Cote d'Azur
Overview of Holidays on the Cote d'Azur, Provence, France:
The Cote d'Azur, often referred to as the 'French Riviera' is the Mediterranean coastline of the south-east corner of France. The French Riviera benefits from 300 days of glorious sunshine per year, has 115km (71 miles) of coastline and beaches, 18 golf courses, 14 ski resorts and over 3,000 restaurants.
Holiday on the Cote d'Azur - Geography
The Cote d'Azur has no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend from the Italian border in the east to Saint Tropez, Hyeres or Cassis in the west - stretching approximatey 560 miles. The Cote d'Azur also encompasses the principality of Monaco.
Holiday on the Cote d'Azur - History
The Cote d'Azur was one of the first modern holiday resorts. It started as a winter health resort for British aristocrats and the upper classes at the end of the 18th Century. With the arrival of the railway in the mid-19th Century, the Cote d'Azur became the playground of the Russian aristocracy and British royalty, such as Queen Victoria and King Edward VII, when he was the Prince of Wales. The Cote d'Azur then played host to many millionaires including members of the Rothschild family. In the first half of the 20th Century the Cote d'Azur attracted artists and writers, including Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Edith Wharton, Somerset Maugham and Aldous Huxley, as well as wealthy Americans and Europeans. Following World War II the Cote d'Azur became a popular tourist destination. Today many Hollywood film stars, rock stars and celebrities have homes on the Cote d'Azur. In turn many of the sophisticated towns along the coastline are fabulous destinations for celebrity spotting.
Holiday on the Cote d'Azur - Getting there
The largest city on th Cote d'Azur is Nice. Nice is home to Nice Cote d'Azur Airport, the third busiest airport in France. The A8 Autoroute runs through the Cote d'Azur, as does the old main road generally known as the Route Nationale 7 (officially now the D N7 in the Var and the D6007 in the Alpes-Maritimes). Trains serve the coastal region of the Cote d'Azur and inland to Grasse, with the TGV Sud Est service reaching Nice-Ville station in five hours and a half from Paris.
Holiday on the Cote d'Azur - Resorts
The French Riviera surrounds the principality of Monaco. The Cote d'Azur is also home to the seaside resorts of Cap-d'Ail, Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Antibes, Juan-les-Pins, Cannes, Saint-Raphael, Frejus, Sainte Maxime and Saint-Tropez.
Holiday on the Cote d'Azur - Activities
The Cote d'Azur is a major sailig, yachting and cruising area with several marinas along its coast. According to the Cote d'Azur's Economic Development Agency, the French Riviera hosts 50 per cent of the world's superyacht fleet each year, with 90 per cent of all superyachts visiting the Cote d'Azur at least once in their lifetime.
Of course with 115km (71 miles) of coastline and beaches, the Cote d'Azur is a haven for water sports of all ranges and sun-worshippers in search of golden sandy beaches.
Cote d'Azur - Our holiday accommodation and service:
If you visit the south of France with secretdestinations.com holidays you can choose from many privately owned holiday villas, apartments and villas with pools in authentic unspoiled Provence. All of our French holiday villa rentals have been hand-picked for their locations to give you a truly authentic taste of unspoiled secret France. So if you're looking for an activity holiday scuba diving, walking or cycling or simply relaxing on lovely beaches, surfing, enjoying watersports, a spot of sunbathing or a day trip around the vineyards to soak up the local history, call our holiday team today who wil help you find your perfect French villa holiday.
