bonjour,i'm rick steves, back with moreof the best of europe. this time, it's yachts,casinos, and fancy villas. fun in the sunon the french riviera. thanks for joining us. in europe is hereon the cote d'azur, or the french riviera. and after soaking up more thanour share of sun, we'll see how this glittering stretchof france's mediterranean coast
offers more than justa first-class beach break. but don't get me wrong. we will enjoy the beach, from high-end resorts to hidden jewels of the cote d'azur. we'll wander the gardens of a 19th-century villa, zip up the corniche to see a trophy of the conquering romans, reflect on the light and color of modern masters, go posh with the glamour set,
relax in antibes and then feast on bouillabaisse. when europe heads for the beach, it often ends up on the south coast of france, the cote d'azur. we'll start in nice, check out villefranche and cap ferrat, race over to monaco, visit cannes
and finish in antibes. in the 19th century, aristocratsfrom london to moscow flocked to france's sunnycote d'azur, or blue coast. much loved for its blue seasand blue skies, this was the placefor northern europeans to socialize, gambleand escape their dreary weather. whether you're rich or not, nice, with its eternally entertaining seafront promenade and fine museums, is the enjoyable
big-city highlight of the riviera. in its traffic-free old city, italian and french flavors mix to create a spicy mediterranean dressing. nice may be nice, but it's hot and jammed in july and august. we're here in early june, beating the serious heat and crowds. the broad promenade des anglais, literally, the "walkway of the english,"
was paved in marble for blue-blooded 19th-century english tourists who wanted a safe place to stroll and admire the view without getting their shoes dirty or smelling that fishy gravel. today, it's a fun people's scene with a bike and roller blade path that leads all the way to the airport. the beach, while pebbly, is popular.
whether you're looking for an adrenaline rush or just working on your suntan, this beach has it all. tan lines can be hard to find as europeans are relaxed about topless sunbathing. while major stretches of the beach are public, much of it is private, where you pay to rent a spot, complete with mattress, lounge chair and umbrella. for a particularly scenic lunch, you can eat on the beach.
i'm having a salade niã§oise, the hearty local standard with anchovies, tuna, hard-boiled eggs and tasty little niã§oise olives. graceful buildings from the turn of the last century lead in from the beach, reminders of the belle epoque, literally, "the beautiful age," when the world seemed to revolve around the upper class and indulgence with abandon was a life-style. nice's grand opera house
illustrates the beautiful extravagance of this era. imagine this opulent jewel buried deep in the old town of nice way back then. with europe's elite wintering here, the rough-edged town needed some high-class entertainment. a prime example of belle epoque luxury is the majestic hotel negresco. it offers some of the city's most expensive beds and a chance to step back
into that age of extreme refinement. the exquisite royal salon combines belle epoque grace with engineering by the great french architect gustav eiffel. the chandelier is made of 16,000 pieces of crystal. it was built in france for the russian czar's moscow palace; but, because of the bolshevik revolution, he couldn't take delivery. many of nice's early visitors were russians, and the city's russian orthodox church claims to be the finest
this side of the volga. five hundred rich russianfamilies wintered in nice and needed a worthyorthodox house of worship. czar nicholas the secondgave this church to the russian community herein 1912. a few years later,russian comrades, who didn't winteron the riviera, shot him. here in the land of olives and anchovies, the church's proud onion domes seem out of place.
but, i imagine, so did those russians. [ orthodox choir singing ] the interior is filled with icons and candles. the icon wall divides the temporal world of the worshippers from the spiritual world behind it. the angel, with red boots and wings, is the protector of russia's ruling romanov family. the hammered-copper cross commemorates the massacre
of the czar and his family in 1918. the icon of the virgin and child is decorated with silver and semi-precious stones. a priest here told me that, as the worshipper meditates, staring deep into the eyes of an icon, he enters a lake, where he finds his soul. nice was born on its easy-to-fortify hill. from there, and inland from the beach, spreads its colorful old town.
