HOLIDAYING ON THE FRENCH RIVIERA.

I’ve been attracted by the French Riviera since my first reading of the novels by F.S. Fitzgerald, with his refined descriptions of the vivid landscapes and the narration of the life lead by glamorous American expatriates during the Roaring Twenties. When I first holidayed there many years ago, it was love at first glance, and I have never been disappointed since then. The Riviera is a chain of enchanting resorts, like a long string of pearls, and I am going to write about my favourites, which I visit often, whenever I spend some days there.

Nice - Promenade des Anglais

Nice is generally my first stop, since I like wandering through the alleys of the old town, whose ochre buildings are enhanced by the exceptionally clear sky and the summer glare. And what to say of the lively coloured Flower-Market, or the Sunday’s "Marché aux Puces", or the magnificent palaces adorned with sumptuous iron-wrought decorations and reminiscent of a glorious past. 

Shopping in Nice is never disappointing: whenever I stop there, I like buying home accessories at La Chaise Bleue, new items for my collection of Lampes Berger at the Home department of the Galeries Lafayette, chocolates at one of the numerous "Maîtres chocolatiers", olive products at Alziari's,  clothes and accessories at French mono-brand shops. Of course, also internationally famous brands have their flagship store in the shopping area, so I also enjoy visiting the shops of French luxury brands to plunge into their universe of opulence.

At lunch, I like having either a light meal based on the "Cuisine Niçoise” dishes, or a brunch based on lemon crêpes and fruit juice in the restaurants and the cafés of the market area, before strolling along the Promenade des Anglais, feeling the balmy breeze in my hair, with an eye on the moresque cupola of the Negresco. 

But the most exalting experience of the day is to admire the enchanting golden sunset from the quiet neighborhood of Cimiez, where I always sojourn, when in Nice, and wait until it glides slowly into a late twilight.

Nice - Old center

Nice - Cimiez

The following stop is at Grasse, a lovely sunny village inland, surrounded by a landscape made of olive trees, cypresses, oleanders, bougainvilleas, and the flower fields that have contributed to its fame and its prospering perfume industry. Because the main reason for my visiting the place is the purchase of perfumes in the world's perfume capital. Several excellent local "parfumeries" have their headquarters there, bearing the names of the respective founders; my favourite supplier is Fragonard, with its delicate unique perfumes for woman & man, or home fragrances unmistakably suggestive of holiday-making on the Riviera. Their alluring, refined southern French style pervades the shop, factory and museum, which certainly deserve a visit.

Grasse - The village and its surroundings

Grasse - Fragonard Parfumerie

Then the itinerary leads up toward Cannes, set like a jewel inside the bay of the same name, with its creamy old fortifications and its magnificent hotels, among which my favourite is the luxurious Carlton Intercontinental, unforgettable set of "To Catch a Thief", starring Grace Kelly and Cary Grant.  Useless to say, shopping in Cannes is a treat I never give up: I generally buy bijoux at Satellite, macarons at Ladurée, whose pastel old-style confectionery shop is the epitome of French taste, but there are so many shops for any type of goods in Rue d'Antibes and adjacent streets, that it is almost impossible to choose which ones to visit, not to mention the most famous French and Italian brands as well as jewellers' shops, with their sparkling windows on the Croisette.

Cannes - La Croisette

Cannes - Going on shopping

Cannes - Going on shopping

Cannes - Hotel Carlton Intercontinental

Our final destination is St.-Tropez, to which I'm going to dedicate my next post. There, I generally spend a fortnight each year with my partner, but not before enjoying both the dramatic landscape offered by driving along the Provençale" highway, admiring the vivid red of the Estérel rocks enhanced by the surrounding greenery, as you journey back through time, as well as the winding road along the low range of Maures towards the littoral, still intact and densely forested with cork oaks and chestnut groves.