The Riviera: the back story

About The Riviera: the back story

By the ULTIMATE the French Riviera Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

The Côte d’Azur runs from the calanques near Marseille to Menton at the Italian border, with the Alps rising almost straight behind it. Its towns are close together and joined by one coastal railway, so you can wake in Nice, lunch in Antibes and watch the sun set in Cannes.

A winter resort

Nice grew as a place to spend the winter. UNESCO inscribed “Nice, Winter Resort Town of the Riviera” on the World Heritage List in 2021, for the town shaped by its winter visitors, from the Promenade des Anglais to the foot of Mont Boron.

Summer

The summer season came later. Artists followed the light (Renoir to Cagnes, Matisse to Nice, Picasso to Antibes and Vallauris, Chagall and Léger), and from 1946 the Festival de Cannes brought the cinema to La Croisette.

Base yourself in Nice or Cannes, use the train, and keep a day for the hills.

The coast today

East of Nice, the Three Corniches climb along the cliffs to Villefranche, Cap Ferrat, Èze and Menton. West of Nice are Antibes and its cape, Juan-les-Pins and Cannes; further west, the Saint-Tropez peninsula and, beyond Toulon, Cassis and the calanques.

Our advice: May, June and September are the sweet spots; July and August are hot, busy and expensive, and the most famous hotels close from October to April.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with The Riviera: the back story before you go.