Contributor blog post by Access Riviera: February is approaching quickly and it brings a number of excellent festivals to the French Riviera ranging from food fairs to flower parades and world class carnivals. With half term school holidays for Zone B (Alpes Maritimes and the Var) falling on the dates 06 …

Contributor blog post by Access Riviera: Ho ho ho! The festive season has crept up on me once again and I’ve been so busy with my kids picking up every cough or virus found on a school playground, and juggling lots of Christmas events that I didn’t get around to …

Contributor blog post by Phoebe Thomas: This is the next addition in her series on “A Beach a Week.” Enjoy the latest glimpse at the best of the Cote d’Azur. In case you’re not aware, I’ve been running a little summer series, writing about one local beach each week for …

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 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 …

Contributor blog post by Liz Gabay: At this time of year, how often we think of holidays full of sunshine and leisure with beautiful bronzed people relaxing by or in the swimming pool or on a beach with a glass of wine or an exotic cocktail. The Côte d’Azur has …

We hate being treated like tourists when we visit another place, and yet sometimes it’s our actions that send up a red flag that we’re strangers. Here are 5 ways you might be tipping your cards about being a tourist (and how to get a poker face). You Walk Around …

The Côte d’Azur and its surrounding countryside, in fact the whole of the département of the Alpes-Maritimes, is covered in historic fortified hill villages; some well known, others hidden and secret. There are literally hundreds and many of them have an annual festival of some sort celebrating their artisanal or …

No need to wait for Valentines day… Phoebe our resident writer on the Cote d’Azur shares her thoughts on Riviera romance: Think of the French Riviera – even the name is romantic – and you think Love, with a capital L (and a French accent).  It’s the seaside playground of …

Journalist/Writer Anne-Marie Simons and her husband Oscar (retired international banker) have lived and worked in the US and Europe. They could have chosen anywhere to retire but decided on sunny Aix-en-Provence. Anne-Marie says, “Our choice of Aix-en-Provence was a bit of a stab in the dark but has worked out …