French
Riviera
What’s
the first thought that comes to your mind when you think of the French Riviera
or the Cote d’azur? For me, it was all about the fame and fortune, wealth, a
playground for celebrities and the jet set crowd.
Of
course now that I have visited the coastline my view has changed. The French
Riviera is a colourful mélange of delectable food and sunny promenades, dazzling
villas and yachts, beautiful beaches, extravagance, the most out of the
ordinary people, fashion (hats, hats and more hats!), art and culture, one of
the most stunning coastlines in the world, and isolated villages in the French
Alps.
Nice
Nice
is one of the most beautiful cities of the French Riviera. Located roughly
between Cannes and the Italian border, Nice lies right beside the Mediterranean
Sea. Nice is considered to be the most popular city in France among tourists
after Paris. It’s not difficult to see why: from its sun-filled avenues and
lovely climate to its famous Promenade des Anglais and amazing location right on
the Mediterranean coast, Nice makes a fantastic holiday destination!
The Promenade De Anglais (Walkway of the English) along the
Mediterranean Sea stretches till the eye can see and is popular amongst
tourists and locals during the day. Stroll along the promenade as you absorb
the atmosphere and marvel at the ever-changing colours of the waters and some
of the most exquisite sunsets in the world.
Most of the famous sites of Nice including the Castle
Hill (the best vantage point), Place Rossetti, Opera De Nice, and the Notre
Dame cathedral are within walking distance of each other. The Highlight for us
was the Old Town, not a tourist attraction per say but a lovely honeycomb of
narrow streets, dotted with beautiful Baroque churches, vibrant squares, ice-cream
spots, shops and restaurants. The famous Cours Saleya market falls in the Old
Town. An open-air market filled with flowers by day turns into an alley of
restaurants by night bustling with people. We spent most of out time roaming
the streets and getting lost in the Old Town. We discovered great ice cream shops;
quirky stores selling vintage French goodies, stores that sold just hats (I
went a bit crazy in here), vespa’s, quaint grocery stores and the most
fascinating people. At night spent hours meandering through the alley-ways,
sampling the delicious cuisine, trying different bars and nightclubs that were
spilling onto the streets. We even found a bar that sold hubbly! I still
believe this is the best way to explore a city and anyone that visits needs to
explore the streets of the Old City.
Monaco
– Monte Carlo
Our
first stop on the French Riviera was Monaco. Made famous by the F1 Monaco Grand
Prix, a tax-free haven and playground for the rich and famous we couldn’t wait
to visit the place. Very close to the Italian border the fashionable enclave
numbers only about 50,000 residents and is smaller than New York’s Central
Park, but it boasts some of the most expensive real estate in the world. In
addition to its luxury hotels and beautiful beaches, Monaco is noted for its
mild climate and magnificent scenery; once an exclusive wintering stop for
Europe’s aristocracy, today there are more than two million visitors annually.
Monaco is made up of four sections- La Condamine, Fontvieille, Monaco-Ville
and Monte Carlo, it is the latter two which rank at the top of every visitor’s
must-see list (including us). We
couldn’t wait to see the Grand Casino in Monte Carlo.
We
arrived in Monaco late afternoon on a train from Nice. The station floor was
covered in Marble, mirrors on the wall the glamour one could only imagine and
we knew we had arrived to the place where the rich and famous of business and
entertainment gather to bask in the sun, gamble at the world’s most opulent
casino and attend spectacular parties. The streets were covered in Ferrari’s,
Lamborghini, Porsche, Mercedes and Audii and the water was covered in yachts of
every size and shape. One section had the hotels on one side, the street, the
board walk and then these massive boats just backed in and parked right there.
This is certainly the place to be if you are wealthy and want to be seen to be
wealthy. We jumped onto a local bus the minute we arrived at the train station
in Monaco. We found the local bus an affordable and great way to explore major
cities throughout the world and not just in the French Riviera. Don’t get me
wrong the novelty of the big open top red tour bus is great but when on a
budget jump on a local bus and just explore. We started by exploring Monaco-ville,
a picturesque part of the city that is still a medieval village at heart with
quaint cafes, pedestrian streets, and a magnificent Palace.
We
then hopped on to the bus again to explore the Oceanographic Museum that my
husband really wanted to visit but unfortunately was closed so we headed back
to the station and set off on foot to the Monte-Carlo casino. We walked uphill
to the casino, a very grand building that holds an Opera House as well as the
casino. Monte Carlo spells sophistication, nothing typifies more the elegant
lifestyle of the Côte d’Azur than glamorous Monte Carlo. The Casino was
incredible and felt unreal, walls covered in gold and hand painted, chandeliers
made of crystal, private ballrooms filled with the famous and roulette tables I
have only seen in the movies. We were lucky enough to win some money and
quickly left as we did. Given out exchange rate we weren’t taking any chances.
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