the old town squares feel more italian than french because, until 1860, nice was ruled by an italian king. until the mid-1800s, the people here spoke an italian dialect. street signs are still in two languages and pasta is still a favorite. nice's italian rulers lived in this palace. as the modern nation of italywas being created, this region was given a choice: join the chaotic new countryof italy,
or join wealthy france,which was enjoying good times under the ruleof napoleon the third. the vast majority of the peoplevoted to go french, and voilã . the old town offers a cultural scavenger hunt of opportunities. from its medieval market square with fresh seasonal produce, to a pasta shop showing nice's italian roots, to the nearby patisserie auer. its belle epoque storefront brags that it's been run
from father to son since 1820. queen victoria satisfied her sweet tooth right here. socca, a thin chickpea crepe, seasoned with pepper and olive oil, is a peasant's staple predating tourism that's still dear to local hearts. at this busy stand, the socca arrives by motor bike, hot out of the oven, and it's sold and gobbled up as quickly as they can slice it.
flowers seem to grow effortlessly and everywhere in this ideal climate. this has long been the riviera's biggest flower market. fresh flowers are a fine value in this otherwise pricey city. and with such an abundance of flowers, it's no wonder perfume is a local industry. the molinard family has been making perfume from cote d'azur flowers for a century.
perfume is distilled like cognac and then aged like wine. it takes more than 400 pounds of lavender to produce just one quart of pure essence. for the french, finding just the right perfume is a personal quest. because so many great20th-century artists chose to live and work here,the riviera is studded with world-classmodern art museums.
henri matisse, marc chagall,pablo picasso and many others raved about the region's lightand vivid colors. they were charmedby the simple life-styles of fishermen and villagers. the artists' colorful and semi-abstract works reflect the sleepy, more dreamy riviera before all the development hit. they settled here in the sun and painted with wide-eyed wonder.
the matisse museum offers a fascinating introduction to modern art inspired by the french riviera. henri matisse opened a window onto paradise. armed with the bright colors of the impressionists, matisse captured the radiant riviera of the 1920s: seascapes, fruit, flowers and curvaceous women. matisse was the master of leaving things out, letting us fill in the rest. matisse painted the three-dimensional world
as a two-dimensional pattern of vibrant colors. you don't look through matisse art like a window; you look at it. you can trace his work as it evolves. it became simpler with time, from detailed realism, to a colorful impressionistic style, to bold blocks of bright colors, to ever simpler forms, paring images down to two basic elements:
line and color. his series called jazz, like the music, celebrates artistic spontaneity and the otherworldly beauty that art can create. matisse enjoyed a longand continually evolving career. in his 70s, fighting cancerand confined to a wheelchair, he traded easel paintingfor a new medium: paper cut-outs. the cut-outs are a single color with a strong outline.
scissors in hand, matisse said, "i cut straight into the color." the chagall museum is nearby. starting in the 1950s, marc chagall painted a cycle of canvasses designed for this building. even if you're suspicious of modern art, this museum, with the largest collection of chagall's work in captivity, is a delight.
seventeen biblical scenes make up the nave, or core, of what chagall called "the house of brotherhood." each painting is a lighter-than-air collage of images inspired by chagall's russian folk village youth, his jewish heritage, biblical themes and his feeling that he existed somewhere between heaven and earth. chagall paints a world that's hidden to the eye: the magical, mystical world below the surface. he blends personal imagery,
particularly from his childhood in russia; the hasidic jewish perspective he absorbed as a child -- that's the idea that god's everywhere, in nature, animals and everyday things; gravity-defying compositions, with lovers, animals and angels twirling blissfully in midair; and childlike simplicity -- simple, heavy outlines, often spilling over with crayola colors. chagall saw the bible as a synonym for nature.
