The French Riviera, known in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

as the (; oc, label=

Provençal Provençal may refer to: *Of Provence, a region of France * Provençal dialect, a dialect of the Occitan language, spoken in the southeast of France *''Provençal'', meaning the whole Occitan language *Franco-Provençal language, a distinct Roman ...

, Còsta d'Azur, ; ), is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is considered to be the coastal area of the

Alpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; oc, Aups Maritims; it, Alpi Marittime, "Maritime Alps") is a department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the Italian border and Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, it ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

, extending from the rock formation Massif de l'Esterel to Menton, at the France–Italy border, although some other sources place the western boundary further west around

Saint-Tropez , INSEE = 83119 , postal code = 83990 , image coat of arms = Blason ville fr Saint-Tropez-A (Var).svg , image flag=Flag of Saint-Tropez.svg Saint-Tropez (; oc, Sant Tropetz, ; ) is a commune in the Var department and the region of Provence-Al ...

or even Toulon. The coast is entirely within the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France. The Principality of Monaco is a semi-enclave within the region, surrounded on three sides by France and fronting the Mediterranean. The French Riviera contains the seaside resorts of Cap-d'Ail,

Beaulieu-sur-Mer Beaulieu-sur-Mer (; oc, Bèuluec de Mar; it, Belluogo; "Beautiful Place on the Sea"), commonly referred to simply as Beaulieu, is a seaside commune on the French Riviera between Nice and the Principality of Monaco. Located in the Alpes-Marit ...

, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Villefranche-sur-Mer,

Antibes Antibes (, also , ; oc, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal, Antíbol) is a coastal city in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department of southeastern France, on the French Riviera, Côte d'Azur between Cannes and Nice. The town of ...

Juan-les-Pins Juan-les-Pins (; oc, Joan dei Pins) is a town in the commune of Antibes in the Alpes-Maritimes department in Southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera, it is situated between Nice and Cannes, to the southwest of Nice Côte d'Azur Airport ...

, Cannes, and Theoule-sur-Mer. ''Riviera'' is an Italian word that originates from the ancient Ligurian territory of Italy, wedged between the Var and Magra rivers. ''Côte d'Azur'' is originally a nickname given by France to the County of Nice after its annexation in 1860, because the climate was similar to that of the north of Italy, even in winter, with "a sky as blue as its sea". When the

Mistral Mistral may refer to: * Mistral (wind) in southern France and Sardinia Automobiles * Maserati Mistral, a Maserati grand tourer produced from 1963 until 1970 * Nissan Mistral, or Terrano II, a Nissan 4×4 produced from 1993 until 2006 * Micropl ...

(north) and the Tramontane (Northwest) winds are blowing in the Languedoc and Provence areas, the temperature of the Mediterranean can be very cool in summer. This phenomenon is observed very little or not at all on the coast between the French Riviera and the Italian Riviera. After the 2000s, the French Riviera was extended to the rest of

Southern France Southern France, also known as the South of France or colloquially in French language, French as , is a defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi ...

, although the geography, culture, and climate are different. This coastline was one of the first modern

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that tries to provide most of a vacationer's wants, such as food, drink, swimming, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping, on the premises. The term ''resort ...

areas. It began as a winter health resort for the British upper class at the end of the 18th century. With the arrival of the railway in the mid-19th century, it became the playground and vacation spot of British, Russian, and other aristocrats, such as Queen Victoria, Tsar Alexander II and King Edward VII, when he was Prince of Wales. In the summer, it also played home to many members of the

Rothschild family The Rothschild family ( , ) is a wealthy Ashkenazi Jewish family originally from Frankfurt that rose to prominence with Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744–1812), a court factor to the German Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel in the Free City of F ...

. In the first half of the 20th century, it was frequented by artists and writers, including Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Francis Bacon,

Edith Wharton Edith Wharton (; born Edith Newbold Jones; January 24, 1862 – August 11, 1937) was an American novelist, short story writer, and interior designer. Wharton drew upon her insider's knowledge of the upper-class New York "aristocracy" to portray ...

