brouillon

The Riviera Times: July Column

2008-06-02T10:33:34+02:00

Perched above the sea and topped with a sturdy white military semaphore, the cape of Cap Dramont appears to protect the multitude of tiny coves that have chiseled their way around it.

Part of the Estérel Mountains, Cap Dramont was formed some 250 million years ago as lava spewed out of a nearby ancient volcano (now long ago extinct) to shape the cape's rugged red volcanic rocks.

Families love to stroll around Cap Dramont on weekends. Well-maintained footpaths loop around the cape over rocks and tree roots, across beds of fragrant pine needles, and around red sheers that plunge into the sea.

Hiking:
Your hike begins at the Plage du Débarquement. Head south-east over the beach's gray pebbles to reach the Port du Pousaï.

After the port, head up a set of stairs on your left. Notice the yellow-painted signs by the stairs to indicate the sentier du littoral or coastal path.

After a dozen steps, turn right toward the sea in a forest of holm oaks and strawberry trees.
Continue up on the main path.

When the path merges with a wider one, turn right. Views open up to a string of bays to the south: St Raphäel, Les Issambres, St.Tropez, and in the distance, Cap Camarat and its lighthouse.

Continue to head north-east, up and down around inlets, along the yellow-marked path closest to the sea. Turn right at the next two main intersections. The bay of Agay soon appears in the distance, calm like a maritime lake.

After passing a promontory shaded with Aleppo pines, a favorite spot for players of boules or pétanque, you spot Camp Long, its crescent of a beach, its Tiki Plage restaurant and its summertime snack shop.

Take the wooden steps up above the Camp Long parking lot with the sign "Belvédère de la Batterie".

Stay on the right-most path through the woods then down to the Port du Poussaï to return to the Plage du Débarquement.

Getting there:
Cap Dramont sits between the towns of Agay and St.Raphäel in the Var.

Coming in from Agay on the D559 coastal road, the Plage du Débarquement entrance is on your left just after the St. Roch Chapel, three kilometers south-west of Agay's main roundabout.

Coming in from St.Raphael on the D559 coastal road, the Plage du Débarquement entrance is on your right after the Hotel Sol e Mar, six kilometers east of St. Raphael.*

Round-Trip Hiking Details:
Distance: 5.2 kilometers (3.2 miles)
Time: 2 hours
Elevations: 0 to 126 meters
Difficulty: Easy, with plenty of ups and downs along the coast

Aside: The Office National des Forets (ONF), or French National Forestry Office and the French Navy share ownership of Cap Dramont's sixty hectares (150 acres) of land. The cape's semaphore belongs to the French Navy and looks over local maritime traffic. Entry to the semaphore is forbidden, but you can hike up to its entrance for a panoramic view of the bay of Agay and of the Estérel Mountains behind it.

The Riviera Times: June Column

2008-05-08T23:00:07+02:00

Photo: To Pointe Andati, Cap Lardier

South of St Tropez, a trio of headlands runs wild. The three unbuilt and protected capes of Camarat, Taillat, and Lardier offer hours of delightful coastal walks by cliffs, tiny coves and crescents of sandy beaches.

Of the three capes on the Presqu'ile de St Tropez, the southern-most one, Cap Lardier, appears the wildest: wide and confident, a rounded promontory of pine forest that broods over the sea.

Begin your hike toward Cap Lardier from the Plage de Gigaro. The coastal path runs through a cover of mimosas, holm oaks and fragrant eucalyptus trees.

The footpath starts to climb. A few umbrella pine trees run their roots across the path, like a jumble of tentacles.

Pass the "Crique de l'Ilot du Crocodile", so named because of the nearby bumpy islet that pokes its head above water. Continue to the Plage de Jovat and Plage de Brouis. In the summertime, when St Tropez's beach of Pampelonne bursts withs visitors, escapees wiggle their way here to these secretive little beaches.

The wind carries whiffs of sweet and musty sea salt. Ahead, the Pointe Andati headland plunges to the sea. You climb away from its sea-diving edge, over a steep path where wooden planks secure your footsteps.

You reach the "Les Pins Blancs" promontory.

