The city in the sun - Nice
The main town of the Cote d'Azur is Nice, a town that became French only in 1860. Before that it was part of Italian Piemont duchy, and the Italian influence can be seen in the architecture of the old town. With the developement of tourism in the 19th century, the town now extends along the coast to the west, with its famous "Promenade des Anglais" facing the Baie des anges. In the city centre is the large Place Massena and along with Place Garibaldi, the old town and the old port are the liveliest part of the city, just near near the main shopping area.
If you want to combine tranquility and stay close to the centre, the 2 best areas are "quartiers des musiciens" behind the promenade and "Cimiez" higher on the hill. The choice of apartments for sale are either older belle epoque style apartments or more recent modern buildings. Above the old port is "Mont Boron", where you can find apartments and villas with fantastic views overlooking the bay below. Heading towards Monaco following the corniche eastwards are the chic resorts of St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat and Beaulieu-sur-mer. Here property prices are in the same range as those in Monaco and St Tropez.
Cannes, the resort with famous hotels and the film festival
Cannes developement matched the rise of tourism on the French Riviera. Smaller and quieter than Nice, the most famous Riviera hotels like the Carlton and Majestic line the seafront, symbols of privilege since the 19th century. The seafront promenade called the Croisette facing the bay, sandy beach and islands of Lerins attracts the highest property prices.
Behind the Croisette, there is a large selection of apartments still close to the beach, that can be rented most of the year to professionals that come for business events at the "Palais du festival". The film festival although less glamorous than in the days of Grace Kelly and Brigitte Bardot, is now a major business venue for the film industry, with distribution agreements signed behind closed doors.
Going inland towards Mougins are lovely villas, including famous one's like Picasso's that sold in 2017 for 20 million Euros.
Another small attractive village is St-Paul-de-Vence, a meeting point for many well known artists like Chagall who lived there 19 years.
Despite the urban sprawl of the region, you can still get a taste of Provence in the villages inland and property prices are lower inland than on the coast.
The resorts of the Var - St Raphael, Ste Maxime and St Tropez.
Going west after Cannes are the well known resorts of the Var, such as St Raphael where Scott Fitzgerald resided and wrote the Great Gatsby, and in the bay of St Tropez, Ste Maxime and St Tropez. The more varied coastline in the Var is popular for yachting. The low hills of the coastline are a perfect setting for villas with great sea views. There are few contemporary villas, as most houses were built in provencal style.
For more information on the resorts, look at this excellent website and use the map at the bottom of each page:
www.francethisway.com/regions/var.php
www.francethisway.com/regions/cote-d-azur.php
The main town of the Cote d'Azur is Nice, a town that became French only in 1860. Before that it was part of Italian Piemont duchy, and the Italian influence can be seen in the architecture of the old town. With the developement of tourism in the 19th century, the town now extends along the coast to the west, with its famous "Promenade des Anglais" facing the Baie des anges. In the city centre is the large Place Massena and along with Place Garibaldi, the old town and the old port are the liveliest part of the city, just near near the main shopping area.
If you want to combine tranquility and stay close to the centre, the 2 best areas are "quartiers des musiciens" behind the promenade and "Cimiez" higher on the hill. The choice of apartments for sale are either older belle epoque style apartments or more recent modern buildings. Above the old port is "Mont Boron", where you can find apartments and villas with fantastic views overlooking the bay below. Heading towards Monaco following the corniche eastwards are the chic resorts of St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat and Beaulieu-sur-mer. Here property prices are in the same range as those in Monaco and St Tropez.
Cannes, the resort with famous hotels and the film festival
Cannes developement matched the rise of tourism on the French Riviera. Smaller and quieter than Nice, the most famous Riviera hotels like the Carlton and Majestic line the seafront, symbols of privilege since the 19th century. The seafront promenade called the Croisette facing the bay, sandy beach and islands of Lerins attracts the highest property prices.
Behind the Croisette, there is a large selection of apartments still close to the beach, that can be rented most of the year to professionals that come for business events at the "Palais du festival". The film festival although less glamorous than in the days of Grace Kelly and Brigitte Bardot, is now a major business venue for the film industry, with distribution agreements signed behind closed doors.
Going inland towards Mougins are lovely villas, including famous one's like Picasso's that sold in 2017 for 20 million Euros.
Another small attractive village is St-Paul-de-Vence, a meeting point for many well known artists like Chagall who lived there 19 years.
Despite the urban sprawl of the region, you can still get a taste of Provence in the villages inland and property prices are lower inland than on the coast.
The resorts of the Var - St Raphael, Ste Maxime and St Tropez.
Going west after Cannes are the well known resorts of the Var, such as St Raphael where Scott Fitzgerald resided and wrote the Great Gatsby, and in the bay of St Tropez, Ste Maxime and St Tropez. The more varied coastline in the Var is popular for yachting. The low hills of the coastline are a perfect setting for villas with great sea views. There are few contemporary villas, as most houses were built in provencal style.
For more information on the resorts, look at this excellent website and use the map at the bottom of each page:
www.francethisway.com/regions/var.php
www.francethisway.com/regions/cote-d-azur.php