, Somerset Maugham and Aldous Huxley, as well as wealthy Americans and Europeans. After World War II, it became a popular tourist destination and convention site. Many celebrities, such as

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

and Brigitte Bardot, have homes in the region. Officially, the French Riviera is home to 163 nationalities with 83,962 foreign residents, although estimates of the number of non-French nationals living in the area are often much higher. Its largest city is Nice, which has a population of 340,017 as of 2017.Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2017
, INSEE The city is the centre of a — Nice-Côte d'Azur—bringing together 49 communes and more than 540,000 inhabitants and 943,000 in the urban area. Nice is home to Nice Côte d'Azur Airport, France's third-busiest airport (after Charles de Gaulle Airport and Orly Airport), which is on an area of partially reclaimed coastal land at the western end of the Promenade des Anglais. A second airport at Mandelieu was once the region's commercial airport, but is now mainly used by private and business aircraft. The

A8 autoroute The A8 autoroute, also known as La Provençale, is a -long highway in France that runs between Aix-en-Provence and the A7 to the Côte d'Azur. Route The A8 is an extension of the A7 starting to the west of Aix-en-Provence at La Fare-les-Olivi ...

runs through the region, as does the old main road generally known as the Route nationale 7 (officially now DN7 in Var and D6007 in

). High-speed trains serve the coastal region and inland to Grasse, with the TGV Sud-Est service reaching

Nice-Ville station Nice-Ville station (French: ''Gare de Nice-Ville''), also known as Nice-Thiers station (''Gare de Nice-Thiers''), is the main railway station of Nice, France. It is situated on the Marseille–Ventimiglia railway and constitutes the southwestern ...

in five and a half hours from Paris. The French Riviera has a total population of more than two million. It is home to a high tech and science park (French: ''technopole'') at Sophia-Antipolis (north of

) and a research and technology centre at the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis. The region has 35,000 students, of whom 25 percent are working toward a doctorate. The French Riviera is a major yachting and cruising area with several marinas along its coast. According to the Côte d'Azur Economic Development Agency, each year the Riviera hosts 50 percent of the world's superyacht fleet, with 90 percent of all superyachts visiting the region's coast at least once in their lifetime. As a tourist centre, the French Riviera benefits from 310 to 330 days of sunshine per year, of coastline and beaches, 18 golf courses, 14 ski resorts and 3,000 restaurants.

Etymology

Origin of term

The term ''French Riviera'' comes by analogy with the term Italian Riviera, which extends east of the French Riviera (from Ventimiglia to

La Spezia La Spezia (, or , ; in the local Spezzino dialect) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second largest city ...

). As early as the 19th century, the British referred to the region as the ''Riviera'' or the ''French Riviera'', usually referring to the eastern part of the coast, between Monaco and the Italian border. ''Riviera'' is an Italian noun which means "coastline". The name ''Côte d'Azur'' was given to the coast by the writer Stéphen Liégeard in his book, ''La Côte d’azur'', published in December 1887. Liégeard was born in Dijon, in the French department of

Côte-d'Or Côte-d'Or (; literally, "Golden Slope") is a département in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 534,124.Occitan ( Niçard and

) and

, the only usual names are ''Còsta d'Azur'' in Occitan and ''Côte d'Azur'' in French. A term like "French Riviera" (''Ribiera Francesa'' in Occitan, ''Riviera Française'' in French) would only be used in literal translation, or adaptations of it. For instance, in French, "Riviera Française" is found in the online Larousse encyclopedia to refer to the holidays of a group of English workers (moreover, in Occitan, the word ''ribiera'' "coastline" mostly works as a common name, whereas in French, the old-fashioned term ''Rivière de Gênes'' was used to refer to the Italian Riviera whose center is Genoa). File:Dellepiane-Côte-d'Azur.jpg, Poster by

David Dellepiane Davide Paolo Dellepiane, known as David Dellepiane (16 October 1866, Genoa - 25 June 1932, Marseille) was a French painter, lithographer and poster artist of Italian origin. Biography He moved to France with his family in 1875. His father, Vitto ...

(1866–1932) File:Coted'Azur-Beaulieu-France.JPG, The French riviera between

and Cap-d'Ail, as seen from Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat File:Agay vu du Dramont.JPG, Agay, a seaside resort in Saint-Raphaël File:Calanque du Petit Canereit-Massif de l'Esterel.jpg, Cap-Roux and the Corniche d'Or in the calanque of Anthéor, Massif de l'Esterel

Disputes over the extent of the Riviera and the Côte d'Azur

Côte d'Azur and the French Riviera have no official boundaries. Some sources put the western boundary at

. Others include Saint Tropez, Hyères or Toulon in the Var (departement), or as far as Cassis in the Bouches-du-Rhône departement."Côte d'Azur, côte méditerranéenne française entre Cassis et Menton" ("Côte d'Azur, French Mediterranean coast between Cassis and Menton") in ''Dictionnaire Hachette encyclopédique'' (2000), p. 448."Côte d'Azur, Partie orientale du littoral français, sur la Méditerranée, de Cassis à Menton" ("Côte d'Azur, Eastern part of the French coast, on the Mediterranean, from Cassis to Menton"), in ''Le Petit Larousse illustré'' (2005), p. 1297. In her 1955 novel, ''The Talented Mr. Ripley'', Patricia Highsmith describes the Riviera as including all of the coast between Toulon and the Italian border.

