National Parks in Menton

Mercantour: The Lungs of Southern France

The 70,000-hectare (173,000-acre) Mercantour National Park (www.mercantour.eu) is a sparsely populated haven for endangered fauna and flora, including wild orchids, bearded vultures, and golden eagles. Since 1992, it has been a hiding place for wolves: You can visit the wolf packs and listen to the fierce debate between ecologists and shepherds at Scénoparc (tel. 04-93-02-33-69; www.alpha-loup.com) in Saint-Martin Vésubie.

In the Vallée des Merveilles (www.tendemerveilles.com) near Tende, you can trek through springtime meadows dotted with wild orchids and rhododendrons on your way to visit Europe's largest collection of prehistoric rock engravings. From June to September, you can board the themed Train des Merveilles (tel. 04-93-04-92-05; www.royabevera.com), which runs daily at 9am from Nice to Tende with an onboard tour guide (English-language guides are available). If you're driving from Menton, cross the border into Italy. Take the SS1DIR and SP1 to Ventimiglia, then north on the SS20 towards Colle di Tenda. You cross back onto French soil on the D6204/E74 towards Breuil-sur-Roya and then Tende.

Mercantour is also a mecca for adventurous travelers for everything from trekking to watersports. The Gorges de Saorge near Breuil-sur-Roya are popular for canoeing, tubing, kayaking, rafting, and canyoning. Tour outfitters here include Roya Evasion (tel. 04-93-04-91-46; www.royaevasion.com) and Mat & Eau (tel. 06-81-56-21-56; www.mat-et-eau.com). When the waters are fuller in springtime, the papercut-thin Gorges de Daluis in the Vallée de la Tinée are the place to go for canoeing and aquatic hiking (hiking through water) with Les Eskimos à L'Eau (tel. 06-11-38-02-82; www.eskimosaleau.com), based in Nice.