Another part of the Via Aurelia

La Turbie (week 31)

On the trip out from Monaco, it was much easier to find the Corniche roads because right in front of the main train station on Blvd Princesse Charlotte (an easy street to remember since it is named after my niece) there are signs that say "Vers Nice, Basse Corniche" and "Vers Nice, Moyen Corniche".  We took the middle road as far as Èze-Village, then made our way up to La Turbie and the Grand Corniche.  Although we didn't see it, one of the roads between these two Corniches was where Princess Grace died.  The views over the Mediterranean and Cap d'Ail and Cap Ferrat are as impressive as advertised.

David looking down at Monaco-Ville (r) and Monte Carlo (l) from the lookoff at La Turbie

3 of the Trophée's remaining 4 pillars

We stopped in La Turbie to see the Trophée des Alpes, or, as it was known to its builders, the Tropaeum Alpium.  The Grand Corniche runs atop the old Via Aurelia (the Roman road linking Rome to Nice).  In 6 BC, Caesar Augustus commissioned a monument to be built along the road to commemorate his victories over the 45 Alpine tribes that brought the Alps region under Roman control.  We arrived only 45 minutes before closing, and the sun was starting to set so the temperature was quickly dropping.  Craig and David braved the chilly wind to climb up to the viewing deck (with views similar to, but higher than, the Jardin Exotique), and everyone spent some time in the small museum alongside.  It's hard to tell from this picture, but the height of the monument is 35 metres.  After 2000 years, it is showing its age somewhat (especially since France's Louis XIV ordered it destroyed because he was worried it would be used by Savoy as a fort during the War of the Spanish Succession), but some of the original columns are still in place.  Probably the best views are from the road coming into town, where it dominates the skyline of La Turbie.