Contributor blog post by Phoebe Thomas: Today’s beach in my series a-beach-a-week is one of the longest sandy beaches on the Côte d’Azur, situated just east of Fréjus at the edge of St Aygulf in the Var.  Esclamandes beach consists of 4 sections – family (regular), nudist, kitesurf and dogs …

Contributor blog post by Access Riviera: Ouch. Cannes has been voted Number 10 place in the list of 2015’s unfriendliest cities of the world as rated by a Readers’ Choice Awards survey by Condé Nast Traveler (and in 2014 they did not fare much better; they claimed Number 2 spot …

The summer truffle-hunts have wound down, and it’s too early to look for the black diamond beauties, but the Pepins refuse to take a break! Instead, they invite you to come on over and get your feet dirty…or rather purple. For some background on this Franco-American truffle-hunting couple, please read …

Contributor blog post by Access Riviera: Cannes has a love/hate relationship with the huge influx of visitors that the annual congrès events and Cannes Film Festival bring to this popular destination. Bars crammed with people, traffic jams and a visible presence of the charming motorbike cops can overwhelm visitors – …

Reading MFK Fisher’s Two Towns in Provence, you might be surprised that it was written so long ago. Cours Mirabeau, the cultural center of Aix, looks much like it did when Fisher and her two daughters sought solace at Les Deux Garçons or ambled down the boulevard so many decades …

Contributor blog post by Jemma: Some of our most memorable summer days in the Côte d’Azur are spent looking back at it. Several years ago, in a feat approached with unusual seriousness, Philippe bagged his French motor boating license. My husband may have been running a Fortune 500 company at …

Contributor blog post by Vaucluse Dreamer I can’t help it, I really enjoy being close to nature. We live in a small village, nearly 1000 feet up on Dartmoor within the National Park so we have a daily procession of sheep, cows and ponies walking past our front gate – …

By Jill Cowdry Planning a trip with kids is never easy and my two don’t get excited about much other than a sofa with easy access to an iPad or a friend – so a trip to the St Tropez area had to involve some serious kids fun…Dreamy villages were …

By David Taylor Last week we had a great day in Marseille, the city has improved so much over the last few years and is worthy of at least one day if not two. Naturally being by the sea the harbour is a highlight, surrounded by restaurants where you can …

Contributor blog post by Phoebe Thomas: Villeneuve-Loubet beach, east of Marina Baie des Anges, is our closest stretch of coast and we’re rather fond of it.  It’s where we pop out to for a quick evening dip, or where we meet friends for an evening picnic/apéro.  It’s really not on …