Everybody has heard about the French Riviera, even if they haven't actually been there.

The Cannes Film Festival, the roar of the Monaco Grand Prix, the sandy beaches, palatial hotels, gastronomic restaurants, casinos, dream villas, luxury yachtsm golf courses and discotheques are familiar to many readers.

General Information - Real estate French Riviera
The French Riviera and the Alps Maritimes

Everybody has heard about the French Riviera, even if they haven't actually been there.

The Cannes Film Festival, the roar of the Monaco Grand Prix, the sandy beaches, palatial hotels, gastronomic restaurants, casinos, dream villas, luxury yachtsm golf courses and discotheques are familiar to many readers.

What many people may not know about are the hidden gems that lie behind these attractions: You'll be amazed by the contrast offered by the Rivera's hinterland.



A bit of History

Deriving its name form the colour of its skies, originally the French Riviera was a winter retreat for European and Russian aristocrats fleeing from the fog, cold and damp. It is said that Queen Victoria was advised by her doctors to spend some time in Nice in order to improve her health. Apparently, the dry,sunny climate was good for her health and Nice become her favourite winter resort.

She was followed by just about anyone in the aristocracy that was worth knowing. The riviera remains to this day a place to see and be seen.

In fact, Nice owns a lot to Queen Victoria and her Husband Albert ler. Early British residents laid the foundations for the famous « Promenade des Anglais », the long and wide avenue with the exotic palm trees that borders the sea from Nice International Airport to Nice Harbour.

Most of the city atmosphere on the Cote d'Azur reigns in Nice, famous for its Bay of Angels beaches and the palm-bedecked Promenade des Anglais. The Old town is an absoluter must with the it's Baroque churches, tiny shops and art galleries lining the narrow shady streets. After visiting the famous Cours Saleya market in the morning you can heard for the Chagall, Matisse or Modern and Contemporary Art Museum.

In Cannes, the tradition of hospitality dates back to 1834 when Lord Brougham was obliged to stay on due to an outbreak of cholera in Nice. The Lord Chancellor fell in love with the modest little fishing village and had a sumptuous Palladian-style villa built there and invited all his aristocratic friends, who followed suit and set the town on its path to glory. The film festival was, of course, the second event to launch Cannes into the international spotlight, paving the way for a year-round calendar of prestigious international events.

Then in the Roaring Twenties, sunshine became acceptable and fashionable and the Riviera towns kicked into a higher gear as fashionable summer resorts. Thanks to fun-loving Americans such as Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, the Murphys, Isadora Duncan and other celebrities such as Picasso and Coco Chanel, this seasonal switch acted as a magic spur to the Rivera's year-round development.

More recently, another switch was thrown, this time to diversify the region's activities from tourist playground to high-tech, clean industry as well as a center for seminars and conventions.

Today, outside the summer season, one in every two trips to the Riviera is business-related. Cannes, Nice and the Principality of Monaco compete to attract and retain the high income and image value derived from national and international conventions, prestigous products and news-breaking for futuristic industries such as telecommunications and information technology.

The Riviera today

Business travel in the South of France is not, however, limited to congresses and trade-fairs. Over the past decade, the Côte d'Azur has won international recognition as high tech hot-bed, an image fuelled by the Sophia Antipolis science and technology park near Antibes.

In acres of rolling countryside, still undergoing development, Sophia Antipolis is home to a university, several management schools, public and private research units, three international standard organisations, development, design and customer support centre.

Sophia contains 1,200 French and foreign companies featuring a mix of household names and ambitious start ups, active in the fields of IT, micro-electronics, telecomunications, computer hardware and software, mobile technology, e-business, healthcare and Internet/Intranet related technologies. Sophia provides more than 23,000 jobs to it's international and diverse workforce.

Of course, there are many other famous and well known places in the Côte d'Azur, such as Antibes, Menton, St. Tropez, Golf Juan, Juan Les Pins, Beaulieu, Cap d'Ail, Villefranche. They are all charming and have something special to offer.

In general, the Côte d'Azur offers a beautiful environment with the high quality of its tourist infrastructure, its many casinos and games arcades, its golf courses, more than 500 prestigious artistic events and festivals, remarkable modern art museums, markets and pedestrian streets, and unique hinterland, while not forgetting more than 300 days of sunshine per year!

Some usefull local links
ww.nicetourism.com
www.guideriviera.com
www.englishyellowpages.fr
www.isola2000.com
www.odysseeverticale.com
www.homestays-provence.com








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