Visit France > Provence > Côte d'Azur

Where the Var département meets the Alpes-Maritimes, the flamboyant Esterel massif, separated from the Maures Mountains by the Argens Valley, heralds the enchanting seashore that displays some of the most beautiful sights in the world to be found in Southern France. A blessed land with a suggestive name, the Côte d'Azur which really begins at Saint-Raphaël, presents the fabulous scenery and chaotic landscape of a mountain of fire, made-up of volcanic rocks sculpted by erosion: Porphyry. Going through impressive canyons, gorges, and ravines, the Esterel River carries to the Mediterranean the magnificent chaos of its scarlet rocks, decorating the seashore with abrupt cliffs, ragged promontories, and tiny calanques. 

In some places, the deep blue sea bristles with archipelagos of small islands and reefs; bizarre pointed spikes shooting out of the water. Covered by a thick forest of oaks and pines, the massif shows interesting contrasts of colours, enhanced by the turquoise water below. The Golden Corniche Road makes its way along the extremely jagged relief of this sumptuous coast, where one may find some lovely resort towns: Anthéor, Théoule and La Napoule, at whose feet the imposing giant of a mountain comes to an end.

In the hollow of its bay, dominated by the historical district, Cannes unfolds its prestigious Croisette; this elegant boulevard, planted with palm-trees and flowerbeds, with its palaces and its fine sand beaches, contributes to the renown of the city with its famous red-carpeted Stairs.

"In the glimmer of their legend, the Lérins Islands, green feathers on the waters, came forth out of the coloured Sea ". Thus does Frédéric Mistral describe the sister islands standing guard over the Bay, in his work "Calendal". Set in the Sea, right off Cannes, these precious lands constitute a peaceful refuge far from the city's turmoil, offering idyllic strolls under the shade of its age-old trees or down paths in coves with their transparent waters.

Sainte Marguerite is the closest and biggest of the islands making up the Lérins archipelago; it has preserved a fort built by Vauban right above the cliff as well as the cell where the Man with the Iron Mask was incarcerated.

Saint-Honorat, which belongs to a community of monks, shelters a Cistercian Abbey. There's an aura of calm and contemplation about the island.