Beautiful beaches among palm trees, famous resorts hosting hundreds of famous guests, blue Mediterranean skies, luxury hotels and crystal clear waters - these are the tourist canons of this unusual region - Cote d'Azur, also known as French Riviera. Tourists from all over the world come to the south of France for a sunny holiday, longing for luxury, golden sand and azure sea, combined with impressive nature of the long coastline.
For a comfortable trip, many tourists prefer to use car rental services in France. The average cost of renting a car in Cannes is 20 euros per day, in Nice - 18 euros per day.
Additional attractions are charming towns nestled in picturesque hills, rich traditions, beautiful monuments and of course the cuisine. The region beats attendance records every year, each resort is proud of its "highlights". In the evenings, the romantic promenades are filled with hundreds of strolling guests, and the best clubs and discos begin their crazy dance before dawn. On the streets of cities you can admire the most expensive cars, taste delicious food and drinks, relax in the best bathing areas in Europe and see hundreds of happy tourists every day.
If someone is looking for a quiet, cheap and peaceful place to stay, the Côte d'Azur is probably not for him. Riviera attracts not only with beautiful landscapes and interesting monuments. High solar activity, more than 300 days a year, a favorable Mediterranean subtropical climate and a warm sea, the temperature of which rarely drops below 25 ° C - this is a magnet for tourists. In this part of France, winters are mild and wet, while summers are dry and hot. The coast is often visited by lovers of water sports. Mistral is in charge here - the ideal wind for sailing on a board with a sail. Côte d'Azur stretches between Spain in the west and Italy in the east, and in the north this part of the land is protected from the cold winds blowing from the continent, the belt of Alpes-Maritimes and the mountainous regions of Provencal Alps.
The region's most important city is Marseille, the gateway to Mediterranean. Due to its location, the city is unusually colorful, cosmopolitan and multinational, which is ensured by a mixture of many cultures. The city is definitely worth a visit due to its monuments, chaotic history and many interesting sights.
You can start your journey around the city from the Marseille History Museum. Next, you should go to Vieux Port - the heart of the city, beating since antiquity, where beautiful yachts and fishing boats are moored. The embankment attracts hungry tourists with the smells of fresh fish and seafood coming from excellent taverns designed for a large flow of people. By the way, it is worth taking a look at the two historical coastal forts of St. Nicholas and St. John, recalling naval battles and pirate raids.
Then it's time to move to the main artery of the lively La Canebière city center, with many shops offering not only souvenirs, but also the most exquisite French products. Traces of Greek fortifications can be seen in the Garden of Ruins.
Traces of Greek fortifications can be seen in the Garden of Ruins. And the most interesting monuments in the city are the town hall, also known as Hotel de Ville, the spiritual cradle of the city - the Cathedral of Notre Dame de la Garde with a golden statue of the Virgin Mary and the abbey of St. Victor with huge catacombs.
Marseille's location in the hills makes the area unique in terms of landscape. The city is made up of natural spaces, parks and gardens that are easy to stroll through and enjoy relaxing in the shade of lush vegetation. In addition to several interesting museums, tourists very often go to If castle - a rocky island emerging from the depths of the sea, known from the novel by Alexandre Dumas "The Count of Monte Cristo", where prisoners were kept in the castle.
Many tourists wish to stay here longer to relax in luxurious hotels and on several small beaches scattered along the surrounding coast. However, the best sandy beaches are located in the south-east of the city, off the coast of Calanques, where hard-to-reach rocks descend into the azure sea, and in small coves there are wonderful places for swimming. The area is best explored by boat on a cruise organized by the ports of Marseille, Cassis, La Ciotat and Bandol.Perpignan, a large coastal town adjacent to several small resorts such as Canet-en-Roussillon, Étang-de-Canet and de Saint-Nazaire and Saint-Cyprien-Plage, fills with hundreds of tourists spending time on the coast in the summer.
In the city you can visit several interesting monuments, take part in numerous "festivals" and relax on the wonderful, long and wide beaches with fine light sand. Their attractiveness is enhanced by their location on a spit separated from the sea by a beautiful lagoon. The coast here is ideal for sailing, windsurfing, kitesurfing and paragliding. The resorts have many luxury hotels and apartments for rent, on the beaches you can rent sports and entertainment equipment and sunbathe for hours.
