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Boutique hotels

Côte d'Azur Overview

France

Coastline
Pines, palms and pools
Coast life
Portside posing, artwork ogling

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

This is where rustic glamour was invented: a balmy playground, equally endowed with show-off glitz and craggy, pine-clad coastline. Beautiful beaches stretch east from Hyères towards the Italian border; the celebrated hot spots – Cannes, Nice and Monte Carlo – are synonymous with unashamed ostentation, and have Italianate architecture and rock-star villas to match. When the boats and Bulgari get too much, you can retreat to the region’s mediaeval villages. Èze, Mougins and Saint-Paul- de-Vence crown the cypress-dotted hills, all quaint cobbled alleys, casual cafés and ruined ramparts. The one thing you can’t escape is the Mediterranean, its blue brilliance a timeless lure, whether you’re Pablo Picasso or Paris Hilton.

Completely Côte d'Azur

Millionaires, established or aspiring, can hire a Bentley – have it delivered to your hotel – and tour the Grande Corniche, a classic driving route along the highest of the coast roads from Nice to Menton (www.platinium-ca.com). What started life as a mule track along which Napoleon and the boys could invade Italy is now a smoothly Tarmacked regular on car ads, its sweeping bends making light work of the coastal contours. You may not make it as far as Menton,but try to get to Turbie, a hilltop hamlet with a Roman monument, La Trophée des Alpes (www.ville-la-turbie.fr; closed Mondays). It’s one of many excuses to stop the car and admire the jaw-dropping views.

Local knowledge

Taxis
Towns such as Nice, Cannes and Monte Carlo have taxi ranks, but you’ll have no luck hailing. For middle-of-nowhere fares, ask your hotel to book a cab.

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–12pm, then from 2pm or 3pm until 7pm. Banks open Tuesday to Friday, 8am–12pm and 1pm–5pm.

Packing tips
Merrell walking shoes for rambling in the hills; budgie-smugglers or your least substantial bikini for the beach at Cannes.

Recommended reads
Super-Cannes by JG Ballard; Tender is the Night by F Scott Fitzgerald; To Catch a Thief by David Dodge.

Cuisine
Light, pale rosé wine from Provence. Langoustines, goat’s cheese and Cavaillon melons are among the region’s big-flavour, low-food-miles favourites. Expect plenty of grilled fish, bouillabaisse and authentic salade niçoise.

Currency
Euro (€).

Time zone
GMT +1.

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 stopping at art deco Martinez Hotel for pre-dinner pastis.