Why go
The Grotte du Vallonnet, Terra Amata and the rock engravings of the Vallée des Merveilles represent distinct periods and landscapes. They are useful references for understanding how long people have used this coast and its hinterland, but the mountain valley is a separate excursion rather than an add-on to a seafront day.
The full story
The Riviera’s human history reaches far beyond its classical towns. At the Grotte du Vallonnet near Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, early tools were found with animal remains. Terra Amata, near Nice’s port, is associated with an exceptionally early hearth. These coastal traces belong to a much older story than the Greek and Roman settlements that came later. Inland, stone dolmens near Draguignan mark another prehistoric landscape. The Vallée des Merveilles near Mount Bégo adds a different kind of record: thousands of rock engravings, including human and animal figures, are associated with the Bronze Age. The valley lies high in the mountains, so it should be thought of as its own journey, not as part of a quick coastal circuit. Taken together, the named locations show that the Riviera’s past runs from shore to upland, and that the modern resort strip occupies only one part of a long inhabited region.