Alpes-Maritimes Guide
France's Mediterranean coastline is chock-a-block with glamour, bikinis and olive oil. As sunbathing celebrities annex its beaches all summer long, locals escape the heat to their old farmhouses in the back-country hills and await quieter winter days.
Admire art deco architecture on palm-lined promenades or join sun-worshippers on beachside deckchairs overlooking the cobalt-blue Mediterranean. Covet billionaires' yachts in St Tropez, sip champagne at Monte Carlo's Hotel de Paris, or explore Roman remains in Fréjus. Galleries of Old Masters proliferate in seaside towns: Matisse and Chagall in Nice, Renoir in Cagnes-sur-Mer, Jean-Cocteau in Menton and Picasso in Antibes.
Among the huddled alleys of hilltop villages, locals relax over a game of pétanque (French boules). Taste chestnut jam in Collobrières, smell perfumes in Grasse or go rowing on St Cassien's lake. Unearth caves of red stalagmites and stalactites in St Cézaire and inhabited caves with mullioned windows in Villecroze.
The Esterel hills with their maquis (scrub) patchwork and the craggy Massif des Maures, forested with pine and cork oaks, extend behind the coastline. Absorb the expensive quiet of the St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat peninsula and spy birds of paradise at the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild. The Sentiers des Douaniers around Antibes and Cap d'Ail offers adrenalin-surging coastal views.
Dodge waterfalls and watch the cliff-tops rush by as you canyon down the Gorges du Loup, allowing the fast-flowing rivers to carry you along. Cycle up and down back-country hills or enjoy aerial views on a helicopter ride from Nice airport to Monaco. Go skiing in Greolières-les-Neiges, pot-holing outside Grasse or parachuting over the Mediterranean in Cagnes-sur-Mer.
Locals love socca (chick-pea crêpes), courgette-flower fritters and bouillabaisse (fish stew) and flavour food with thyme, rosemary and lavender.
The young and trendy go to beachside bars for mojitos (rum, mint and lime cocktails) along the Riviera. Join well-heeled clubbers in nightclubs along Larvotto Beach in Monte Carlo and international celebrities in portside bars in St Tropez. Kitten-heeled partygoers flock to Cannes' Rue des Frères Pradignac and the young yachting crowd to Antibes.
Buy pottery from Vallauris, glassware from Biot and perfumed soaps from Grasse. Choose your favourite painting from St-Paul-de-Vence, olive oil from open-air markets or a yacht from St Tropez.