Continue on the path to the right to the "Vieux Semaphore de Collebasse." After a water cistern used to fight forest fires, turn right to the semaphore ruin, by a picnic-friendly area with views of the Bay of Cavalaire.

Return to the "Les Pins Blancs" intersection.

For a different panorama, head back to Gigaro (2.8 kilometers away) on a wide forest track that meanders inland. A sea of dark green umbrella pines covers the Vallon des Brouis Valley like a velvet mantle while the Baie de Cavalaire paints the south-western sites a deep blue.

Photo: Baie de Cavalaire

Getting there:
Reach the small town of La Croix-Valmer and follow the signs pointing south-east to Gigaro/Cap Lardier. At the Plage de Gigaro beach, park at the Parking Saint Michel or on the street. The beach entrance welcomes you to Cap Lardier with informational signs. Restrooms are available here.

Round-Trip Hiking Details:
Distance: 6 kilometers (3.7 miles)
Time: 2 hours
Elevations: 5 to 143 meters, with plenty of ups and downs
Difficulty: Easy, with a short steep section before the "Pins Blancs" intersection.

Aside:
Over 200 hectares (500 acres) of Cap Lardier land belong to the Conservatoire National du Littoral, a sort of National Trust for the protection of coastal environments. Hundreds of plants thrive on the siliceous soils of Cap Lardier. Umbrella pines startle the eye with their velvet covers over the Valley des Brouis, but Aleppo pines and maritime pines also inhabit these lands, as do cork oaks, holm oaks, and downy oaks.

FranceOnYourOwn: Le Corbusier

2008-03-11T14:43:15+01:00

When you walk around Cap Martin, that exclusive stretch of land that pokes into the Mediterranean Sea between Monaco and Menton, you'll notice the village of Roquebrune-Cap-Martin high above, the wide-angle views of the Mediterranean Sea below, the elegant villas that dot the cape behind tall fences, the private gardens that brim with the rubbery leaves of century plants, with lemon trees, with olive groves and swimming pools.

What you might not notice is "le cabanon". After all, the "cabanon" cabin is a mere 3.66 square-meter cube tucked under the cape's footpath.

The little house sits behind a carob tree. Dark brown pine logs cover its outside walls and give it the appearance of a mountain shed. Don't let its diminutive looks trick you. This cabin is a castle.

"I have a chateau on the Côte d'Azur, It's for my wife. It's extravagant in comfort and gentleness." -Le Corbusier

The cabin was architect Le Corbusier's holiday hideaway on the Côte d'Azur. The Swiss-born architect, possibly the best-known modern architect of the 20th century, loved the Mediterranean region. He often visited the French Riviera. For a while, he would stay in Eileen Gray's E1027 house on Cap Martin, enjoying the taste of fresh sea urchins at the nearby "Etoile de Mer" restaurant.

"I drew the plans in 45 minutes. They were final. Nothing much changed afterwards." -Le Corbusier

In 1951, on the side of the restaurant's table, Le Corbusier scribbled the plans for a beach-side cottage. They were rough plans, but Le Corbusier liked to say that the core of the cabin's design never changed much from those initial sketches.

“Space and light and order. Those are the things that men need just as much as they need bread or a place to sleep.” - Le Corbusier

Behind the chestnut wood door runs a narrow hallway. It leads to a room that to feels large in comparison. All is laid out functionally within the open room: two beds arranged in a T, a hidden toilet, a large closet, storage space tucked in the ceiling, a table made of walnut wood, shiny and checkered like a chess board. A simple pillar separates the main room from the bathroom. Behind the pillar, a sink and a mirror. Three windows open up to three primal materials. Through the back window, set low to the ground, you see the cliff and its rusty rocks. Through the central window, a postcard view of the Mediterranean Sea and of Monaco comes alive. By the bathroom sink, the carob tree hangs its branches in front of the third window.

"The home should be the treasure chest of living." - Le Corbusier

Le Corbusier was also a painter, in addition to architect and urban planner. The cottage's entrance walls and window shutters are painted with rounded human shapes in yellow, red and blue in a style reminiscent of Picasso's and Miro's. A coat of yellow paint covers the floor planks. The Etoile de Mer restaurant, with which the cottage shares a common wall, sports a painted mural signed by Le Corbusier with his hand and foot prints, set alongside those of restaurant owner and friend, Robert Rébutato.

