Bless the Italians who seem to be rushing to the French Riviera at the end of May every year. In brief,  a chance to stroll along the Promenade des Anglais (the eastern side),  and be accosted with as many delights from the spectrum of Italian cuisine – as you can …

Claire McAlpine is a mother, a wife, a reader, a writer and the owner of Flairesse a massage and aromatherapy practice. Claire considers herself a citizen of planet earth, which makes lots of sense after you consider her life filled with relocations since the age of 13. Please read the …

Provence is a rich environment for writers. Peter Mayle sparked a trend for books about Provence, but it’s fun to read fiction set locally. Mary Lou Longworth has penned a series of crime novels based in and around Aix. Starting with ‘Death at the Chateau Bremont’, she Explore this post. …

If you are inspired to visit Tourrettes Sur Loup (see last post), you should have time to call in to see Matisse’s famous chapel at nearby Vence, which the artist called his ‘masterpiece.’ Recovering in Nice from cancer, Matisse had hired young Monique Bourgeouis to nurse him and act as …

I’ve written about chickpea flour before. On the Côte d’Azur and in Liguria, it’s the common ingredient for delicious pancakes cooked in large, flat copper pans. Topped only with black pepper in Nice, where it’s called socca, Ligurians often add herbs or thinly sliced onions to their farinata. Explore this …

Today, we see the launch of a new direct train service between Marseille and Milan by thello. It takes just over seven hours, and the train calls in at all major stations on the Cote D’Azur, then Italian centres like Ventimiglia, San Remo, Genoa and Milan. Costs between 30-70€ each …

It is hard to beat French patisseries (pastry shops) for viennoiseries (croissants, pain au chocolate, and brioche) and their selection of tartes. Throughout France, pastry chefs make a culinary art with exquisite fruit tarts and classics like mille-feuille made with puff pastry and crème pâtissière. Below, we highlight five tarts …

It was a “bucket list” item to visit Nice during the annual carnival period. The Carnaval de Nice is a long-standing festival in this French Riviera city and one more reason to visit. While the dates shift slightly each year depending on when Easter falls, from colourful parades to “flower …

Provence is rich in history. Visitors to the region are often interested in seeing ancient Roman ruins like those in St-Remy-de-Provence. But there are many places where you can find contemporary architecture in the south of France. Read below as we highlight some locations where you can find the works …

Alpes-de-Haute-Provence is nature’s patchwork quilt featuring mountains, gorges, rolling valleys, lavender fields and pockets of remote villages and busy towns. The Durance River plays an essential role in this department that features high mountain peaks of the Alps and the lower alpine foothills with remote villages. While there are other …