Moving to and Living in Mouans Sartoux

All the information you need if you are planning a move or are already living in Mouans Sartoux. Get details about the different places to live, things to do, schooling, transport and where to go for all administration procedures...

Mouans-Sartoux lies between Grasse and Cannes, next to Mougins, Valbonne and Pégomas, and is a bustling small town with shops, a cinema, cafés and restaurants.

Once a small village of local farmers with an economy based on vines, olives and later jasmine and rose for the perfume manufactures in Grasse, the roads in and out of Mouans-Sartoux still bear witness to the earlier presence of farming.  However, the proximity to the expanding economies of the coast and of Sophia Antipolis, the construction of the Pénétrante connecting Cannes to Grasse, and more recently the presence of a re-activated railway that links to Cannes, Nice and beyond,  have given the town a new, bustling and even cosmopolitan destiny, with housing prices soaring in recent years.

Quartiers, or areas of Mouans-Sartoux

Mouans-Sartoux has four main neighbourhoods, from east to west, Les Indes Les Groulles, Grand’Pièce Les Plaines, Les Plantiers-Le Plan and Les Aspres Plan Sarrain. 

The majority of the inhabitants of Mouans-Sartoux are families and home-owners with comfortable incomes, though it caters for a variety of property styles from apartments in renovated houses or modern buildings to villas and town houses. Prices are generally high.

Transport

Mouans-Sartoux lies between Cannes and Grasse and due to its geographical situation commuter traffic is often problematic at busy times.

The closest airport to Mouans-Sartoux is Nice Côte d’Azur Airport, 30 kilometres away, operating flights worldwide including several major UK destinations.

Mouans-Sartoux has an SNCF railway station with direct trains to Cannes and Grasse (though currently closed for works until 17 December 2017).

Palm Bus, operates a service between Cannes, Mougins and Mouans-Sartoux.

TAM, the Département des Alpes Maritimes official bus network, operates routes between Mouans-Sartoux and Mougins, Valbonne, Cannes and Sophia Antipolis.

Lignes d’Azur operate a daily bus service connecting Mouans-Sartoux to Cannes and Grasse.

International Schools & Nice Sophia-Antipolis University

There are quite a few international schools close to Mouans-Sartoux, in Mougins, Pegomas and Sophia-Antipolis offering the British curriculum for students aged 3 to 18 or offering the possibility to study for the International Baccalaureate option. 

The Université de Nice Sophia-Antipolis, has campuses in Nice and Sophia, and is popular with foreign students.

Shopping & Markets

Mouans-Sartoux is surrounded by a number of major roads with large supermarkets, garden centres, DIY stores and more. The town centre itself is vibrant with small shops including a pharmacy, bakeries, butchers, vegetable and fruit stores, boutiques and hairdressers.

Most of the bigger shops are open from 10:00 to 19:00, whereas smaller boutiques tend to close over lunch.

There is a market in the town centre on Tuesday and Thursday mornings selling fresh local produce, fruit and vegetables.

Culture

The Espace de l’Art Concret, inaugurated in 1990, houses a collection of contemporary art as well as organising regular temporary exhibitions and offering artist residencies.

Mouans-Sartoux has a Bibliothèque-Médiathèque, the Centre Culturel des Cèdres, with a music school and hosting a variety of events throughout the year. Every October there is a large book festival, the Festival du Livre.

The Ciné La Strada, in the town centre, shows regular films in their original language and also organises outdoor film projections in the park of the Château during July and August. See the English-language Movies guide for this week's films showing at the Strada.

Dining Out

Mouans-Sartoux has a good choice of restaurants in town and surrounding areas.

Nightlife

Mouans-Sartoux has some local cafés and bars open in the evenings particularly during the summer months but much of the nightlife takes place on the coast in Antibes, Cannes and Nice.

Activities for Children

Mouans-Sartoux offers a number of sports activities for children of all ages including tennis, judo, gymnastics, football, basketball, dance and horse riding. Many activities take place in the Centre Sportif Municipal.

The park of the Mouans-Sartoux Château is open daily to the public and the municipality organises regular educational workshops on the premises.

The Forêt Départementale de la Valmasque, a protected forest 8 kilometres from Mouans-Sartoux, has several mountain bike trails and sports tracks.

Skiing is another popular activity with the first winter sport resort just 40 kilometres away.

General Administrative Procedures

Much paperwork is carried out either at the Sous-Préfecture in Grasse or at the Préfecture des Alpes-Maritimes, for example car registration, residency card applications (Carte de séjour), and applying for French citizenship.

Opening times depend on the service you require and can be found on the website. Not all issues can be dealt with at the Sous-Préfecture in Grasse, which is closer by, and you may need to go the main one in Nice. Note that many procedures can also be dealt with online. 

The Mairie or Town Hall

The Mairie delivers birth and marriage certificates and licences, publishes banns, conducts marriage ceremonies, provides access to social housing and municipal nurseries, as well as information on state education, elections and cultural activities.

  • Mairie de Mouans-Sartoux
    At: Place du Général de Gaulle, 06370 Mouans-Sartoux
    Tel: 04 92 92 47 00
    Open Monday to Friday from 8:00 to 17:00, Saturday from 9:00 to 12:00

Service Encombrants or disposal of large objects

France provides a collection service for the removal of large objects though the service differs according to areas. In Mouans-Sartoux this service is provided by the Communauté d’Agglomération Pôle Azur Provence. You will need to make an appointment by telephone for collection from a given address.

  • Communauté d’Agglomération Pôle Azur Provence
    Tel    : 04 92 97 05 22 00