Like a lot of people, I got my first glimpse of the Riviera watching classic movies on television. Cary Grant and Grace Kelly trading barbs on a balcony overlooking a yacht-filled harbor, in To Catch a Thief ; one of any number of James Bonds or Simon Templars stepping out of the Casino at Monte Carlo; Pink Panther movies, car chases on the Grande Corniche, David Niven in Casino Royale.
They all created an indelible impression of a gorgeous, glamorous and expensive jetsetters’ paradise. The term jetsetter is a little dusty these days, but substitute Eurotrash, and the idea is the same; celebrities, minor royals and fashionistas mingling with arms dealers, deposed dictators, media tycoons and shipping magnates while gossip columnists write about their lifestyles of apparently endless leisure.
Classic Riviera view, the old port, Antibes. © M Boisnard, OT Antibes
This is not an entirely imaginary picture. There’s no denying that the Riviera is a playground for the rich and famous. Behind the walls and towering hedges of Cap Ferrat and other such places, most of what all the money in the world will buy can probably be found.
But don’t be put off if you’re traveling on a modest budget. It is the glamor of the landscape, and all the outdoor activities to which it lends itself, that was probably what attracted the beautiful people in the first place. And that is within reach of everyone.
Jardin Maria Serena in Menton, the most temperate spot in Provence. Photo Courtesy OT Menton
Breathtaking drives along Les Corniches de la Riviera and coastal walks that range from gentle strolls to challenging climbs are laced between the distinctive towns and villages – Antibes, Nice, Menton, Beaulieu sur Mer, Villefranche – scattered almost artfully along the coast. In the skies, paragliders float down like flower petals from a handful of exceptional launch sites.
Starting around Antibes and heading east, the back country rises and the Alps crowd down to the water. Along the way, the villages perchées become ever more dramatic: Èze, at 427 m/1,400 feet, tops a narrow dome of rock; La Turbie, at 500 m/1,640 feet, is where the Emperor Augustus planted the Trophée des Alpes, a 165-foot monument to the power of Rome that still lords over the coast and looks down on Monte Carlo; the medieval village of Sainte Agnès, just inland of Menton, at 800 m/2,600 feet claiming to be the highest coastal village in Europe.
And perhaps most surprising of all, only a short train journey from a coast dotted with lush tropical vegetation – bananas, dates, carob trees, oranges and lemons, are the ski resorts. In the Alpes de Haute Provence and the Alpes Maritime you can ski throughout most of the winter into the early spring, snow shoe, even scuba dive under the ice at some ski resorts. Here, in warmer weather, you can hike and mountain bike on high trails and mountain passes between peaks that reach 8,000 to 10,000 feet or more.
The variety of environments and experiences you can have on (or near) the 50-mile stretch between Cannes and the Italian border is genuinely outstanding. The French have a word for it – éblouissant – which means ravishing, fantastic, extraordinary, overwhelming, all rolled into one. If you are a fan of adventure travel and outdoor activity, don’t be put off by the Riviera’s glitzy reputation. Here, you will find some of the best mountain and airborne adventure in all of Provence. The glamor is built into the landscape.
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