History

From prehistory to the Bronze Age

The region of the French Riviera has been inhabited since

prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

times. Primitive tools dating to between 1,000,000 and 1,050,000 years ago were discovered in the Grotte du Vallonnet, near

Roquebrune-Cap-Martin Roquebrune-Cap-Martin (; oc, Ròcabruna Caup Martin or ; it, Roccabruna-Capo Martino, ; Mentonasc: ''Rocabrüna''; Roquebrune until 1921) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, Southeastern Fr ...

, with stones and bones of animals, including bovines, rhinoceros, and bison. At Terra Amata (380,000 to 230,000 years ago), near the Nice Port, a fireplace was discovered that is one of the oldest found in Europe. Stone dolmens, monuments from the Bronze Age, can be found near Draguignan, while the Valley of Marvels ( Vallée des Merveilles) near

Mount Bégo Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, ...

, at elevation, is presumed to have been an outdoor religious sanctuary, having over 40,000 drawings of people and animals, dated to about 2000 BC.

Greek influence

Beginning in the 7th century BC, Greek sailors from Phocaea in Asia Minor began to visit and then build emporia along the Côte d'Azur. Emporia were started at Olbia ( Hyères); Antipolis (

) and Nikaia (Nice). These settlements, which traded with the inhabitants of the interior, became rivals of the Etruscans and Phoenicians, who also visited the Côte d'Azur.

Roman colonization

In 8 BC, the Emperor Augustus built an imposing trophy monument at La Turbie (the

Trophy of the Alps A trophy is a tangible, durable reminder of a specific achievement, and serves as a recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics. In many sports medals (or, in ...

or Trophy of Augustus) to mark the pacification of the region. Roman towns, monuments and amphitheatres were built along the Côte d'Azur and many still survive, such as the amphitheatre and baths at

Cimiez Cimiez (; Italian: ''Cimella'') is an upper class neighborhood in Nice, Southern France. The area contains the Musée Matisse and the ruins of ''Cemenelum'', capital of the Ancient Roman province Alpes Maritimae on the Ligurian coast. ''Cemenel ...

, above Nice, and the amphitheatre, Roman walls and other remains at

Fréjus Fréjus (; ) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 54,458. It neighbours Saint-Raphaël, effectively forming one urban agglomeration. The north of ...

Barbarians and Christians

Roman Provence reached the height of its power and prosperity during the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. In the mid-3rd century, Germanic peoples began to invade the region, and Roman power weakened. In the same period, Christianity started to become a powerful force in the region. The first

cathedrals A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

were built in the 4th century, and bishoprics were established: in Fréjus at the end of the 4th century, Cimiez and Vence in 439, and Antibes in 442. The oldest Christian structure still in existence on the Côte d'Azur is the baptistery of

Fréjus Cathedral Fréjus Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Saint-Léonce de Fréjus, links=no) is a Roman Catholic church located in the town of Fréjus in the Var department of Provence, southeast France, and dedicated to Saint Leontius of Fréjus. The cathedral w ...

, built at the end of the 5th century, which also saw the founding of the first monastery in the region, Lerins Monastery on an island off the coast at Cannes. The fall of the Western Roman Empire in the first half of the 5th century was followed by invasions of Provence by the Visigoths, the

Burgundians The Burgundians ( la, Burgundes, Burgundiōnes, Burgundī; on, Burgundar; ang, Burgendas; grc-gre, Βούργουνδοι) were an early Germanic tribe or group of tribes. They appeared in the middle Rhine region, near the Roman Empire, and ...

and the Ostrogoths. There was then a long period of wars and dynastic quarrels, which in turn led to further invasions by the

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

and the Normans in the 9th century.

The Counts of Provence and the House of Grimaldi

Some peace was restored to the coast by the establishment in 879 of a new kingdom of Provence, ruled first by the Bosonids dynasty (879–1112), then by the Catalans (1112–1246), and finally by the Angevins (1246–1382, elder branch, 1382–1483 ( younger branch). Grimaud IV-03-04-2005-010

In the 13th century, another powerful political force appeared, the

House of Grimaldi The House of Grimaldi ( , also , , ) is the current reigning house of the Principality of Monaco. The house was founded in 1160 by Grimaldo Canella in Genoa and became the ruling house of Monaco when Francesco Grimaldi captured Monaco in 1297 ...

