La Côte d’Azur is a part of the French Mediterranean littoral between Cassis and Menton. It comprises the whole littorals of Var and Alpes Maritimes departments and a part of the Bouches-du-Rhone one. In the North, it is surrounded by the Alpes du Sud whose peaks can reach 3,000 metres. The region attracts a lot of tourists each year and had numerous buildings and hotels built along its littoral to meet the increasing demand. The backcountry’s natural environment was better preserved than the coast. The Cote d’Azur benefits from the Mediterranean climate, with hot and dry summers and mild winters. Nice has an international airport and is provided with regular flights from the UK.

Activities

One can visit the attractive cities and villages of Cote d’Azur such as Nice, Menton, Antibes, St Tropez, Monaco or Cannes.

Nice is considered as the capital of the Cote d’Azur area. It is located in the back of la Baie des Anges and is sheltered from the wind by an amphitheatre of hills. The most famous of these hills is Cimiez with its antique vestiges, its park, its Matisse museum and the Jazz festival organised every July. Nice has a rich architectural heritage with period villas and hotels, palaces and castles or Baroque churches. La Promenade des Anglais is the most renowned place of the city. A festival takes place every year, le Carnaval de Nice, since 1873.

Menton is located at the frontier between France and Italy. Menton was nicknamed “Perle de la France” (The French Pearl) and lemon is its symbol: the lemon festival has been taking place in the city for 75 years. Menton was listed as a city of Art and History for its numerous historic monuments, its harbour, its parks and gardens and charming suburbs.

Antibes Juan-les-Pins would have been founded in the 5th century BC by Marseille Phocaeans. Several Roman monuments still can be seen: Roman amphitheatres and two Roman aqueducts which provide Antibes with water. Other places of interest are the cape of Antibes with the Garoupe lighthouse, the Provence market, the port Vauban which is one of the largest marinas of Europe, the fort carré with its ramparts, the numerous museums and of course, the beaches.

St Tropez was a stronghold on the 15th century, a fishermen village in the 20th century and then became a worldwide renowned spa in 1950s. It attracted artists and then European and American jet setters. The village has 6 beaches and played an important part in the Modern Art with the creation of pointillism and fauvism movements.

The urbanized Monaco principality provides numerous luxury hotels and palaces to welcome international and wealthy customers. It is famous for the events it organises and its numerous attractions: Monaco houses the Formula 1 Grand Prix and the International Festival of the Monte Carlo Circus. Its Casino, Oceanographic Museum and its Prince Palace attract a lot of tourists each year.

Cannes is a spa of the Cote d’Azur, and is worldwide renowned for the Cannes film festival and its Promenade de la Croisette. There are numerous palaces and luxury shops. The city also has 3 casinos.

The Cotes d’Azur littoral offers a wide range of activities thanks to its harbours and beaches: It has traditional harbours (Nice, Menton), prestige harbours (Cannes, Antibes) that are worth seeing, and 40km of beaches along the Mediterranean Sea. The traveller will discover les criques rouges of Theoule which are wild creeks not easily accessed, the private beaches of Cannes, or the family beaches of Villeneuve Loubet. All sort of sports are available: sailing, windsurfing, kite-surfing, deep-sea diving, scuba diving, apnoea, fishing, water skiing, rowing, kayaking… Spa will offer you more relaxing activities.

The mountains of Alpes d’Azur provide summer activites such as hiking, horse riding, cycle touring, canyoning, rafting, climbing, potholing, bungee jumping… and winter activities such as Alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, sled dog…

The French Riviera is also famous for its 23 golf courses, suitable for beginners as well as for international level players. It was named “Golf destination of the year 2010”.

The littoral also offers numerous shops, casinos, bars, cafes and restaurants.

Food and Drink

Some of the Cote d’Azur specialities are the Nice salad made of anchovy, tuna, tomato, green pepper, celery, hard-boiled eggs, black olives and olive oil, the beignet of courgette flowers, the Nice ravioli stuffed with braised beef or the Nice tripe with tomato sauce. Examples of desserts of the French Riviera are: beet tart which is made of beet, raisins and pine nuts or dry figs, or glacé fruits.

Restaurants

Zucca Magica, 4bis Quai Papacino, 06000, Nice. Tel : 04.93.56.25.27.
Le Bruit qui Court, 31 quai Bonaparte, 06500, Menton. Tel : 04.93.35.94.64.
La Mirabelle, 24 rue Saint Antoine, 06400, Cannes. Tel : 04.93.38.72.75