Things to do in Côte D’Azur
-
A
Cours Saleya Markets
Split between its beautiful flower market and rightly famous food market. On Mondays from 6am to 6pm, flowers and food make way for an antiques market.
reviewed
-
B
Parc du Château
From this 92m hilltop park the glittering views of Vieux Nice spires and the Baie des Anges are mesmerising. The shaded hill and park, at the eastern end of quai des États-Unis, are named after a 12th-century château that was razed by Louis XIV in a fit of pique in 1706 and never rebuilt.
The château after which the hill and park are named was established in the 12th century but was razed by Louis XIV in 1706. In the one remaining tower, the 16th-century Tour Bellanda, is the Musée Naval. The cemetery where Garibaldi is buried covers the northwest of the park.
reviewed
-
C
Jardin du Monastère
Surrounding the Monastère Notre Dame de Cimiez is Jardin du Monastère, filled with cypress trees and an abundance of sweet-smelling roses, and offering a sweeping panorama of the Baie des Anges.
reviewed
-
D
Les Trois Diables
Music is a mix of trip-hop, house and electro at this small local club. Thursday is student night (show your ID); Wednesday is karaoke.
reviewed
-
E
-
F
Nissa Socca
This inexpensive joint in Nice's ambient old town is a good bet for authentic niçoise cuisine, from the eponymous socca to a slice of pissaladière (a thick crust covered with puréed onions and garlic, topped with anchovies and olives) or its Italian ancestor, the pizza.
reviewed
-
Coastal Walks
Ramatuelle tourist office organises balades nature (guided nature walks) to Cap Camarat, Cap Taillat and elsewhere on the peninsula.
Additionally, a scenic coastal path wends its way past rocky outcrops and hidden bays 35km south from St-Tropez, around the Presqu'île de St-Tropez to the beach at Cavalaire-sur-Mer and beyond to Le Lavandou (60km). In St-Tropez the coastal path, flagged with a yellow marker, starts at La Ponche, immediately east of Tour du Portalet at the northern end of quai Frédéric Mistral. From here, trails lead to Baie des Cannebiers (2.7km), La Moutte (7.4km), Plage des Salins (8.5km) and Plage de Tahiti (12km). Alternatively, drive to the end of rte …
reviewed
-
G
Musée des Beaux-Arts
In a resplendent 1878 belle époque villa, the Musée des Beaux-Arts displays works by Fragonard, Monet, Sisley and Rodin, as well as an excellent collection of Dufy works.
Fauvist appreciators will relish a roomful of Raoul Dufy's works. Also impressive are sculptures by Rodin, and some late impressionist pieces by Bonnard, Monet and Sisley. Local lads Jules Chéret (1836-1932), the 'Father of the Poster', and Alexis Mossa (1844-1926), who painted truly hideous symbolist works, also feature. The latter is more famous for adding wildly decorated floats to the Nice Carnival than for his watercolours. From the bus station, take bus 38 to the Musée Chéret stop outside.
reviewed
-
H
La Taca d'Oli
No wonder the bagna cauda (raw mixed veg dipped into a pot of warm tangy anchovy paste known as anchoïade)at this tiny old-town bistro dating to 1947 is so legendary: the same chef has been making it here for the past 17 years! A shared portion of bagna pan (raw red mullet and sea bream fillets dipped in hot fish soup) ordered alongside it makes a perfect supper for two.
You might almost believe you're in Italy when you sit on the terrace of this restaurant in Vieux Nice, which is located in one of the quarter's tiny streets. Here, you can enjoy delicious Niçois specialties like raviolis or petits farcies (stuffed vegetables).
reviewed
-
I
Z Plage
Lunch at the beach restaurant-bar of Hôtel Martinez is an unforgettable experience. Languish on white-cushioned teak seating beneath white colonial-style umbrellas and sip unusual freshly squeezed juices (fancy a pineapple, litchi and raspberry juice? or how about strawberry, lemon, basil and pineapple, Madame?) and fusion frappées (smoothies). The Zen orange and peach purée with Chaï spices is Zen indeed.
Swedish massages and reflexology sessions (cost involved) can be indulged in before or after lunch. In July and August, tapas is served in the company of cocktails and electro lounge jazz with DJ Max Léonidas & Sax from 18:00.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
J
Le Groupe Épiscopal
Fréjus’ star sight is the Groupe Épiscopal, slap bang in the centre of town on the foundations of a Roman temple. At the heart of the complex is an 11th- and 12th-century cathedral, one of the first Gothic buildings in the region (although it retains certain Roman features).
The beautiful carved wooden doors at the main entrance were added during the Renaissance. The octagonal 5th-century baptistery (which incorporates eight Roman columns into its structure) is one of the oldest Christian buildings in France, and is exceptionally well preserved.
Stairs from the narthex lead up to the cloister, which looks onto a fine courtyard with a well-tended garden and well. Here …
reviewed
-
K
Plage du Gray d'Albion
Cannes is blessed with sandy beaches, although much of the stretch along blvd de la Croisette is for guests of top-notch hotels or those prepared to pay for the luxury of having a strip of carpet leading to the water's edge: rates range from around €15/around €19 per half-/full day for a mattress and yellow-and-white parasol on Plage du Gray d'Albion - it has a water-skiing school - to around €30/around €38/around €44 for a back-row/front-row seat/spot on the pier of exclusive Carlton Beach.
reviewed
-
L
Musée d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporain (Mamac)
Designed by Yves Bayard and Henri Vidal, Mamac is worth a visit for its stunning architecture alone, but it also houses some fantastic avant-garde art from the 1960s to the present. Exhibits include iconic pop art from Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol’s 1965 Campbell’s Soup Can. The marbled towers’ glass walkways lead to highlights like Niki de St-Phalle’s papier-mâché sculptures and a shopping trolley wrapped by Christo. An awesome panorama of Vieux Nice unfolds from the rooftop garden/gallery, which features works by Nice-born Yves Klein (1928–62).