. Descended from a Genoese nobleman expelled from Genoa by his rivals in 1271, members of the different branches of the Grimaldis took power in Monaco, Antibes and Nice, and built castles at Grimaud,

Cagnes-sur-Mer Cagnes-sur-Mer (, literally ''Cagnes on Sea''; oc, Canha de Mar) is a French Riviera town in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Geography Cagnes-sur-Mer is a town in south-eastern ...

and

. Albert II, the current Prince of Monaco, is a descendant of the Grimaldis. In 1388, the city of Nice and its surrounding territory, from the mouth of the Var to the Italian border, were separated from Provence and came under the protection of the

House of Savoy The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...

. The territory was called the ''Comté de Nice'' after 1526, and thereafter its language, history and culture were separate from those of Provence until 1860, when it was re-attached to France under Napoleon III. Provence retained its formal independence until 1480, when the last ''Comte de Provence'',

René I of Naples René (''born again'' or ''reborn'' in French) is a common first name in French-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and German-speaking countries. It derives from the Latin name Renatus. René is the masculine form of the name (Renée being the feminine ...

, died and left the Comté to his nephew,

Charles du Maine This is a list of counts and dukes of Maine. The capital of Maine (province), Maine was Le Mans. In the thirteenth century it was annexed by France to the Crown lands of France, royal domain. Dukes of Maine (''duces Cenomannici'') * Charivius (f ...

, who in turn left it to

Louis XI of France Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (french: le Prudent), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revo ...

. In 1486, Provence formally became part of France.

Popularity with the British upper class in 18th and 19th centuries

Until the end of the 18th century, the area later known as the Côte d'Azur was a remote and impoverished region, known mostly for fishing,

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

groves and the production of flowers for perfume (manufactured in Grasse). A new phase began when the coast became a fashionable health resort for the British upper class in the late 18th century. The first British traveller to describe its benefits was the novelist Tobias Smollett, who visited Nice in 1763 when it was still an Italian city within the Kingdom of Sardinia. Smollett brought Nice and its warm winter climate to the attention of the British aristocracy with ''

Travels through France and Italy ''Travels Through France and Italy'' is travel literature by Tobias Smollett published in 1766. After suffering the loss of his only child, 15-year-old Elizabeth, in April 1763, Smollett left England in June of that year. Together with his wife, ...

'', written in 1765. At about the same time, a Scottish doctor,

John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...

, became famous for prescribing what he called climato-therapy, a change in climate, to cure a variety of diseases including tuberculosis, known then as consumption. The French historian Paul Gonnet wrote that, as a result, Nice was filled with "a colony of pale and listless English women and listless sons of nobility near death". In 1834, a British nobleman and politician named Henry Peter Brougham, First Baron Brougham and Vaux, who had played an important part in the abolition of the slave trade, travelled with his unwell daughter to the south of France, intending to go to Italy. A cholera epidemic in Italy forced him to stop at Cannes, where he enjoyed the climate and scenery so much that he bought land and built a villa. He began to spend his winters there and, owing to his fame, others followed: Cannes soon had a small British

enclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

. Robert Louis Stevenson was a later British visitor who came for his health. In 1882 he rented a villa called La Solitude at Hyères, where he wrote much of '' A Child's Garden of Verses''.

Railway, gambling and royalty

In 1864, six years after Nice became part of France following the Second Italian War of Independence the first railway was completed, making Nice and the Riviera accessible to visitors from all over Europe. One hundred thousand visitors arrived in 1865. By 1874, residents of foreign enclaves in Nice, most of whom were British, numbered 25,000. 4859 VER5137 Revelation studios

In the mid-19th century, British and French entrepreneurs began to see the potential of promoting tourism along the Côte d'Azur. At the time, gambling was illegal in France and Italy. In 1856, the Prince of Monaco, Charles III, began constructing a casino in Monaco, which was called a health

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...

to avoid criticism by the church. The casino was a failure, but in 1863 the Prince signed an agreement with François Blanc, a French businessman already operating a successful casino at Baden-Baden (southwestern Germany), to build a resort and new casino. Blanc arranged for

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

s and carriages to take visitors from Nice to Monaco, and built hotels, gardens and a casino in a place called Spélugues. At the suggestion of his mother, Princess Caroline, Charles III renamed the place Monte Carlo after himself. When the railway reached Monte Carlo in 1870, many thousands of visitors began to arrive and the population of the principality of Monaco doubled. The French Riviera soon became a popular destination for European royalty. Just days after the railway reached Nice in 1864, Tsar

Alexander II of Russia Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Poland and Gra ...

visited on a private train, followed soon afterwards by Napoleon III and then Leopold II, the King of the Belgians. Monument reine Victoria

