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Chestnuts
Roasted, candied, creamed or sold as jam: the versatile chestnut!
The Massif des Maures mountains extends from Saint-Raphaël to Hyères. The vegetation of the Maures mainly consists of chestnut and cork oak forests, maquis (dense Mediterranean shrubland) and maritime pines.
Rich in chestnut trees, the area is famous for its specialities based on chestnuts, such as candied chestnuts and chestnut jam. Head to Collobrières, the main village in the Maures mountains, to find excellent candied chestnuts. A sweet chestnut festival is held there every year in October.
La Fête de la Chataigne at La Garde-Freinet (just north of Grimaud) is another market festival to celebrate the chestnut season. A total of seventy market stalls bring to life the quaint and charming town of La Garde-Freinet at the end of October. There you will find chestnuts in all their various forms: Marrons glacés, marrons grillés, crème de marron, glace à la crème de marron. Truly a feast for food lovers!
A series of guided visits to the chestnut groves of the Maures mountain range also provide an excellent excursion opportunity.
