Cote D'Azur

Known predominately as the French Riviera, the Cote D'Azur stretches from St. Tropez to Monte-Carlo/ Monaco, including Cannes, Nice, Grasse and Villefranche.

Nice is the largest of the cities on the Cote D'Azur. It has excellent museums, good beaches, wide promenades along the waterfront, and daily flower and vegetable markets, which are some of the numerous highlights to see.

Monte-Carlo/ Monaco, with its fashionable shops and casino is still ruled by one of the world's oldest monarchies and is home to the Monaco Grand Prix in May and the Monte-Carlo Rally in January.

Cannes is famous for it is being a top Mediterranean resort and for its festivals, the most famous being the Cannes Film Festival in May.

Grasse is inland, nestled between two hills looking out over the sea in the distance. Surrounded by fields of flowers, Grasse has been the center of the worlds perfume industry since the 16th century. Perfume houses founded in the 18th and 19th centuries are still in business today.

Worth a trip to see is the Gorges du Verdon which was deeply cut by the river Verdon. The gorge is over 700 m (2,297 ft) deep in spots and offers many stopping places for spectacular views of the surrounding region.

Climate:

The French Riviera benefits from a Mediterranean-type climate, characterized by exceptional sunshine almost 300 days a year and mild temperatures for most of the year.

It rains heavily but infrequently mostly in March/April and October/November. In winter, freezing temperatures are rare, but sweaters are advised.

Cousine:

This is the land of the Mediterranean diet, in its best French-Provençal-Niçoise form. Fresh seafood, tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, artichokes, olives and olive oil, garlic and onions, orchard fruits, thyme, rosemary, sage, basil, anise-regale yourself. Bouillabaisse has its local variations all along the coast. Nice specialties include ravioli and gnocchi; salade niçoise with tomatoes, tuna and anchovies; pissaladiera, an onion-and-anchovy pizza. Pan Bagnat is a bread roll filled with everything in the garden, drizzled with olive oil. Aïoli is garlic mayonnaise, often served with fish soup. Pistou is a version of pesto, a paste of basil, garlic and olive oil, sometimes with parmesan or pine nuts incorporated. Tapenade is a paste of black olives, anchovies, capers and oil. And of course, the lemons of Menton.

Wines are fresh and fruity Côtes de Provence, Bandol, Cassis, the rare Bellet from near Nice, and local wines from the regions of La Gaude, St-Jeannet and Menton.

Shopping:

Provençal specialties-perfumes, honey, herbs, lavender, olive wood bowls and artifacts-are available in shops throughout the region. Biot and Vallauris are renowned for pottery and glass. Tourrettes-sur-Loup has more than a dozen real, working artisans-weavers, gold- and silversmiths, jewelers, leather craftsmen, potters-who sell their wares from their workshops.

The food markets are irresistible: Forville in Cannes, the Cours Saleya in old Nice, the Cours Masséna in old Antibes, the old town in Vence, the Halles and the Place aux Herbes in Menton. All of these have vendors of locally pressed virgin olive oil, too. Flea markets on Saturdays in Antibes, Wednesdays in Vence, Sunday mornings in Villefranche-sur-Mer. Grasse, of course, has perfume. Carved wooden santons, traditional figures for Christmas cr&egrav;ches make charming souvenir gifts.

Leisure:

Swimming, water skiing, boating, sailing and all other water sports, as well as golf, are available. In the back country, hiking, biking and, in winter, skiing. And of course, boules or petanque, the ultimate regional pastime.

For table-top sports, there are 13 casinos on the Riviera.

Touring tips:

In the back country the roads can be perilously steep and winding, so even minor mileage can be slow going. Relax and enjoy the views.

Many small village churches cannot afford full-time lighting; be prepared with lots of one-franc and two-franc coins for automatic lighting of important paintings, statues and altarpieces.

Events & Festivals:

Monaco: Circus Festival, January 27 to February 3
Nice: Carnival, February 10-27
Menton: Lemon Festival, February 12-27
Tourrettes-sur-Loup: Violet Festival, March 13
Monaco: Grand Prix Formula I Race, May 12-15
Grasse: Rose Festival, May 12-16
Cannes: International Film Festival, May 12-23
Nice: Jazz Festival, July 8-19
Juan-les-Pins: Jazz Festival, End of July
Grasse: Jasmine Festival, August 4-7