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Boutique hotels in Côte D'azur (east)

Holidays in Côte D'azur (east)

Côte D'azur (east) Overview

France

Coastline
Ports, palm-trees and pine-clad peaks
Coast life
Sea and be seen

On the coast that defined seaside glamour, you can never be too rich or too brown.

Despite countless imitators, there is only one Riviera and one Côte d’Azur, and the original retains a distinctive cachet that keeps the starlets and socialites flocking here year-round. The high-rollers may glitter in the chic beach bars and fine French restaurants, but it’s the coast itself, floating between the green mountains and the warm indigo sea, that outshines everything. The landscape of parasol pines and terracotta-hued villas is bathed in Provençal light and colour, where Picasso and Matisse paid hotel bills in masterpieces just for the chance to stay another day.

Completely Côte D'azur (east)

The chip-flipping heart of Monaco is Monte Carlo and its glittering cast of casinos. Brush shoulders with Bond wannabes at the roulette tables of Casino de Monte Carlo - Charles Garnier's 19th-century marbled palace - Café de Paris or Le Sporting Club. You don't need to be a member, but Mr Smith will need a jacket and tie and you'll both need photo ID.

Local knowledge

Taxis
Bigger towns such as Nice, Cannes and St Tropez have taxi ranks, but you'll have no luck hailing. Prices are expensive.

Tipping culture
By law, a service charge is automatically added to all restaurant bills, but it’s nice to leave a euro or two.

Siesta and Fiesta
Most shops are open 9am until noon, then from 2pm or 3pm until 7pm. Banks tend to open Tuesday to Friday, from 8am-12pm and 1pm-5pm.

Packing tips
Deck shoes, nautical designerwear and the glitziest jewellery Mrs Smith can pile on.

Recommended reads
To Catch a Thief by David Dodge; The Last Life by Claire Messud; Tender is the Night by F Scott Fitzgerald.

Cuisine
Provençal cuisine for ladies who lunch: elegant pasta dishes, tapenade, salads, fruits de mer. Provence rosé is delicious, but sometimes it just has to be champagne all the way.

Regional specialities
Rosé from Provence, perfume and bath oils from Grasse. Langoustines, goat's cheese and Charentais melons are among the region's big-on-flavour, low-on-food-miles favourites.

Currency
Euro (€).

Dialling codes
France: 33. Southeast: 04 (drop the zero when ringing from abroad).

Do go/don't go
To make the most of the coast go May to September, but check the social calendar to avoid the road-clogging traffic that accompanies events such as the Monaco Grand Prix and Cannes Film Festival.

Don't go home without

Strolling along the strand in Cannes - aka La Croisette - as the sun goes down, and popping into the art deco Martinez Hotel for pre-dinner pastis.