FRENCH RIVIERA

The 'French Riviera' (French: ''Côte d'Azur'', Occitan: ''Còsta Azzura'') is part of France's southeastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, reaching from Cassis to Menton, at the border with Italy. Cannes is host to the annual presentation of the Palme d'Or, which attracts movie stars from around the world.

Contents

Extent

History

Places

Famous residents

Trivia

See also

External links

Extent

One of the most famous resort areas in the world, the French Riviera continues west from the Italian Riviera and Menton through Monaco, Nice, Antibes and Cannes, along the Mediterranean coast of the Alpes-Maritimes ''département''. After Cannes, there is some dispute regarding its extent, with some authorities (including the official tourist bodies for the Alpes-Maritimes) arguing that it stops at the border with the ''département'' of the Var, after Théoule-sur-Mer. Others suggest it extends further along the Var coastline, at least as far as Saint-Tropez but possibly to Hyères or even the border with the Bouches-du-Rhône ''département''.

History

The French Riviera became a fashionable resort in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and was particularly popular with the British upper class. Winston Churchill was a regular visitor who often stayed in Coco Chanel's villa where he wrote his memoirs. Initially it was a winter resort, valued for its mild winter climate in comparison with that of northern Europe. It later became much more popular as a summer resort.

Places

Places on the French Riviera include, from west to east:

★ Cassis

★ Toulon

★ Hyères

★ Saint-Tropez

★ Saint-Raphaël

★ Cannes

★ Grasse

★ Juan-les-Pins

★ Antibes

★ Biot

★ Sophia Antipolis

★ Saint-Paul-de-Vence

★ Nice

★ Villefranche-sur-Mer

★ Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat

★ Beaulieu-sur-Mer

★ Monaco

★ Monte-Carlo

★ Menton

Famous residents

★ F. Scott Fitzgerald

★ Joan Collins

★ Sir Elton John

★ Tina Turner

★ David Beckham and Victoria Beckham

★ Dame Shirley Bassey

★ Brigitte Bardot

★ Ivana Trump

★ Jenson Button

★ Carla Bruni

★ Stelios Haji-Ioannou

★ Troy Bayliss

★ Loris Capirossi

★ Nico Rosberg

★ Juan Pablo Montoya

★ David Coulthard

★ Jacques Villeneuve

★ Rubens Barrichello

★ Tommi Mäkinen

★ Lucas Luhr

★ Jason Plato

★ Alex Zanardi

★ Andrew Vicari

★ Sophie Sandolo

★ Loretta Lux

★ Bono

★ The Edge

★ Richie Benaud

★ Jean Cocteau

★ Tom Boonen

★ James Gandolfini

★ Mika Häkkinen

★ Roman Polanski

★ Michael Jackson

★ Sinbad (actor)

★ Emma Watson

★ Keegan McColl

★ Belinda Carlisle

Trivia

★ Cote d'Azur (the French name for the riviera) was used as a track in Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec and , as well as being the name of the Monte Carlo Grand Prix track in Gran Turismo 4.

★ The French Riviera was used as a setting in the 2001 video game Spy Hunter in the missions Double Vision and French Kiss.

See also

★ Italian Riviera

★ Gulf of Genoa

★ Turkish Riviera

★ Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

★ The article Riviera provides links to articles on the many coastal strips around the world which are known as Riviera.

External links

★ The Riviera Times (English-language newspaper)

★ The Riviera Reporter (English-language magazine)

★ AngloINFO Riviera (English-language residents' information)

★ Radio International (English-language radio)

★ Riviera Radio (English-language radio)

★ French Riviera travel guide - sights around Nice