Page 226 - (DK Eyewitness) Back Roads Travel Guide - France

224 BACK ROADS FRANCE

Gardens and Glamour Très

Synonymous with extravagance, wealth and royalty, the
Col de
Côte d’Azur is France’s effervescent playground. From the Nice
mid-19th century onwards, northern Europeans spent long
winters in the mild yet invigorating seaside climate of the South
of France. The 1920s and 1930s saw summer take precedence as
the most popular season to visit. One of the great legacies of Peille
this golden age is the penchant for elaborate gardens. Many of Blausasc
these enchanting oases are open to the public today. Going
from Menton on the Italian border to the Riviera’s self-
proclaimed capital of Nice, this driving tour winds its way past
the haunts of Europe’s glitterati, taking in all three corniches –
parallel coastal roads, each higher up and further from the sea Cauvini
than the next – along the way. La Pointe Peillon
de Contes
Paillon St-Martin
de-Peille
Ste-Thècle
Borghéas
Cantaron
La Colle
Laghet
Drap
La Turbie
La
Trinité

GRANDE CORNICHE MOYENNE CORNICHE Éze-sur- Plage
ÉZE
Mala
Above Stately Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild Mer
on Cap-Ferrat, see p229
BEAULIEU-SUR-MER
Golfe de
VILLEFRANCHE-
SUR-MER Villa Ephrussi St-Hospice
NICE Plage de Rothschild
Passable
Parc du
Château CAP-FERRAT
ACTIVITIES Pointe de
St-Hospice
Take a private tour of the modern architectural masterpiece,
Cabanon Le Corbusier in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin
Try to break the bank at Monaco’s Casino de Monte-Carlo
Wander the nine exotically themed gardens at the Villa
Ephrussi de Rothschild in Cap-Ferrat
Spend a lazy day dipping in and out of the waves from the golden
sand of Villefranche-sur-Mer’s beach
KEY
Pick up ripe seasonal produce or bouquets of Provençal wild
Drive route
flowers from local farmers at Nice’s markets