French Riviera Map

Today I took a full–day private tour of the French Riviera. There were two optionals on my Gate 1 tour––to the Picasso Museum in Antibes and a night trip to Monaco, both good tours but I wanted to see more of the Riviera as I had spent three months staying with my parents in Cannes when I was 19 (over 50 years ago). So, today, was a memory trip for me as this was the first time I have been back here. From the map, you can see that the French Riviera is a large area with interesting towns on the map and many small ones not on the map.

Cannes

My guide, Kirsten, an expat from Sweden who lives in Nice, and I first drove south from Juan–les–Pins to Cannes. Kirsten took me to the places I wanted to revisit but also to some places I hadn’t seen before. Photo: A hill above the town on which I believe our apartment house was located.

Cannes

We found the apartment house where we stayed in Cannes––the Monte Leo. Our apartment had a balcony from which we could see the harbor and view the cruise ships and U.S. Navy vessels come into port. There were firework displays often as well. All very very nice. What wasn’t nice was that Cannes and I think most of the Riviera was having an extremely bad drought. We had no running water in our apartment except for every three days or so when the concierge would knock on the apartment doors announcing that he would be turning the water on in 15 minutes and we got ready to fill the bathtub and anything else we could find to hold water. Of course, the apartment’s pool was empty. I also had my wisdom teeth taken out in Cannes as my parents knew it would be less expensive to do this in France than in the U.S. but I had great difficulty coming out of the anesthetic, so a very scary experience. We also all caught the flu and that put up out for a couple of weeks. Other than that, all was great and we were able to temporarily deal with the water problem by taking a few–weeks trip around Europe.

Cannes

I remember all the hot, sunny days we had in Cannes, but today––of all days––it was raining. Photo: Part of the Boulevard de la Croisette (or, as the locals refer to it, just the Croisette), the road between the hotels and the beach. It has changed and not for the better as modern buildings have been squashed between the old elegant hotels. I think its atmosphere has been mostly ruined. We used to go often down the hill to the Croisette at night to sit in a sidewalk cafe to have wine or a cappuccino and to people–watch. It was a time when you could probably tell where people were from by what they were wearing––not so much anymore. Artists would come by the tables trying to sell their paintings.

Cannes Beach

The beach along the Croisette is really pretty in the sun. In the season, it would be filled with lounge chairs and umbrellas and many sunbathers and swimmers. We went to the beach often to swim in the Mediterranean.

Cannes

Photo: An older section of Cannes that really hasn’t changed. I remember sitting at a cafe here with my parents and seeing a short woman skipping down the grassy medium that was here. It was Edith Piaf followed by her much younger boyfriend. So I guess it is true that you can see some famous people just by sitting around in Cannes. Edith Piaf died about a year later.

Palais de Festivals

The Cannes Film Festival was founded in 1946 and is usually held in May, now at the Palais des Festivals et des Congres building on the Croisette. The building opened in 1982. The previous film festivals were held at the casino. The film festival was over a few days ago but all the equipment needed to run the festival was still on the grounds and blocking views and entrance to the beach.

Cannes

Kirsten, my driver/guide, took me up one of the hill roads to an area that I hadn’t been to before. Photo: the hill was steep.

Eglise Notre Dame

At the top of the hill was the 16th–century Eglise Notre Dame d’Esperance.

Cannes

The views from the top of the hill were spectacular.

Nice

We next drove from Cannes to Nice. Photo: the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, the road that follows the coast line.

Nice

We drove through the Old City of Nice (Vieux Nice).

Nice

Kirsten just dropped me off at the Old City for me to have lunch and to walk around some. Nice was part of the Italian Kingdom of Sardinia up to about 158 years ago, so you see much Italian architecture in the Old City. Here is the Tower of the Municipal Clock, 1718, on the Place du Palais de Justice. I had not been to Nice’s Old Town before. With my parents, we just drove through Nice along the Promenade des Anglais to travel from one place to another, so this was a treat.

Nice

For lunch, I bought a ham and cheese baguette at a boulangerie which didn’t have any seating so I asked at the bar in the photo if I could order a cappuccino and then eat my lunch at one of their tables. They said yes.

Nice

Another part of Nice is the Place lle–de–Beaute harbor.

Villafranche

From Nice, we drove up a hill to view Villefranche. It was the home port of the U.S. Navy’s 6th Fleet from 1948 to 1966. We didn’t have time to explore it.

Corniches

There are three corniches between Nice and Menton. The Base Corniche is the coastal road, the Moyenne Corniche is the middle road on the hills, and the Grande Corniche is the highest road and is the most dangerous to drive on as the road twists and turns. We are now on the Grande Corniche and this is the road where Princess Grace had her car accident which led to her death. The sights are breathtaking of the Riviera on the two upper Corniches with many colorful flowers along the roads. In 1961, the first section of a highway from Nice to Menton opened and it has been added to since, so you can now make much better time between places than beforehand. However, to visit some places, you will have to go on the upper Corniches. If you want to see the Riviera in full, you either need to rent a car and learn how to drive like a French person (always being ready to make quick stops) or take public transportation. Rick Steves’ in his “France” book outlines all the public transportation available on the Riviera––by boat, train, and bus. There are also many day trips to take.

Saint-Paul de Vence

Our next stop was at Saint–Paul de Vence, where I had been before but wanted to see again. Saint–Paul de Vence is a walled city that became a major artistic center. Many artists painted here including Picasso.

Saint-Paul de Vence

Kirsten stayed below and I was to walk on my own. Photo: Walking up at hill in Saint–Paul de Vence. The cobblestones were slippery because of the rain.

Saint-Paul de Vence

On level ground, but still slippery. Saint–Paul de Vence is usually very crowded. The rain kept many tourists away.

Saint-Paul de Vence

There are many art galleries in Saint–Paul de Vence for people with different tastes in art. Photo: one of the galleries.

Saint-Paul de Vence

Walking to the exit and at the exit I was lost. I asked someone where the parking lot at the entrance was and they directed me in the wrong direction. I walked and walked until I realized I was going the wrong way and then retraced my steps back. I saw a young man with a cell phone and asked him to call Kirsten to rescue me, which she did. You really need a map when you go to Saint–Paul de Vence and I didn’t have one. This was the second time today that I had to ask someone to call Kirsten for me as I could not get on a network on my phone. By checking Google that night, I figured out why sometimes I could get on a network and other times not. I have T–mobile as a carrier and for it you cannot have your wifi setting on to be on a network in foreign countries even though you can in the United States. Another thing to learn as a tourist. Kirsten dropped me off at my hotel in Juan–les–Pins after this. A good day, though rainy, on the French Riviera.

I have put my French Riviera photos on two slideshows. Go to
http://www.peggysphotos.com/french–rivera–1/ and http://www.peggysphotos.com/french–riviera–2/ (Slide Shows, Western Europe, France–2, “French Riviera–1 and –2”).