Cote d'Azur

The concept of leisure travel in the contemporary sense evolved in the Côte d'Azur back in the 1920s. Previously, affluent travelers undertook the “Grand Tour” to acquire a veneer of cultural sophistication, or visited the Swiss Alps for the sake of their health, but no one honestly thought to spend an extended period of time indulging solely in the pleasures of relaxing and sun worshipping.

After World War I, however, this new trend gathered momentum, thanks to celebrities such as Coco Chanel, who came to the shockingly controversial conclusion that she looked more attractive with a suntan. At about the same time, Picasso spent the summer with his family in Cap d'Antibes (an area he loved as a painter for its limpid light and vibrant colors, an attraction shared with Cézanne, Renoir and Matisse). And so it began, with the Riviera eventually flourishing into the glittering playground of conspicuous wealth and glamour you see today.

Nowadays, many feel the original lyrical vision of the Côte d'Azur lies in the less developed hinterlands, where one can gaze down from more peaceful aeries to the dramatic but hopelessly congested shoreline, overflowing with summer revelers and million-dollar yachts. Whatever your preference, we recommend a visit during the far less frenetic month of May, when the weather is sublime (hovering around 70F) and the summer lemmings have not yet arrived.