Queen Victoria was a frequent visitor. In 1882 she stayed in Menton, and in 1891 spent several weeks at the Grand Hotel at Grasse. In 1892 she stayed at the Hotel Cost-belle in Hyères. In successive years from 1895 to 1899 she stayed in

in the hills above Nice. First, in 1895 and 1896, she patronised the Grand Hôtel, while in later years she and her staff took over the entire west wing of the Excelsior Hôtel Régina, which had been designed with her needs specifically in mind (part of which later became the home and studio of the renowned artist Henri Matisse). She travelled with an entourage of between sixty and a hundred, including chef, ladies in waiting, dentist, Indian servants, her own bed and her own food. The Prince of Wales was a regular visitor to Cannes, starting in 1872. He frequented the Club Nautique, a private club on the

Croisette The Promenade de la Croisette (), or Boulevard de la Croisette, is a prominent road in Cannes, France. It stretches along the shore of the Mediterranean Sea and is about 2 km long. The Croisette is known for the Palais des Festivals et des ...

, the fashionable seafront boulevard of Cannes. He visited there each spring for a two-month period, observing yacht races from shore while the royal yacht, Britannia, was sailed by professional crewmen. After he became King in 1901, he never again visited the French Riviera. By the end of the 19th century the Côte d'Azur began to attract artistic painters, who appreciated the climate, the bright colors and clear light. Among them were

Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that " ...

, who settled in

and in Mougins, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso.

Inter-war period, American visitors and decline of the aristocracy

The First World War brought down many of the royal houses of Europe and altered the nature and the calendar of the French Riviera. Following the war, greater numbers of Americans began arriving, with business moguls and celebrities eventually outnumbering aristocrats. The 'High Society' scene moved from a winter season to a summer season. Americans began coming to the south of France in the 19th century. Henry James set part of his novel '' The Ambassadors'' on the Riviera. James Gordon Bennett Jr., the son and heir of the founder of the ''

New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the ''New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''. His ...

'', had a villa in Beaulieu. Industrialist John Pierpont Morgan gambled at Monte Carlo and bought 18th-century paintings by Fragonard in Grasse – shipping them to the Metropolitan Museum in New York. A feature of the French Riviera in the inter-war years was the Train Bleu, an all first-class sleeper train which brought wealthy passengers down from

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...

. It made its first trip in 1922, and carried

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

, Somerset Maugham, and the future King

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 19 ...

over the years. While Europe was still recovering from the war and the

American dollar The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

was strong, American writers and artists started arriving on the Côte d'Azur.

wrote '' The Age of Innocence'' (1920) at a villa near Hyères, winning the Pulitzer Prize for the novel (the first woman to do so). Dancer Isadora Duncan frequented Cannes and Nice, but died in 1927 when her scarf caught in a wheel of the Amilcar motor car in which she was a passenger and strangled her. The writer F. Scott Fitzgerald first visited with his wife Zelda in 1924, stopping at Hyères, Cannes and Monte Carlo – eventually staying at Saint-Raphaël, where he wrote much of '' The Great Gatsby'' and began '' Tender Is the Night''. While Americans were largely responsible for making summer the high season, a French fashion designer, Coco Chanel, made sunbathing fashionable. She acquired a striking tan during the summer of 1923, and tans then became the fashion in Paris. During the

abdication crisis In early December 1936, a constitutional crisis in the British Empire arose when King-Emperor Edward VIII proposed to marry Wallis Simpson, an American socialite who was divorced from her first husband and was pursuing the divorce of her secon ...

of the British Monarchy in 1936, Wallis Simpson, the intended bride of King Edward VIII, was staying at the Villa Lou Viei in Cannes, talking with the King by telephone each day. After his abdication, the Duke of Windsor (as he became) and his new wife stayed at the Villa La Croë on the

Cap d'Antibes Antibes (, also , ; oc, label= Provençal, Antíbol) is a coastal city in the Alpes-Maritimes department of southeastern France, on the Côte d'Azur between Cannes and Nice. The town of Juan-les-Pins is in the commune of Antibes and the Sophia ...

. The English playwright and novelist Somerset Maugham also became a resident in 1926, buying the

Villa La Mauresque The villa ''La Mauresque'' is located in cap Ferrat (Alpes-Maritimes) and was remodeled in 1927 by Henri Delmotte, Marcel Guilgot, and the American architect Barry Dierks (1899–1960) to serve as the main residence of the British novelist S ...

toward the tip of Cap Ferrat, near Nice.

Second World War

When Germany invaded France in June 1940, the remaining British colony was evacuated to

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

and eventually to Britain. American Jewish groups helped some of the Jewish artists living in the south of France, such as

Marc Chagall Marc Chagall; russian: link=no, Марк Заха́рович Шага́л ; be, Марк Захаравіч Шагал . (born Moishe Shagal; 28 March 1985) was a Russian-French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with se ...

