The French Riviera
The Côte d'Azur or the French Riviera; colourful, looking smart on photos; turquoise water, hilltop villages, famous cities and sunny beaches, glamorous places where to be, Belle Epoque palaces in creamy colours. It's sometimes like a fairy tale.
The capital of the French Riviera is Nice with its Roman remains at Cimiez and the flower market at Cours Saleya in the Old Town and la Promenade des Anglais along the Méditerranean.
Monaco : "the Rock" with the Prince's Palace; the Casino and the Café de Paris in Monte Carlo, the boutiques and the jewellers; the yachts in the harbour.
Eze : an eagle's nest perched high above the Mediterranean sea
Cannes is world wide known for its Film Festival where the celebrities come to introduce the new movies.
St Tropez : Brigitte Bardot, Françoise Sagan, Colette. So many artists have come to this pretty fishers' village and they still do: Kate Moss, Leonardo di Caprio, Johnny Depp, Paris Hilton. A few steps behind the busy harbour you'll find quiet streets and an everyday life
Antibes : an old city with a Greek background, still surrounded by its city wall. Artists came here, as Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, Graham Greene, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald
St Jean-Cap-Ferrat : an half-island with huge properties; la Villa Ephrussi de Rotschild is open for public.
St Paul de Vence : this fortified city still surrounded by its walls, attracted many painters and poets who came here from the 1920's; they stayed at La Colombe d'Or which is still a hôtel and a restaurant today.
Vence : Matisse lived here and designed La Chapelle du Rosaire at the end of his life
Grasse : the big perfume factories, Fragonard, Gallimard and Molinard, are open for public. The Villa-Museum Fragonard with works by the 18th century painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard is a delicious place
Menton : thanks to the mildest climate in France, the gardens owned by the city are worth a visit. Menton is known for its lemons and a lemon festival.
