It’s fast, loud and all about money: it’s the Monaco Grand Prix. This year the 70th Grand Prix event takes place May 24-27. If you like formula-one car racing head to Monaco then, and if you don’t, avoid the place for a few weeks either side of those dates also.
April 25, 2012
Free Things to Do in Cannes
Cannes has the aura of wealth and glamor, but there’s more to this small village than that annual red-carpet parade held in May. Cannes may feel out of reach for those with a budget in mind, but there’s actually plenty you can do without spending a dime! Some great – and free – things to do in Cannes are:
April 11, 2012
Blue Coast Train: Spectacular Views of the Riviera
If you love spectacular views and lovely train journeys, the Blue Coast Train is one not to be missed. It’s a local train, so it’s inexpensive, regular and often overlooked by tourists. From Marseilles heading west to Miramas, this train line hugs the coast and passes through 23 tunnels and over 18 viaducts. The road of the same route loops inland and misses all the amazing cliff and sea views.
March 29, 2012
Villefranche-sur-Mer: Rockstar Retreat
5 miles (8 kms) outside Nice to the east lies Villefranche-sur-Mer. If you feel like escaping the crowds promenading along the Promenade des Anglais beside Nice’s beachfront, hop on the local bus number 82 to this quiet hideaway. Here you’ll find expensive yachts tied up beside traditional fishing boats.
March 9, 2012
Saint Tropez’s Most Interesting Museum
There are more reasons to go to Saint Tropez than to rub shoulders with the rich and famous. Once upon a town this was just a tiny fishing village, and it was to this small town with a superb climate and beautiful beaches and landscapes that some of the best artists in France came to work. A lot of the work they did back then is now collected in a lovely little gallery Musee de l’Annociade (Annunciation Museum).
February 24, 2012
Prelude to Tour de France – Race to the Sun
The Tour de France might be the most famous cycling race through France, but it’s not the only one. The professional cycling year begins with the Paris-Nice race, also known as ‘the race to the sun’, which has been going since 1933. It’s a gruelling 720 miles (1156 km) over eight stages, going from March 4th to 11th in 2012.
February 15, 2012
French Riviera: Top 10 Things to Do
Whether you call it the French Riviera or the Côte d’Azur, France’s Mediterranean coast from Cannes to Nice and beyond has an almost mythically glamorous appeal. The beautiful people (le Beau Monde) have flocked here for generations. And if Ernest Hemingway, David Niven, Joan Collins and Elton John have all holidayed here, who are we to argue?
February 1, 2012
The Corniches: 3 Wonderful Roads to Drive
Beloved by both tourists in their hire-cars and boy-racers in their Ferraris and Maseratis, the Cote d’Azur’s Corniches are some of the most spectacular roads in the world. There are three roads running between Nice and Monaco and on to Menton, near the border with Italy.
January 20, 2012
Vence: France’s Most Artful Southern Town
Vence is France’s town of art near the French Riviera. This might sound like a big claim in a country so soaked in art history, especially 20th-century art, but the lovely historic town of Vence in the South of France between Nice and Antibes has been a magnet for artists who left their legacy in both spirit and artworks.
January 4, 2012
Van Gogh, Romans and Bullfights in Arles
The French Riviera is full of famous places. Arles is best known to us for its association with the painter, Vincent van Gogh. It was here that van Gogh was living when he famously cut off his ear. He lived here for just over a year, from 1888 to 1889, but he completed some of his most famous paintings in Arles, around 500 works in total.
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Vence: France’s Most Artful Southern Town
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Charming Eze Village
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Monaco Princely Wedding
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3 Days in Nice: Suggested Itineraries
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Cannes Suggested Itineraries
May 9, 2012
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