The best months are May, June, and September. The boulder fields and the old town are at their most pleasant in late spring when the light is clear and the hillsides still have some colour. Summer (July and August) is hot and can feel crowded at weekends when day-trippers arrive on the Train des Pignes from Nice and the coast, though the evenings are pleasant and accommodation is easier to find than in coastal Provence.
October brings autumn colour to the valley and fewer people, but some restaurants and cafes reduce their hours or close from mid-October onwards.
Winter is quiet to the point of sleepy. The Train des Pignes still runs and the boulder landscape looks dramatic under frost or light snow, but most accommodation closes and the choice of places to eat becomes very limited.
Rock climbers and boulderers tend to visit in spring and autumn when temperatures are comfortable for sustained effort on the sandstone. The granite-like texture of the Grès d'Annot makes the rock grippy in cool conditions and slippery when hot.