"A house is a machine for living in." -Le Corbusier

The architect enjoyed taking his showers outside the little cabin, under the carob tree. He worked on the slick checkered table or under the shade of the tree. He ate with his wife next door at the Etoile de Mer. He walked the cape. He swam off the Cabbé and Buze beaches below.

"Our own epoch is determining, day by day, its own style. Our eyes, unhappily, are unable yet to discern it." - Le Corbusier

In all of its simplicity, the cottage encompasses most of Corbu's core design principles, his five points of modern architecture:

1. a construction supported by reinforced stilts
2. a façade of non-supporting walls that gave architects more design freedom
3. an open interior floor plan
4. windows that pull the exterior into the living space
5. a roof garden, although this principle wasn't applied in the cabanon given given the lush scenery that surrounds the site

"I feel so fine here... this is likely where I will breathe my last breath." -Le Corbusier

On August 27, 1965 Le Corbusier swam off the coast of Roquebrune as he so enjoyed doing. He was found lifeless later that morning on the beach, likely a victim of a heart attack. He is buried alongside his wife in the village of Roquebrune, in a tomb he designed himself after the death of his wife.

Visiting:

Le Corbusier's Cabanon at Roquebrune-Cap-Martin can only be visited through organized groups visits with the town's Tourism Office. Organized tours currently run on Tuesdays and Fridays from 10AM and last about 2 hours. Reservations must be made at the Tourist Information Office at least one day before the visit. See the Tourism Office web site for latest tour schedules, email and phone contacts for reservations.

Latest News:

In January 2008, a collection of 23 of Le Corbusier's architectural and urban works spanning 7 countries were presented to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for nomination as a World Heritage Site.
Le Corbusier's Cabanon at Roquebrune-Cap-Martin figures among the 23 works presented as a group for consideration.

Learning more:

Le Corbusier, "Toward an Architecture"
introduction by Jean-Louis Cohen, translated by John Goodman,
Los Angeles, Getty Research Institute, 2007, 350 pages.
ISBN 978-0-89236-899-0

Roquebrune-Cap-Martin Tourism Office: (Web site in French, English and Italian)
http://www.roquebrune-cap-martin.com/

La Fondation Le Corbusier (Web site in French and in English):
www.fondationlecorbusier.fr

About the author:

Florence Chatzigianis is the author of, 26 Gorgeous Hikes on the Western Côte d'Azur, published by AzurAlive Press in 2008.

When she isn't writing away, Florence walks along the hundreds of kilometers of waymarked footpaths that criss-cross south-eastern France. She is a member of the French Hiking Federation (FFRP) and helps many visitors to southern France hop off the main corridors of attraction and discover the region's lesser-known footpaths and cultural gems.

Hikers on Hiking: St Tropez

2008-03-02T18:26:22+01:00

Azur Alive

Nice Carnival

2008-02-18T10:56:04+01:00

The Promenade des Anglais is officially delirious.

Flowered chars roll down the town's prom, marquis swivel down the aisle with white wigs and stuffed horses, over-sized masks or "grosses têtes" hang their giant devilish smiles over the crowds. Confettis fly. Sprays spurt greens and pinks everywhere. Trumpets, Brazilian sambas, and an old accordion song mix in a frenzy of imagination released out in the open street.

2008 marks the 124th edition of the Nice Carnaval, dedicated this year to the "Roi des Ratapignatas, Raminagrobis et autres ramassis de rats masqués."

The rat and bat theme is a wink to the Chinese year of the rat we've just begun.

It's also another side of the city of Nice. In Nice's bestiary, the Ratapignata is a bat. It's the inverted symbol of Nice's heraldic eagle, the hidden side of the town. On Carnival 2008, ratty bats crawl out of the dark to dance into the streets.

And what about Raminagrobis? Who is this year's Carnaval majesty?
In his fable "Le chat, la belette, et le petit lapin," writer La Fontaine named the story's fat cat character "Raminagrobis", borrowing the name from Rabelais' earlier writings.

