This 6800-hectare park spreads across two valleys – the Valle Pesio and Valle Tanaro – located in an area south and east of Cuneo. It's a great place for hiking amid richly varied terrain. There's also an extensive cave system here. The highest peak in the Ligurian Alps is the park's eponymous Marguareis, a limestone massif that reaches 2651m.
Parco Naturale del Marguareis
Piedmont
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
13.48 MILES
Wedged between the Vésubie and Roya valleys, this narrow, remote canyon is famous for its amazing Bronze Age petroglyphs – ancient pictures carved into…
18.79 MILES
The grey wolf was hunted to extinction in France by 1930, but in 1992 two 'funny-looking dogs' were spotted near Utelle, presumably having loped across…
28.68 MILES
This alpine garden is probably the last thing you'd expect in tiny Roure. It's a pet project of Monaco's Prince Rainier, who's covered 15 steep-sided…
16.17 MILES
At an altitude of 1904m, this impressively situated hilltop church was supposedly founded on the site where a local villager had a vision of the Virgin…
29.18 MILES
Established in 1867 by English businessman Sir Thomas Hanbury, the 18-hectare Villa Hanbury estate is planted with 5800 botanical species from five…
29.3 MILES
The drawbridged entrance to this huge underground fort sits at the top of Ste-Agnès village. The 2500-sq-metre defence was built between 1932 and 1938 as…
27.22 MILES
San Remo's little-visited old town is a labyrinth of quiet, twisting lanes set on a hilltop just above the bustling centre. Get there by taking Via Santo…
13.13 MILES
Piedmont's largest park is home to spectacular landscapes, encompassing wildflower-filled grasslands, topaz lakes, shimmering glaciers and jagged mountain…
Nearby Piedmont attractions
8.1 MILES
In Tende, this museum provides useful context if you're visiting the prehistoric carvings of the Vallée des Merveilles. Inside the striking modern…
2. Maison du Miel et de l’Abeille
8.28 MILES
This little museum celebrates the craft of local honey-makers. Needless to say, there are plenty of opportunities to taste the goods – this is France,…
3. Sanctuaire Notre Dame des Fontaines
9.65 MILES
Dubbed the Sistine Chapel of the Southern Alps, this church is famous for its wall-to-wall 15th-century frescoes, created by Piedmontese painters Jean…
10.88 MILES
From St-Dalmas-de-Tende, the D91 winds 10km west to this alpine lake (1390m), where trails lead into the valley (plan on eight hours' hiking, round-trip)…
5. Parco Naturale Alpi Marittime
13.13 MILES
Piedmont's largest park is home to spectacular landscapes, encompassing wildflower-filled grasslands, topaz lakes, shimmering glaciers and jagged mountain…
13.48 MILES
Wedged between the Vésubie and Roya valleys, this narrow, remote canyon is famous for its amazing Bronze Age petroglyphs – ancient pictures carved into…
13.85 MILES
Arriving in Cuneo's gargantuan main piazza, you'd think you'd just touched down in a capital city. Finished in 1884, it sits aside an older portico…
14.13 MILES
Cuneo has some wonderfully dark and mysterious churches. The oldest is the deconsecrated San Francisco convent and church, which today hosts this museum…