, to escape to the United States. In August 1942, 600 Jews from Nice were rounded up by French police and sent to

Drancy Drancy () is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris in the Seine-Saint-Denis department in northern France. It is located 10.8 km (6.7 mi) from the center of Paris. History Toponymy The name Drancy comes from Medieval Lati ...

, and eventually to

death camps Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (german: Vernichtungslager), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocaust. The v ...

. In all about 5,000 French Jews from Nice perished during the war. Following

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

in Normandy,

Operation Dragoon Operation Dragoon (initially Operation Anvil) was the code name for the landing operation of the Allied invasion of Provence (Southern France) on 15August 1944. Despite initially designed to be executed in conjunction with Operation Overlord, th ...

(initially Operation Anvil), the code name for the Allied invasion of Southern France, commenced on 15 August 1944, when American parachute troops landed near Fréjus, and a fleet landed 60,000 troops of the American Seventh Army and French First Army between

Cavalaire Cavalaire-sur-Mer (, literally ''Cavalaire on Sea''; oc, Cavalaira de Mar, label= Provençal or simply ''Cavalaira'') is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, southeastern France. History Cavalaire-sur-Mer i ...

and Agay, east of Saint-Raphaël. German resistance was not as fanatical as Hitler and the High Command had ordered, and crumbled in days.Hansen, Randall (2014). Disobeying Hitler: German Resistance After Operation Valkyrie, pp. 134-141 Saint-Tropez was badly damaged by German mines at the time of the liberation. The novelist Colette organized an effort to assure the town was rebuilt in its original style. When the war ended, artists Marc Chagall and Pablo Picasso returned to live and work.

Post-war period and late 20th century

The Cannes Film Festival was launched in September 1946, marking the return of French cinema to world screens. The Festival Palace was built in 1949 on the site of the old Cercle Nautique, where the Prince of Wales had met his mistresses in the late 19th century. The release of the French film '' Et Dieu… créa la femme'' (''And God Created Woman'') in November 1956 was a major event for the Riviera, making an international star of Brigitte Bardot, and making an international tourist destination of Saint-Tropez, particularly for the new class of wealthy international travellers called the jet set. The marriage of American film actress Grace Kelly to

Prince Rainier of Monaco Rainier III (Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi; 31 May 1923 – 6 April 2005) was Prince of Monaco from 1949 to his death in 2005. Rainier ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years, making him one of the longest-ruling m ...

on 18 April 1956, attracted world attention once again. It was viewed on television by 30 million people. During the 1960s, the Mayor of Nice, Jacques Médecin, decided to reduce the dependence of the Riviera on ordinary tourism, and to make it a destination for international congresses and conventions. He built the '' Palais des Congrès'' at the Acropolis in Nice, and founded a Chagall Museum and a Matisse Museum at

. High-rise apartment buildings and real estate developments began to spread. At the end of August 1997, Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed spent their last days together on his father's yacht off Pampelonne Beach near

, shortly before they died in the Alma Tunnel in Paris.

Geography

Coastal municipalities

Places

Places on the Côte d'Azur (following the broadest definition), following the coast from south-west to north-east, include: * Cassis * La Ciotat * Bandol * Sanary-sur-Mer * Six-Fours-les-Plages * La Seyne-sur-Mer * Toulon * Hyères and the Îles d'Hyères ( Porquerolles, Port-Cros and Île du Levant) * Le Lavandou *

Cavalaire-sur-Mer Cavalaire-sur-Mer (, literally ''Cavalaire on Sea''; oc, Cavalaira de Mar, label= Provençal or simply ''Cavalaira'') is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, southeastern France. History Cavalaire-sur-Mer is ...

*Inland – Grimaud, with Port-Grimaud on the coast * Sainte-Maxime *

Roquebrune-sur-Argens Roquebrune-sur-Argens (; oc, Ròcabruna d'Argenç) is a Communes of France, commune in the Var (department), Var Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region, Southeastern France. In 2019, it had ...

and Saint-Raphaël *Inland – Fayence * Les Adrets-de-l'Estérel * Tanneron * Théoule-sur-Mer * Mandelieu-la-Napoule *Inland – Grasse *Inland – Mougins * the Îles de Lérins – Île Sainte-Marguerite and Île Saint-Honorat * Cannes *Inland – Vallauris *Inland – Valbonne *Inland – Sophia-Antipolis * Golfe-Juan *

*Inland –

Biot The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom situated in the Indian Ocean, halfway between Tanzania and Indonesia. The territory comprises the seven atolls of the Chagos Archipelago with over 1,000 ...