On her grand char, Her Majesty Raminagrobis waves her white paws, each larger than a person. In one paw, she holds a mouse and in the other, a golden paw. She wears a crown of caged bats, her pink tongue tip hangs to the side and her golden slanted eyes shine with a naughty glare. She's so large (14 meters long and 8 large) that she spills over her char.

In the great tradition of Nice's Carnival, Raminogrobis parades on the promenade des Anglais, this year from February 16 until March 2nd, when she will head over to her incinerated death at sea.

Other monsters float up and down the Prom during the Nice Carnival: Neoconzilla who eats the statue of liberty, Soccaman, the Socca delivery character who appears on a couple of sundays for lunch, the Big Bad Wolf and many smoking dragon, escaped from Hollywood.

While most of the Carnaval takes place on the Promenade des Anglais, between the Opéra and Hotel Méridien, the Jardin Albert 1er hosts quieter activities for kids. Between 11AM and 5:30PM, famous Guignol puppet puts on a show behind his candy red theater box. In the park, kites conceived by Nasser float above the ground, unafraid of the larger brooding masks next door.

When to see it: In 2008, the Nice Carnaval takes place from February 16 to March 2.
For more information, see www.nicecarnaval.com

Going Coastal

2008-02-08T16:12:38+01:00

Driving on the N98/D559 coastal road between St Aygulf and Sainte-Maxime, you would never know there's a walking path that runs parallel down below. The coastal footpath is hidden behind sea-facing villas, down coves, behind cliffs, around gardens with benches and maritime pines.

Even close up, the footpath is hard to spot. With great humility, it takes on the colors of the surrounding rocks and melts in the picture. What's more, while the N98 turns slow and cranky with cars between July and August as St Tropez calls, the coastal footpath stays comfortable.

Therein lies one of the devilish pleasures of hiking the coastal path: you may well travel faster on foot than by car during peak season.

This short hike (5 km or 2 hours round-trip) takes you from Port Ferréol to the Pointe des Issambres between the towns of St Aygulf and Sainte-Maxime.

      Time:       2 hours for 5 km round-trip
      Difficulty: Easy, but plenty of stairs on rocky short. Not ideal for young children.
      Highlights: Discover an ancient Roman vivarium. Hear the lapping waves as you walk by the sea, with the Estérel Mountains behind you and the St Tropez Peninsula ahead.

Getting there:

From St Aygulf, pass the Pointe du Corsaire and its Hotel Corsaire and then the Port Ferréol barely visible from the N98 road. Just after Ferréol, at the Pointe de la Calle turn left where you spot the sign "Vivier Maritime Gallo-Romain".

From Sainte-Maxime, pass the seaside towns of San Peire, Les Issambres, and be on the look-out for the sign "Vivier Maritime Gallo-Romain" after you pass the Port Tonic (about 2 km after the white restaurant Le Cercle by the sea).

Hiking:

At the sign for the vivarium, head east for the sea and reach the Sentier du Littoral with its yellow signs.

You walk south east, as you hike toward Sainte-Maxime.

Notice the site of a Roman "vivarium", a salt water fish pond. Romans carved the sea pool in the rock to hold captive fish such as congers and mullets alive and fresh for dinner. To keep waters flowing and circulating in the vivarium, they built canals regulated by bronze doors that open and shut. It's hard not to think of how simple and un-polluting the system was, working with the waves and the existing carved shoreline and rocks. With a little imagination and the help of the interpretative panel, you can see fish swimming in the vivarium some 2000 years ago.

Continue over Port Tonic and its handful of boats.

At the Calanque de Bonne Eau, you head up to a shaded garden with picnic tables and down again to the coastal path.

You spot a rounded white restaurant overlooking the sea. It's seafood restaurant Le Cercle with its private beach of fine white raked sand.

After the restaurant, the coastal path presents a slight danger as stairs climb and rocks can be slippery. Be sure not to tread there after a storm or rain pour. The county occasionally posts a recommended a brief detour to the street around this cliff, should the path be unstable.

Continue along to the Pointe des Issambres. You can return on the same path or on the much less foot friendly N98.

