 Located on the French coast of the Mediterranean Sea, the French Riviera might not have the beaches of California or the cheap accommodations of Thailand, but it certainly has the glitz and glamour rivaled by few places on earth.
Although the Riviera is famous for the glamour of St. Tropez, Monaco or the Cannes Film Festival, there are many other less well known attractions, such as the perched villages of Eze and Gourdon, the perfumeries of Grasse and the glass blowers of Biot.
The Riviera has been the inspiration for many well-known artists such as Picasso and many of their works are on display in local museums and art galleries.
The Riviera is well served with roads, railways and Nice Airport is one of the busiest in France. If you are travelling by car then you should probably arrive using the A8 motorway from Aix-en-Provence or from Italy.
The French department name for this region is Alpes Maritimes and the back country is extremely hilly.
Driving from Geneva, Avignon or Turin as the crow flies is extremely scenic - however it is also mountainous, slow and not for those who suffer from car-sickness. If there are no strikes then major towns such as Cannes and Nice are also served by express trains from Paris as well as (for Nice) trains from Genoa and other places in Italy.
Due to competition from the European Discount Airlines such as Easyjet, SNCF (the French Railways) often offer very cheap fares from northern France.
The Riviera makes much of its living through tourism, thus people are generally willing to communicate in English - particularly in the most touristy areas. Indeed in the foreign bars and restaurants the waiters and sometimes the managers are native English speakers. However service tends to be better if you try to use French. If it is really fractured then quite often people will take pity on you. |