* Villeneuve-Loubet *

*Inland – Vence *Inland – Saint-Paul-de-Vence *Inland – Saint-Jeannet * Saint-Laurent-du-Var *Inland – Belvédère * Nice * Villefranche-sur-Mer * Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat *

* Èze * Cap d'Ail * Monaco (including Monte-Carlo) * Beausoleil *

* Menton

Tourism

Some data related to tourism on the Riviera in 2006: *More than 14 million tourists *52% of customers from abroad *65 million nights stayed *Tourists spending €5 billion *75,000 jobs; tourism is 18% of total employment in the Alpes-Maritimes. *500,000 tourists in the High Country *500,000 delegates *3 million admissions to museums and monuments *More than 45% of tourists come by air

Climate

The French Riviera is mostly subtropical, featuring a Mediterranean climate, with sunny, hot, dry summers and mild winters. Winter temperatures are moderated by the Mediterranean; days of frost are rare. The average daily low temperature in Nice in January is ; the January average daily low temperature in Toulon is . The average high temperature in August in Nice is ; in Toulon the average daily high temperature is The Côte d'Azur receives more rainfall annually than Paris ( annually in Nice and in Toulon compared with in Paris), but the rainy days are much less frequent and the Riviera is considerably sunnier; 111 rainy days a year in Paris compared with 61 days in Toulon and 63 in Nice. Rain is generally more common in the Autumn and Winter months while the summers are drier. Toulon has 2,793 hours of sunshine a year, Nice has 2,668 hours. Micro-climates exist in these coastal regions, and there can be great differences in the weather between various locations. Strong winds such as the

mistral Mistral may refer to: * Mistral (wind) in southern France and Sardinia Automobiles * Maserati Mistral, a Maserati grand tourer produced from 1963 until 1970 * Nissan Mistral, or Terrano II, a Nissan 4×4 produced from 1993 until 2006 * Micropl ...

, a cold dry wind from the northwest or from the east, are another characteristic, particularly in the winter. Nice, in particular is surrounded by mountains to the North, protecting it from the Mistral winds making it feel milder on sunny days. The Sirocco is a southerly wind, coming from the African continent and often felt on the Mediterranean coast of Europe. It is a hot and humid wind, occasionally carrying sand from the Sahara which is then deposited in coastal areas across Southern Europe. The French Riviera is one of the mildest locations in the world for its latitude, owing to the

Gulf Stream The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension the North Atlantic Current, North Atlantic Drift, is a warm and swift Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and flows through the Straits of Florida a ...

which moderates the temperatures in Western Europe, particularly in winter and the warming effect of the Mediterranean Sea. Because of this, the region boasts a long growing season and supports the growth of exotic flora such as Citrus Fruits and Palm Trees. Snow is very uncommon in the winters and the long, hot and sunny summers have long been a draw for tourists since the days of British Aristocracy. Nice SPOT 1161

Nice and Alpes-Maritimes

Nice and the

département are sheltered by the Alps. The winds are usually gentle, from the sea to the land, though sometimes the

blows strongly from the northwest, or, turned by the mountains, from the east. In 1956 a mistral from the northwest reached at Nice Airport. Sometimes, in summer, the sirocco brings high temperatures and reddish desert sand from the

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

(see

Winds of Provence The winds of Provence, the region of southeast France along the Mediterranean from the Alps to the mouth of the Rhone River, are an important feature of Provençal life, and each one has a traditional local name, in the Provençal language. Th ...

). Rain can be torrential, particularly in the autumn, when storms and rain are caused by the difference between the colder air inland and the warm Mediterranean water temperature (). The rainiest months are September ( average rainfall); October (); November () and December (). Snow on the coast is rare, falling on average once every ten years. 1956 was exceptional, when blanketed the coast. In January 1985 the coast between Cannes and Menton received . In the mountains, snow is present from November to May.