Tidbits:

No flip-flops or sandals - you'll need walking shoes with good traction for walking on a sea-lapped rocky shore.
We don't recommend this hike for young children due to the number of stairs and the occasional hopping over rocks.

More Info:

Le Cercle restaurant, Tel: 04 94 49 14 46
Roquebrune-sur-Argens Tourism Office

La Grande Corniche: Getting Grander

2008-02-05T17:48:45+01:00

Whether from the movies, from Grace Kelly or from visits to Nice, the Grande Corniche to many is one thing: a road. It's the majestic road that rides the crest line from Nice to west of Menton. It's the elegant one among the three parallel sisters, the one that dominates both the Moyenne Corniche road right below and the coastal Basse Corniche at the foot of the hills.

But the Grande Corniche is also a park with a maze of footpaths, a Maison de la Nature visitors' office and an observation table that details the sites (to reach the observation table, head up and left at the beginning of Forna path.)

From the footpaths in the Parc de la Grande Corniche, looking inland, you see the mountains of the Mercantour scribble faint wave lines across the sky. The Pre-Alps draw more distinct and rounded hills.

Looking out the other direction to the sea, the coastline from San Remo to the peninsula of St Tropez shine in the distance. On a very clear day, you might even spot the island of Corsica to the south east, a dim shape floating on the horizon's curvature.

To bird observers, the Parc de la Grande Corniche offers a chance to spot an occasional eagle, a great horned owl, or another raptorial bird that hovers overhead.

To nature-lovers, the park may soon turn into more than just a pretty 700 hectares of protected land. The department's Conseil Général and the Nicolas Hulot Foundation announced last fall that the Fort of La Revère in the park would become a center dedicated to the promotion of sustainable development. The center will offer educational seminars and expositions on ecological themes across 7 conference rooms, a library, a restaurant and an outdoors amphitheater seating 300 people. A rain water recycling is also planned, in keeping with the future center's philosophy of sustainable operations. Fourteen million Euros have been promised toward the design and construction of the site which is planned to begin in 2010 and complete in 2011.

We look forward to its development! We'll let you in on it as it evolves.

In the meantime, if you're in Nice for a little while and long for a breath of fresh air and surrounding views, consider a stroll at the Parc de la Grande Corniche. Combine it with a visit to nearby Eze-village, to La Turbie and its prominent Trophée des Alpes dating back to Roman times (built by Emperor Augustus).

Getting there:

From Nice, take the A8 highway for approximately 15 km and exit at La Turbie, highway exit toll #57 (oui, there's a toll). From there, take the D2564 to the col d'Eze then turn right into the route de la Revère. ViaMichelin.com can give you exact directions from other locations.

More Information:

Find out more about it from the Conseil Général site (in French).
Find out more about the Fondation Nicolas Hulot, France's green foundation (in Français).

Hikers on Hiking: Walking to Santiago

2008-02-01T17:12:16+01:00

The Camino de Santiago de Compostela, the Way of St.James, les Chemins de Saint-Jacques de Compostelle, is not strictly a French path. And no, it's not at all on the French Riviera.

Why talk about it on AzurAlive.com where we scout offbeat crowd-evading spots in Southern France?

To many in France and beyond, le Chemin de Compostelle is mystical. During medieval times, it was one of the most important Christian pilgrimages. Since 1140, pilgrims, the curious and the brave have embarked on it by foot, on horseback or more recently by bike to reach a site considered sacred by many, the site of Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

Four main paths cross France and lead pilgrims from all across Europe to Santiago de Compostela: the "via Turonensis" that goes through Tours, "via Lemovicensis" through Vézelay, the "via Podensis", the oldest and most popular route and the one that crosses Puy-en-Velay and finally, the "via Tolosana" going through Arles.

Turonensis, Lemovicensis, Podensis all meet up at Ostabat in the French side of the Basque country to continue on into Spain as a single thread. Tolosana or the Arles route, rejoins them shortly after at Puente La Reina in Spain. The four then continue west as one to Santiago, as the Camino Francés or French Path.

I've recently talked with Susan Alcorn, hiker and author of "Camino Chronicle: Walking to Santiago." Camino Chronicle is a personal account of Susan and Ralph Alcorn's 500-miles 34-day hike across the Spanish side of the Camino to Compostela.

