees and shrubs blocking the view at all
- B. You get the great photo-op spot on the rocks
- C. The angle is just a better angle overall to really appreciate the scope of the city.
But the view at La Trophée is nice, too.
Overall, a visit to La Trophée d’Auguste won’t take much time – I think I spent about 45 minutes total – but if you’re in La Turbie, you certainly shouldn’t miss it. I thought it was a great attraction which makes La Turbie a massive hidden gem in the French Riviera.
- Hours: Open Tuesday-Sunday (closed Monday) from 10am-6pm, in the winter months of September-April hours are: 10am-1pm, 2pm-5pm
- Entrance Fee: €6
6. Cemetery of La Turbie
The cemetery of La Turbie is a nice stop as you are exploring the town. The cemetery is terraced and has lovely surroundings, with tall hedges, some statues by the graves, and a pretty good close-up view of La Trophée.
There’s also a monument in the cemetery honoring the men from La Turbie who died in WW1, which is a fairly common site in villages and towns throughout France.
7. Admire the Viewpoints
Besides the Tete du Chien and the panoramic view of Monaco from La Trophée, there are quite a few other fantastic viewpoints around La Turbie. Here are some you should check out!
Point de Vue Pierre Orefici
This viewpoint is just outside of Old Town and in a small square near Brasserie Pampérigouste. You’ll get beautiful views down the slopes of the mountain and out to the Mediterranean.
There’s also a pretty decent view of the Saint Michel church and La Trophée from the square, although the monument is a bit hidden behind the church.
On the Street Up to the Cemetery
This is one of the best up-close views of the Trophy, and it’s right around the corner from the cemetery as you approach the entrance. You can find this spot on Avenue de la Pinède (and I have it tagged on the map below).
two Other Viewpoints
I talked to the official at the Tourism office, and although he said there were no good viewpoints of the town and the Trophy itself from the town (all were very far away, he said), I did find that there were several good spots on the opposite side of the main street, Avenue General de Gaulle.
The first is in an open plaza around some apartments. It’s not private property from what I can tell, but it is near people’s residences, so be quiet and respectful.
To get here, there is a staircase right next to the fountain on Avenue General de Gaulle, just follow those stairs up to the open square.
The second unofficial viewpoint is behind the police station in town. Go to the corner of Avenue du General de Gaulle and Chemin du Moulin, and continue up the hill and behind the Gendarmerie Nationale building for a truly spectacular view (below).
This does eventually turn into private property, so make sure you stop before you get to people’s private residences.
Map of Attractions in La Turbie
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Practical Information
How to Get to La Turbie
Car: Driving is definitely the easiest way to get to La Turbie, and you can park on the street on Avenue du General de Gaulle.
Uber/Taxi: You can also take an Uber up to La Turbie. I was able to get an Uber from Nice without a problem – but it did set me back about €37
Public Transportation: Public transportation definitely takes a little bit longer, as you have to either take a bus or a combination of a bus + train, depending on where you are coming from. There is no direct train to La Turbie.
The 603 bus goes between Monaco and La Turbie, and the trip lasts about 25 minutes (and offers incredible views as you climb into the hills). If you’re coming from another city along the French Riviera, you can just take the train to Monaco and then grab the 603 bus, which stops at the train station.
There are also buses that go more directly up to La Turbie from Nice and other nearby cities and towns. I’d recommend putting La Turbie in Google Maps from wherever you’re going to be coming from, choosing the Transit tab, and looking at the fastest and most direct option from wherever you are coming from.
I took the Uber to La Turbie and then the bus + train to go back to Nice when I was done. The bus + train option took longer, for sure (about an hour), but it only cost me about €5 total, whereas the Uber was a 25-minute ride and €37 (but with significantly less logistics to manage).
Guided Tour: INCLUDE INFO ABOUT THIS
How Much Time Do You Need in La Turbie?
French Riviera Travel Essentials
Amazing Things to Do in La Turbie – The Wrap Up
While small, La Turbie is so charming and a hidden gem worth a visit as you explore southern France. Beyond the peaceful streets and impressive monument, it offers some the best vistas in the whole region and is a great place to spend a relaxing morning or afternoon.
