Explore Nice & the French Riviera

How To Use This E-Book

This Explore Guide has been produced by the editors of Insight Guides, whose books have set the standard for visual travel guides since 1970. With top-quality photography and authoritative recommendations, these guidebooks bring you the very best routes and itineraries in the worlds most exciting destinations.

Best Routes

The routes in this book provide something to suit all budgets, tastes and trip lengths. As well as covering the destinations many classic attractions, the itineraries track lesser-known sights, and there are also excursions for those who want to extend their visit outside the city. The routes embrace a range of interests, so whether you are an art fan, a gourmet, a history buff or have kids to entertain, you will find an option to suit.

We recommend reading the whole of a route before setting out. This should help you to familiarise yourself with it and enable you to plan where to stop for refreshments options are shown in the Food and Drink box at the end of each tour.

Introduction

The routes are set in context by this introductory section, giving an overview of the destination to set the scene, plus background information on food and drink, shopping and more, while a succinct history timeline highlights the key events over the centuries.

Directory

Also supporting the routes is a Directory chapter, with a clearly organised AZ of practical information, our pick of where to stay while you are there and select restaurant listings; these eateries complement the more low-key cafs and restaurants that feature within the routes and are intended to offer a wider choice for evening dining. Also included here are some nightlife listings, plus a handy language guide and our recommendations for books and films about the destination.

Getting around the e-book

In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.

Maps

All key attractions and sights mentioned in the text are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map] just tap this to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.

Images

Youll find lots of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of the destination. Simply double-tap on an image to see it full-screen.

2014 Apa Publications (UK) Ltd

Table of Contents

Recommended Routes For...

Architecture fans

Theres Baroque in Vieux Nice ().

iStock

Children

Antibes ().

Sylvaine Poitau/Apa Publications

Food markets

Succumb to the colourful fruit and vegetables at cours Saleya and St-Franois fish market in Vieux Nice ().

Sylvaine Poitau/Apa Publications

Gardeners

The Rivieras tropical vegetation is astonishing. Visit Val Rahmeh and the gardens of Menton (route 8), Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild ().

Sylvaine Poitau/Apa Publications

Modern art lovers

The Cte dAzur was a hub of the 20th-century avant-garde. Visit Matisse and Chagall museums in Cimiez ().

Sylvaine Poitau/Apa Publications

People-watching

Enjoy celeb-spotting from a terrace on the Vieux Port in St-Tropez ().

Sylvaine Poitau/Apa Publications

Superb views

Get a birds-eye view from the perched villages of ze and Roquebrune ().

iStock

Yachting and sailing

Admire the luxury craft in Antibes ().

Sylvaine Poitau/Apa Publications

The famous red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival

Getty Images

Explore Nice and the Riviera

From Nices Belle-poque promenade des Anglais to Romanesque cathedrals and medieval hill villages, the French Riviera offers a beguiling mix of the grandiose and the intimate along with a variety of architecture waiting to be discovered.

It is the colours you notice first: stucco houses of all tones from cream via amber to deep russet; the white limestone crags of the Alpes-Maritimes against the blue of the Mediterranean Sea; and the red sandstones, grey schists, green serpentine and cork oaks of the Var. Together with the Rivieras luscious vegetation, vibrant flowers, green-grey olive trees and diverse vegetables overflowing from market stalls, these elements create a brilliant palette of hues offset by the southern sun which has inspired Signac, Dufy, Matisse and countless other artists over the years.

The hill town of ze, with Cap Ferrat in the distance

Fotolia

Geography and Layout

The routes in this guide first explore Nice (capital of the Alpes-Maritimes dpartement ), then they focus on the coastal strip between Menton by the Italian frontier to the east and Cannes in the west, before heading inland to Grasse and Vence in the Pre-Alp foothills, and westwards as far as St-Tropez and the rugged Massif des Maures in the neighbouring region of Var.

Town layouts