AzurAlive: Not everyone goes out and hikes 500 miles across an ancient pilgrimage trail and then comes home and writes a book about it. What was the spark that triggered the adventure?

Susan: One Sunday several years ago, we read about the pilgrimage walk on the Camino de Santiago in the our local newspaper's travel section. It sounded interesting, but my husband and I were both still working full time. I filed the article with the dozens of other destination pieces I've saved.

A couple of years later, as we were both considering retirement, the idea of walking the Camino resurfaced.

We were already backpackers — in fact our hike on the Camino was just weeks after we completed our final segment of the John Muir Trail, which is a 221-mile trail through the highest mountains of California. I guess we just figured that although it was more miles than we had ever walked, we also had more time than ever to do it. I was very leery about doing the meseta — I took the "Nine months of winter, three months of Hell" (referring to the extremes of weather) to heart. Because I had visions of perishing in the brutal heat, we had talked about our alternatives — one was that Ralph would continue walking and that I would bus ahead.

As it turned out — which is usually the case — my worries were unwarranted. The meseta, though indeed a land with scant vegetation and relatively few people, had its own rewards. I found its "plain-ness" provided the opportunity to meditate — to think about anything that came to mind, or nothing. I liked the way that small things — a single flower alongside the trail or an egret in a nearby field — could be noticed. I was intrigued by the fact that a row of trees lined the trail for miles. The trees, as well as occasional stone benches, had been placed in order to provide shelter and relief for Camino walkers. And finally, enjoyed the way that the miles of the flatter terrain seemed to zip by.

AzurAlive: How did you prepare for the trip?

Susan: We live in a hilly area and have moderate weather so we have the benefit of being able to walk in the hills pretty much year-round. We can be "couch potatoes" during the "off-season," but when hiking season approaches, we definitely start our training hikes. Four to six weeks before a major trip, we start taking hikes of increasing miles and difficulty. Ralph like to take these longer hikes carrying his backpack; I should do this too, but I rarely do! And because we are hiking long-distance trails in the U.S. as well as in Europe each year, we are either training for, or going on, long hikes much of the year.

AzurAlive: Did you write the core of the material during the trip?

Susan: I kept a journal during our 2001 walk on the Spanish Camino and that became the core material for "Camino Chronicle: Walking to Santiago." However, because I wanted to know more about the trail and its history than I could pick up during our walk, I did a lot of research after we returned home. The book combines my journal entries, cultural information, and legends of the trail. I also included practical information such as how to pack and how to prepare for an extended trip away from home.

AzurAlive: Tell us about your hiking in France. Did you start on the French side of the Pyrenees?

Susan: That sounds like another book -- and someday that may well be! We found our Camino experience so interesting that we wanted more. We decided to walk the French route from LePuy (GR65) across to Spain. We walked the route in three sections from 2004 - 2006.

Although we saw many wonderful sights throughout France, I think that the section from LePuy to Figeac was the most beautiful. Of course that was partly due to time of year — it was springtime and we were blessed with snow (exciting!) and daffodils everywhere! Our 2005 and 2006 trips were in the fall, so it was hotter and drier, but the climb out of St. Jean Pied du Port and over the Pyrenées was stunningly beautiful!

We enjoyed hiking in France so much that we are planning on returning this fall and hiking a portion of another Camino route — the one from Arles to Puente la Reina.

Thank you Susan and Bonne Randonnée, wherever your next hiking adventure may take you!

The Golden Road of the French Riviera

2008-01-26T18:10:37+01:00

They're winter suns, drips of gold along the hillside. They're the February pride of the Massif de Tanneron, the Siagne Valley, the Estérel and the Massif des Maures on the French Riviera.

Imported from Australia in the mid-19C, the Silver Wattle tree is a species of acacia called Le Mimosa in France and by florists (Acacia dealbata). In its adoptive northern hemisphere, the mimosa blossoms in winter between December and March. This winter, Le Mimosa is going wild, shining millions of little suns on the Côte d'Azur.