Sete is a resort city with many attractions. Tourists are attracted here by the Saint-Pierre festival in June, dedicated to the patron saint of the city of Saint-Pierre. During the holiday, the sea and fishing boats are consecrated. In addition, the resort has several interesting museums, you can visit cathedral and choose the wide sandy beach de la Corniche in the southwest of the town, where leads a beautiful promenade. The resort has several good eateries. Also very popular are cruises on the surrounding lagoon, regarded in France as the most important oyster farming site.Montpellier is an extraordinary metropolis. This is an attractive city for tourists, and a beautiful, modern resort.
You should definitely go to the old city with its dazzling monuments. And be sure to sit in trendy cafes that fill the center. In the city center, crowds of tourists stroll through the vast squares and picturesque streets lined with charming mansions. Attractions such as St-Come Hotel, St. Peter's Cathedral, Botanical Gardens and numerous museums are must-haves on your itinerary. In addition to hotels of different levels, the resort offers tourists beautiful beaches located among blue lagoons and sandy spits.
The best beaches with fine sand are located in the vicinity of the neighboring Palava-les-Flots and Carnon-Plage towns. These are kilometers of well-maintained coastline, ideal for practicing water sports and relaxing in a pleasant atmosphere. In many places there is fine sand and a gentle slope into the sea.Cassis is a small fishing resort located in a picturesque bay surrounded by imposing and high cliffs. Tourists visiting the city appreciate the picturesque port, colorful houses with cozy cafes and pleasant sandy and rocky beaches where you can spend many hours; the urban de la Grande Mer stands out among them, but you can also find quieter places on the nearby cliffs. It is also worth heading to the less crowded and wild beaches around Cap Canay. The city also attracts tourists with a wine festival organized in September.
Saint-Tropez is a fabulous resort that gives sleepless nights to many tourists planning a vacation on Cote d'Azur. Prominent personalities from all over the world have their villas in the famous Millionaire Bay. The city is characterized by narrow streets with many nooks and crannies and houses decorated in warm southern colors. Most tourists gather on the port promenade, where there are most cafes and gardens overlooking the sea. The resort has a relaxed atmosphere. There is a lovely colorful flower market in Lis Square. As in any luxury resort, in Saint-Tropez you can spend hours basking on the beautiful beaches, indulging in water sports, sailing on a luxury yacht or walking along the beautiful promenades. An interesting museum is located in the local citadel. Music festivals are held here in the summer.There are beautiful beaches around the resort. Perhaps the best of them: the long, wide and sandy Plage de Pampellone in the southeast of the city, and the slightly smaller Plage Tahiti, located closer to the center. At the foot of the surrounding Cap Camarat cape lies the less frequented Plage de Bonne Terrasse sandy beach. The conclusion here is this: Saint-Tropez is a luxurious place and a vacation here costs a lot of money.
Cannes - if you have the opportunity to relax on Cote d'Azur, you should definitely visit the most wonderful resort in this part of France, appreciated by many tourists for its cosmopolitanism, fame gained thanks to the International Film Festival and rich nightlife. It is enough to walk along the coast to be enchanted by the beautiful harbours, bays and the promenade that runs along the sunny beach. The magnificent atmosphere of the city is also emphasized by the picturesque hills of Le Suquet behind luxurious hotels, each of which has its own beaches. Tourists eager to swim in the sea can also take advantage of the sandy beaches near the Palais des Festivals. Public beaches also stretch for several kilometers along the high boulevards Jean Ibert and de Midi.
After swimming in the azure sea, it is worth taking a stroll along the Croisette, which runs along the port, where luxury yachts depart to an exclusive casino. The combination of luxury and splendor is intertwined with the seaside climate, sandy beaches and narrow streets of the old city. Cannes is a "reed" growing in the vicinity of the city, which in the nineteenth century was still an ordinary village. In 1946, the first film festival was held here, the most eminent stars associated with cinema, art and show business took part in it. In addition to the magnificent boulevards, tourists coming to the city for a short visit can also admire the historical part with a medieval castle, Notre Dame de Y'Esperance church, as well as several museums and galleries related to local history and art. Enticing nightlife, fashion shows on the waterfront boulevards and great restaurants where you can feel like a movie star.