reviewed
-
M
Musée Masséna
Housed in a marvellous Italianate neoclassical villa (1898), this museum explores the city and Riviera’s history from the early 19th century to WWII. It’s a fascinating journey, with a roll call of monarchs, a succession of nationalities (British, Russians, Americans), the advent of tourism, the prominence of the carnival and much more. History is told through an excellent mix of furniture, objects, art deco posters, early photographs and paintings and the lovely setting – the city of Nice still uses the ground floor rooms for official occasions.
reviewed
-
N
Plage Publique des Ponchettes
If you don't like sand between your toes, Nice's beaches - covered with smooth, round pebbles - are for you. Free public sections of beach with lifeguards, first-aid posts and cold showers alternate with 15 private beaches equipped with restaurants, comfy sun-lounges (obligatory; at a fee) parasols (optional, at a fee), warm showers and changing rooms.
Plage Publique des Ponchettes, opposite Vieux Nice, is the busiest beach with oiled bodies either baking in the sun or punching a ball on the beach-volleyball court.
reviewed
-
O
Anatole Jakovsky International Naive Art Museum
Over 1000 works of naive art are gathered at the Anatole Jakovsky International Naive Art Museum, inside 19th-century Château Ste-Hélène, 2km west of the centre. Romanian art critic Anatole Jakovsky (1909-83), who moved to southern France in 1932, kick-started the museum by donating his vast collection. Pieces date from the 18th century to the present day. Take bus 8, 10, 11 or 12 from the bus station to the Fabron stop, from where it's a 500m walk, or take bus 34 to the Musée Art Naïf stop.
reviewed
-
Le Club 55
What started out as a simple canteen for the crew of And God Created Woman in the 1950s is now the hippest joint on the beach. Dine at tightly packed tables beneath sails strung from trees, drink from plump white sofas on the sand, and pay to be a beach bum on a white cushioned mattress beneath umbrella or hip paillote (a smart straw shack) on the designer beach. Rumbling tummies with no reservation can opt for a salad or sandwich at the twig-topped beach bar nearer the water.
reviewed
-
P
Tomb of Émile Olivier
At the northern end of Plage des Salins, on a rock jutting out to sea, is the Tomb of Émile Olivier (1825-1913), who served as first minister to Napoleon III until his exile in 1870. Olivier's 17-volume L'Empire Libéral is preserved in the library of Château La Moutte, his former home on Cap des Salins.
Olivier's sea-facing tomb looks out towards La Tête de Chien (Dog's Head), named after the legendary dog who declined to eat St Torpes' remains.
reviewed
-
Fête du Citrons
Menton's fabulous two-week Fête du Citrons in February sees sculptures and decorative floats made from 115 metric tonnes of lemons (plus another five tonnes used to replace damaged fruit during the festival) weave processions along the seafront. Afterwards, the monumental lemon creations are dismantled and the fruit sold off at bargain prices in front of Palais de l'Europe. Each year the festival follows a different theme (Asterix, Alice in Wonderland, world carnivals).
reviewed
-
Marché du Film
The vast majority of films are 'out of competition'. Behind the scenes the Marché du Film (Film Market; www.marchedufilm.com) sees around €150 million worth of business negotiated in distribution deals. And it's this hard-core commerce combined with all the televised Tinseltown glitz that gives the film festival its special magic. For a concentrated dose, don your glad rags, stand up tall and strut into the bar of one of the posh hotels as if you own the place.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
French Riviera Small Group Day Trip from Nice
9 hours (Departs Nice, France)
by Viator
From Cannes to Monte Carlo, you'll see all the fabulous towns of the French Riviera on this small-group day trip from Nice. You’ll delight in the scenic drive …
Not LP reviewed
from USD$125.39 -
La Tête de Chien
La Tête de Chien was named after the legendary dog who declined to eat St Torpes' remains. A grisly legend provided St-Tropez with its name in AD 68. After beheading a Roman officer named Torpes for becoming a Christian, the emperor Nero packed the decapitated body into a small boat, along with a dog and a rooster who were to devour his remains. Miraculously, the body came ashore in St-Tropez unnibbled, and the village adopted the headless Torpes as its saint.
reviewed
-
Q
Église du Gesù
Jutting above the rooflines are the spires of some historic churches including the baroque Cathédrale Ste-Réparate and its stunning glazed terracotta dome, built around 1650; the blue-grey and yellow Église du Gesù, close to rue Rossetti, whose baroque ornamentation also dates from the mid-17th century; and the mid-18th- century Chapelle de la Miséricorde, next to place Pierre Gautier.
reviewed
-
Atelier Ivan Hov
Origami sailing boats are the forte of Hungarian-born artist Ivan Hov who fled Budapest for Paris in 1956 and studied art in the capital before moving to St-Tropez in 1968. Today, it is hundreds of tableaux - monumental to minuscule in size and featuring at least one (but invariably thousands) of his signature paper boats - that reflect his life. View them (or buy them - his works range from a pint-sized pice to a wall-sized work) at his twinset of workshops.
reviewed
-
R
Le Sporting
There’s a bit of everything on the menu at always-packed Le Sporting, but the speciality is hamburger topped with foie gras and morel cream sauce (surprisingly great, if gut-busting). The Brittany-born owner also serves perfect buckwheat crêpes, honest lunch deals, and a simple salad and croque monsieur (open-faced grilled cheese with béchamel sauce). Drawback: cigarette smoke, especially near the open storefront. Reservations essential.
reviewed