Since 2003, summers have been dry, winters mild and little rain has fallen in spring and fall. Many plants, acacias included, have suffered from lack of water. This year (2008), winter temperatures have returned to normal and the mimosa is blossoming with a vengeance with yellow puffs sprouting bright like fireworks.

Harvesting the winter suns

The mimosa is not just a stunning dash of yellow, but an industry here on the Côte d'Azur. It is harvested and its stalks sold across Northern Europe, the USA and Japan in particular. Most of the harvesting is done by small family-owned businesses with savoir-faire handed down from generations. Altogether, mimosa plantations spread across approximately 200 hectares of land, with an average production of 500 tons per year. Prices vary by year according to supply and demand, but one kilo of mimosa stalks typically sells for 5 to 6 Euros. This year, mimosa production is up in the Alpes-Maritimes and in the Var thanks to weather conditions. And with volume up, prices are down some 20% from previous years.

So where to see the winter suns?

The Route du Mimosa celebrates the golden flowers across eight villages along an 130-kilometer route, from Bormes-les-Mimosas to Grasse:

Bormes-les-Mimosas -- Kilometer 0
- Mimosalia : Sat 26 & Sun 27 January
- Corso Fleuri : Sunday, February 24
Rayol-Canadel -- Kilometer 15
Ste Maxime -- Kilometer 42
- Corso Fleuri : Sat 2 & Sun 3 February
St Raphael -- Kilometer 59
- Viva Mimosa: February 09 to 17
- Grand Corso Fleuri : February 10,3PM
Mandelieu-la-Napoule -- Kilometer 108
Tanneron -- Kilometer 112
Pégomas -- Kilometer 115
- Corso Fleuri : Sat & Sun, January 26 &27
Grasse -- Kilometer 130

During these celebrations, floats of yellow flowers circle around town, as do clowns, jugglers, and good cheer.

If you've missed the above celebrations, or prefer a walk away from crowds, try a hike in the Massif du Tanneron, around Pégomas or in some spots of the Estérel for yellow impressions in the hills.

For an illustrated guidebook on great short hikes in the western French Riviera, take a look at 26 Gorgeous Hikes on the Western Côte d'Azur. The book is available now online on Amazon!

Flying to the Cote d'Azur

2008-01-24T17:29:16+01:00

When it comes to flying, the French Riviera has it covered. There are three main international airports: Nice, Hyères-Toulon and Marseille.

The Nice Côte d'Azur airport is France's second largest airport after Paris' CDG.
How large? In 2007, 10 million travelers went through its gates. It showed pretty impressive growth over the last few years.
What fueled this growth? The rise of low-cost flights. Seventeen low-fare companies land and take off from Nice; that accounts for one third of Nice's airway traffic.
What is the most popular low-cost carrier to Nice? Sterling Airlines, the low-fare airline based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Sterling flies from Copenhagen, Billund, Aalborg, Oslo, Malmö, Gothenburg and Stockholm. Among the other sixteen low-fare carriers to Nice are EasyJet (based in London), Blu Express (based in Rome) and two new ones for 2007: Vueling and RyanAir.

Marseille's airport isn't small either, with 7 million visitors in 2007. Because it's further west from Toulon, it caters to folks visiting the heart of Provence, especially those coming in from Europe. It sports a terminal entirely dedicated to low-fare carriers (le MP2), with Ryanair being king here among low-fare carriers. In 2007, Ryanair commanded 80% of all low-fare flights.

Smaller, but growing, is Hyères-Toulon's airport with 650,000 visitors for 2007. If you're headed for St Tropez, the golden islands of Hyères, you might want to consider it. It's low-fare carrier choices are far more restricted than Nice's, at least for the time being. JetairFly flies to and from Brussels and Brest; Ryanair links to London; FlyNordic offers seasonal flights to Bordeaux and Stockholm and Transavia.com (owned 60% by Air France and 40% by Dutch transavia) flies to and from Rotterdam (NL) to Toulon. The Travel Park program for long-term (1 to 16 days) parking is interesting (make sure to get your Travel Park ticket early with your travel agent, before you arrive at the parking lot as it requires proof of ticket purchase).

Once you've landed, enjoy a hike with the new guidebook: