cabris, what is so far and so near
To the west of Grasse, once the perfume center of France, is the village of Cabris, un village perché. It takes its name from the Latin word for goat “capra.”
French writers have been attracted to Cabris. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the author of Le Petit Prince, spent his childhood holidays there. Albert Camus, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957, stayed there on several occasions during the 1950s. André Gide, another celebrated French author, visited on returning from his journey to Egypt in 1940. Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir both either visited or lived in Cabris.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was the third child of Marie Boyer de Fonscolombe, la Comtesse Marie de Saint Exupéry. In 1932 she sold her house in Cannes and moved eventually from Cannes to Cabris where she lived for the rest of her life. Cabris took pride in her presence. She gave permission for the restaurant Le Petit Prince to use that name.
The certain highlight of a visit to Cabris is the panoramic view from the Place Mirabeau in front the Le Vieux Château. You will see the Mediterranean Sea, le Massif du Tanneron, le Golfe de La Napoule, le Lac de Saint-Cassien, and le Massif de l’Esterel. (Click on any photo to see it larger and in more detail. Cliquez sur une vignette pour l’agrandir.)
At the top of the village is the old church and the cemetery that is attached to it. The tombstones are placed on the steep side of the hill and overlook the valley below. (Click on any photo to see it larger and in more detail. Cliquez sur une vignette pour l’agrandir.)
On the Place Mirabeau at the top of the village is Le Vieux Château, a restaurant and hotel. The walls to the side and its archway are the remains of the Château des Marquis de Clapiers-Cabris that was destroyed during the French Revolution.
It is a pleasure to walk through the village, exploring the narrow streets, pausing to look at the medieval houses, noting the stone steps and hidden alcoves and vaulted passages. (Click on any photo to see it larger and in more detail. Cliquez sur une vignette pour l’agrandir.)
Seldom will I visit a perched village and not notice the doors and windows. Often they are old and the wood antique. (Click on any photo to see it larger and in more detail. Cliquez sur une vignette pour l’agrandir.)
un Voyageur 
Your blogs are well photographed and written. I look forward to them. Merci beaucoup.
thank you. I do appreciate what you say.