REGION GUIDE
LA CÔTE D’AZUR
THE FRENCH RIVIERA
If you thought the French Riviera was all pristine beaches, historic architecture, and tantalizing yachts, then you would be right. The Côte d’Azur (the Azure Coast), is a geological wonder where the French Alps spill into the Mediterranean Sea. Often known in English as the French Riviera, it stretches from the Italian border to Toulon. Beaches, quaint fishing ports, and opulent architecture line the coast. The mention anywhere in the world of Nice, Cannes, Monte Carlo, Saint-Tropez, or Antibes evokes glamour and a sense of nostalgia. Coastal towns are strung along a chain of dramatic hills, woven with vineyards and olive groves. The pristine mountains, too, are studded with villages and offer endless opportunity for adventure. Agnès and Jean-Christophe put this helpful guide together so that you can best plan your time along the coast.
CITIES
NICE
Every trip to the Côte d'Azur should begin in Nice, the Franco-Italian city on the eastern side of the French Riviera. This centrally-located starting point offers visitors a perfectly posh sampler platter for the rest of the Riviera. The capital of the Côte d’Azur is also the hometown of Agnès and much of Jean-Christophe’s family. As one of the cities you will most likely be passing through while in the South of France, they have prepared a city guide for you to make the most of your time there.
City guide
CANNES
The only place you really need to see in Cannes is La Croisette, the crescent-shaped border between water and town. Luxury hotels, high-end boutiques, and a fine-sand beach compete for your attention. Once this glamorous walkway was a marshy path called the Crouseto, traversed by pilgrims who came here to visit and pray at the Lérins Abbey out in the bay. Especially during the film festival, when celebrities arrive by yacht, limo, or helicopter and walk along the street, lounging at the café tables and shopping at the fancy stores, it is hard to picture the remote fishing village that was once here.
MONACO
The smallest member of the United Nations with a larger-than-life reputation, the Principality of Monaco is a jewel along the sun-drenched French Riviera with the world’s highest gross average income. Taken over by Grimaldis in 1297, Prince Albert II continues the 700-year-old legacy. It is a fairy-tale princedom where the jet set comes to play with super yachts and luxury cars (and where Jean-Christophe celebrated his 18th birthday). Visit the palace and stroll through its exotic gardens, dine in the historic market square, and have a nightcap at a high-end cocktail bar for a taste of that famous Monaco lifestyle.
ANTIBES
Antibes, the ancient walled city overlooking the Mediterranean, offers visitors a taste of it all: jaw-dropping views from its cobbled streets, palatial villas nestled along the border of the old city, and the Riviera's largest marina teeming with superyachts. Alongside the luxury of the town, built on a former Greek and Phoenician colony, is its artistic and literary history. Agnès spent a year here while she was in college. Less significant, but also worth mentioning, Antibes was the one-time home of Pablo Picasso, who was often inspired by its rugged landscapes and had an art studio nearby.
ST PAUL DE VENCE
The second most visited village in France after Mont-St-Michel, St-Paul has an almost unnatural brilliance. So many of its original features have been preserved: the 16th-century ramparts, the arcades, the wells. The town has always been well off, always loved, known for its famous visitors and residents. Here, the fountain where Churchill liked to sit and paint; there, the grave of Chagall, covered in rosemary and surrounded by ancient cypresses. On some days, pétanque is played outside 1920s café-hotel La Colombe d'Or, where Hitchcock came to finish writing To Catch a Thief and where the walls are hung with paintings by Matisse and Braque, personal gifts from the artists. While in the heat of July, the tourist throngs can become somewhat unbearable, by late September most will have returned home, leaving a historic village free for you to explore.
EZE
A maze of narrow medieval streets wind up and down this village perched along the Grande Corniche. The ruins of a château are now an exotic garden, and the 18th-century neoclassical Notre Dame of the Assumption church is a national monument. Spectacular views inspire artists and artisans, and their galleries fill the village. Exceptional restaurants like the Château Eza are happy to welcome guests for a drink or a Michelin-starred meal as they relax and savor the scenery.
SAINT TROPEZ
As a playground for jet-setters, models, and millionaires, it’s no wonder St. Tropez is the heart of the nightlife scene in the Côte d'Azur. Expect large, sunny stretches of clothing-optional beaches drawing swimmers and sun-bathers alike. Aside from three miles of picturesque coastline, turquoise waters, and exclusive private clubs, St. Tropez is also where you’ll find all-hour parties on towering yachts, lavish hotels, and premier nightclubs. In the traditional central square, get a dose of local life, try a mini-tropezienne at a local patisserie, and take in the old Provençal-style buildings to see a different side of the town.