Link to more route details: www.komoot.de/collection/901230/-via-alpina-8-8

To leave Breil-sur-Roya, cross the lake on the bridge in the middle, pass below the railway and take the road to the left (south) leading to the Madone des Grâces chapel (red and white markings). The road gives way to a path that heads to the south west and rises up in the forest to reach the Brouis pass (879m). Follow departmental road D2204 for about one hundred metres to the south west and take the little road to the right (marker 124) marked in yellow, which circumvents the ruins of some old barracks to the south. After the last ruins (marker 125), the trail crosses the Brouis valley (entrance to the central zone of Mercantour national park) and heads to the south to climb through the forest to the Levens pass (1,088m). Descend directly south on a rather steep path, cross a track and keep heading down along the left bank of the valley of the Levens pass. A short distance after the Uerbi ruins, at about 700m in altitude, cross the little Callecastagne valley and head up a gentle slope along the right bank of the Figuetta valley to reach the Agaisen pass. Continue eastward to reach the GR® 52A. Take the upper path to the left, marked in red and white, which first of all circumvents Mount Agaisen by the north and then rapidly descends to Sospel.

(Paul Guglielmi, CDRP 06)

On leaving Breil, on the sunny hillsides of the Lavina valley, the trail passes not far from the Notre-Dame du Mont church (which was perhaps the first parish church of the village) and the St Jean bell tower (XIIth century), the oldest bell tower and an example of the earliest Roman art in the County of Nice. If you turn around, you can see the “crotté”, sheds used for drying figs built on the site of the old castle fort, just below the village of Breil. Not far from there, the trail passes close to another chapel, the Notre-Dame des Grâces set in the midst of the trees. In this little valley and during the climb to the Brouis pass, you can observe the Bosc (1,124m), Gonella (1,839m) or Mangiabo (“mange-bœufs”, 1,821m) peaks. At the pass (879m), where the ruins of an old monumental barracks are located, the panorama is that of a magnificent mountain cirque. The village of Breil appears below the Arpette summit, while the trail continues until reaching the Baisse de Levens pass (1,088m), crossing the central zone of the Mercantour National Park below the Gros mountain (1,272m). The climb to this summit is an interesting one thanks to the panoramic view from the Sospel plain, which the trail reaches via the little Baisse de Levens valley. To arrive in Sospel, the trail circumvents Agaisen mountain (751m) on leaving the little Figuetta valley. Here, the red trail joins the end of the blue Via Alpina trail at a place where three Grande Randonnée long-distance hiking paths (GR® 52, GR® 52A and GR® 510) meet. Sospel, a village with exceptional historical heritage, is also linked to the Salt Trail: alongside the traditional houses with colourful facades, the Pont Vieux toll bridge on the Bévéra river (XIIIth century) saw thousands of mules pass on the road joining Nice to Cunéo. The St Roch fort dating back to the construction of the Alpine Maginot line with its two museums and the Mont Barbonnet fortifications still remains today. Baroque art, omnipresent in the Roya and Bévéra valleys, is displayed in its full splendour in Sospel with the cathedral of St Michel, which is the largest cathedral in the Maritime Alps and also boasts a very beautiful reredos. Furthermore, it is through the “Les Baroquiales” festival (organ recitals, processions, scarecrow competitions, etc.) that Sospel brings the great baroque era in the South of France back to life, also thanks to the numerous craftsmen in the village. The listed XVIth century chapel of the White Penitents is a wonderful complement to this rich religious heritage. At the station of Sospel, you can also admire 4 carriages of the Orient Express train, and if you follow the course of the Bévéra river towards Italy, a botanical path allows naturalists to reach Olivetta at the border.
(Nicolas Aubertin, Gilles Chappaz, Grande Traversée des Alpes)