Exceptional light, hilltop villages, Belle Époque villas and artists' museums: the Côte d'Azur has attracted painters, writers and royalty for over a century. Between Saint-Tropez and Menton, the coastline alternates rocky capes, coves and elegant resorts.
This selection brings together the great sites of the Riviera, from Nice to Monaco, hinterland villages such as Saint-Paul-de-Vence and Gourdon, and the natural landscapes of the Estérel and the Hyères islands. Spring and autumn are the ideal seasons.
The Castle Hill, an obligatory walk for anyone wishing to discover the town in its setting of hills or enjoy its summer coolness, became this island of greenery only during the nineteenth century.
View full page →
Set on the ancient site of the Nice arenas in a splendid eighteenth-century villa, the Matisse Museum gives a comprehensive panorama of the work of the leader of Fauvism.
View full page →
The Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, also called Villa Île-de-France, is one of the most beautiful Renaissance-style palaces of the Côte d'Azur, built on the summit of Cap Ferrat between 1905 and 1912 at Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat by Baroness Béatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild (1864–1934).
View full page →
Located just after Nice, going towards Menton, Èze stretches along the sea from Cap Roux to the Pointe de Cabuel. Perched like an eagle's nest at the top of an imposing and superb cliff, you will see the village and its pale ochre church from afar.
View full page →
Official residence of the princes of Monaco since 1297, this palace perched on the Rock hosts the changing of the guard every noon, one of the most-watched attractions in the Principality.
View full page →
This museum to the glory of the oceans was born of the will of Prince Albert I and was inaugurated in 1910.
View full page →
The last French town before Italy, Menton stacks its pastel façades between sea and mountains, famous for its exceptional microclimate and its lemon trees.
View full page →
A fortified village become a high place of modern art, Saint-Paul-de-Vence has drawn artists and galleries for a century into its cobbled lanes perched above the Baie des Anges.
View full page →
In the twelfth century, Gourdon was a military site providing protection against frequent Saracen raids.
View full page →
Carved by the coastal river Loup, these limestone gorges wind through the hinterland of Nice between waterfalls and giant's kettles. The hilltop village of Gourdon, clinging to the cliff, offers one of the most dizzying viewpoints.
View full page →
A residential peninsula between Antibes and Juan-les-Pins, the Cap d'Antibes combines exceptional villas with a wild coastal path. Its rocky tip, at the end of the Tirepoil path, remains one of the finest viewpoints on the Côte d'Azur.
View full page →
Made world-famous by its Film Festival, Cannes unrolls its palm-lined Croisette between the Palais des Festivals and a bay protected by the Lérins islands.
View full page →
This volcanic massif of dark red rocks plunges directly into the Mediterranean between Saint-Raphaël and Cannes. Criss-crossed by the Corniche d'Or, it combines wild calanques, scented maquis and summits offering wide panoramas over the Côte d'Azur.
View full page →
A former fishing village become a worldwide symbol of Mediterranean glamour, dominated by its citadel.
View full page →
The island of Porquerolles is the largest and westernmost of the three Golden Isles of the Gulf of Hyères, with an area of 12.54 km².
View full page →