Var

The département of Var (which includes

and Hyères) has a climate slightly warmer, drier and sunnier than Nice and Alpes-Maritimes, but is less sheltered from the wind. The mistral, which brings cold and dry air down from the upper Alpine regions via the Rhône valley and extends with diminishing intensity along the Côte d'Azur, blows frequently during the winter. Strong winds blow for about 75 days a year in

Events and festivals

Several major events take place: * Monaco and southeast France: Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo, January Barrichello 2009 Monaco GP 1

*Monaco: International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo, January / February * Mandelieu-la-Napoule: La Fête du Mimosa, February * Nice: Nice Carnival, Carnival, February * Menton: Lemon Festival, February *Tourrettes-sur-Loup: Violet Festival, March *Monaco: Monte-Carlo Masters, April–May *Monaco: Formula One Monaco Grand Prix, Grand Prix race, May * Grasse; Rose Festival, May * Cannes: Cannes Film Festival and Cannes Film Market, May *Nice: Nice Jazz Festival, Jazz Festival, July *

: Jazz à Juan, late July. *Grasse: Jasmine Festival, August * Toulon: Toulon Tournament, Tall Ships' Race

Painters

Paul Signac - The Port of Saint-Tropez - Google Art Project

The climate and vivid colors of the Mediterranean attracted many famous artists during the 19th and 20th centuries. They included: *Pierre Bonnard (1867–1947); retired to and died at Le Cannet. *Roger Broders (1883–1953); Parisian travel poster illustrator. *

(1887–1985); lived in Saint-Paul-de-Vence between 1948 and 1985. *Henri-Edmond Cross (1856–1910); discovered the Côte d'Azur in 1883, and painted at Monaco and Hyères. *Maurice Denis (1870–1943); painted at St. Tropez and Bandol. *Raoul Dufy (1877–1953); whose wife was from Nice, painted in the region, including in Nice. *Albert Marquet (1873–1947); painted at St. Tropez. * Henri Matisse (1869–1954); first visited St. Tropez in 1904. In 1917 he settled in Nice, first at the Hôtel Beau Rivage, then at the Hôtel de la Méditerranée, then at la Villa des Alliés in Cimiez. In 1921 he lived in an apartment in Nice, next to the flower market and overlooking the sea, where he lived until 1938. He then moved to the Hôtel Régina in the hills of Cimiez, above Nice. During World War II he lived in Vence, then returned to Cimiez, where he died and is buried. *Claude Monet (1840–1927); visited Menton, Bordighera,

, Monte Carlo, Nice, Cannes, Beaulieu and Villefranche-sur-Mer, Villefranche, and painted a number of seascapes of Cap Martin, near Menton, and at

. *Edvard Munch (1863–1944); visited and painted in Nice and Monte Carlo (where he developed a passion for gambling), and rented a villa at Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat in 1891. * Pablo Picasso (1881–1973); spent each summer from 1919 to 1939 on the Côte d'Azur, and moved there permanently in 1946, first at Vallauris, then at Mougins, where he spent his last years. *

(1841–1919); visited Beaulieu, Grasse, Saint-Raphaël and Cannes, before finally settling in

in 1907, where he bought a farm in the hills and built a new house and workshop on the grounds. He continued to paint there until his death in 1919. His house is now a museum. *Paul Signac (1863–1935); visited St. Tropez in 1892, and bought a villa, La Hune, at the foot of citadel in 1897. It was at his villa that his friend, Henri Matisse, painted his famous ''Luxe, Calme et Volupté'' in 1904. Signac made numerous paintings along the coast. *Yves Klein (1928–1962); a native of Nice, considered an important figure in post-war European art. *Sacha Sosno (1937–2013); French painter and sculptor who lived and worked in Nice.

References

Bibliography

History

*Henry de Lumley, ''La Grand Histoire des premiers hommes européens'', Odile Jacob, Paris, 2010 (). *Aldo Bastié, ''Histoire de la Provence'', Éditions Ouest-France, 2001. *Mary Blume, ''Côte d'Azur: Inventing the French Riviera'', Thames and Hudson, London, 1992. *Patrick Howarth, ''When the Riviera was Ours'', Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, 1977. *Jim Ring, ''Riviera, the Rise and Fall of the Côte d'Azur'', John Murray Publishers, London, 1988. *Edouard Baratier (editor), ''Histoire de la Provence'', Editions Privat, Toulouse, 1969 ().

Painters

*''La Méditerranée de Courbet à Matisse'', catalog of the exhibit at the Grand Palais, Paris from September 2000 to January 2001. Published by the Réunion des musées nationaux, 2000. {{Authority control French Riviera, Seaside resorts in France Coasts of France Landforms of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Ligurian Sea

Etymology

Origin of term

Disputes over the extent of the Riviera and the Côte d'Azur

History

From prehistory to the Bronze Age

Greek influence

Roman colonization

Barbarians and Christians

The Counts of Provence and the House of Grimaldi

Popularity with the British upper class in 18th and 19th centuries

Railway, gambling and royalty

Inter-war period, American visitors and decline of the aristocracy

Second World War

Post-war period and late 20th century

Geography

Coastal municipalities

Places

Tourism

Climate

Nice and Alpes-Maritimes

Var

Events and festivals

Painters

See also

References

Bibliography

History

Painters