his brilliant blues and reds celebrate nature and its creator. his couples are enchanting. to chagall, humans loving each other mirrored god's love of creation. he wrote, "in art as well as in life, anything is possible, provided there is love." the snug port of villefranche, in spite of the luxury yachts glistening in its bay,
offers travelers an easygoing slice of small-town mediterranean life just minutes from the bustle of nice and jet-setty monaco. this town feels italian, with soft orange buildings, steep, narrow streets and its pastel harbor. when the original ancient portwas overtaken by pirates, its villagersfled into the hills. later, in the 13th century,the king wanted to reinhabit
and thereforestrengthen his coastline. to encourage the villagers, he granted the town tax-freestatus and this place became "ville," town,"franche," without taxes... villefranche. villefranche was protected by an immense citadel. today, because most of its 8,000 people call this their primary residence, villefranche feels more like a real community
than neighboring riviera towns. only a few families still fish for a living. but huge yachts call this bay home. this stretch of coast is studded with the floating toys of multimillionaires. locals keep track of the world's biggest yachts and talk about them like they're part of the neighborhood. you never know whose stern line you may be catching.
here's the lady moura. moura is an ex-wife of saudi arabia's king fahd. some of the riviera's priciest real estate stretches from villefranche to monaco. cap ferrat, an extremely exclusive, largely residential community, fills a park-like peninsula. while you'll never get past any of these gates, you can spend a delightful day here just strolling, and this ain't your average jogging trail.
following its well-groomed path, you can stumble upon a hidden little beach... get a glimpse of david niven's home... wander the ritzy port of st. jean-cap-ferrat, and tour the ultimate riviera mansion and gardens: the rothschild ephrussi villa. the extravagance of venice, versailles and the cote d'azur all come together in this villa. its lavish belle epoque interior offers a peek
into the life of the rich and eccentric baroness de rothschild. building this palace, the baroness went through ten architects. her furnishings were fit for a queen. imagine the correspondence composed at her personal letter-writing desk. lady rothschild's sense of style spilled into her backyard, a many-faceted garden.
she drew inspiration from her travels abroad: a fragrant english rose garden, an exotic fantasy of cactus, a mysterious gothic stone garden, and a tranquil japanese garden. overlooking everything: "the temple of love." this region's breathtaking coastline is traversed by three coastal routes:
the low, middle and high corniche. the low corniche strings ports, beaches and villages together. it was built in the 1860s, along with the train line, to bring people to the casino in nearby monte carlo. the middle corniche comes with views of impressive villas and the grand corniche caps the cliffs with staggering mediterranean vistas. while hailed as napoleon's crowning road construction achievement,
it actually sits upon the via aurelia, a road built by the ancient romans as they conquered the west. a towering roman ruin celebrates that conquest. caesar augustus built "the trophy of the alpes" to commemorate his defeat of the region's many hostile tribes. with this victory, thecompletion of the main artery connecting italy and spainwas made possible.
this opened the wayfor the continued expansion of the roman empire. the inscription tells the story: it was erected by the senate and the people to honor the emperor. carved below is an inventory of all the feisty barbarian tribes that put up such a fight. and on either side are the vanquished in chains at the feet of their conqueror,
a reminder to any who would challenge the empire. nearby, standing high above the sea, is touristy but magnificent eze. the once-formidable town gate, designed to keep rampaging pirates out, leads into the medieval village. this self-proclaimed village of art and gastronomie mixes perfume outlets, upscale boutiques, cobbled lanes and scenic perches perfect for savoring a drink.
the more adventurous can climb even further up to the scant ruins of the eze chateau. the paths leading there host a prickly festival of over a hundred varieties of cacti. looking beyond the flowers, you'll enjoy a commanding riviera view. just below sits monaco. with barely one square mile of territory, it's one of the world's smallest countries.
of its 30,000 residents, less than 10,000 are true monegasques, as locals are called. many of the rest call monaco home because there's no income tax. despite overdevelopment, high prices and mobs of tourists, a visit here is a riviera must. and monaco is a work in progress. the district of fontvieille was reclaimed from the sea. it bristles with luxury high-rise condos.
the new breakwater, constructed elsewhere and towed in, enables cruise ships to dock. and cars still race, as they have since 1929, around the principality in one of the world's most famous auto races, the grand prix of monaco. the miniscule principalityhas always been tiny, but it used to be less tiny. in the 1860s, it lost mostof its territory to france.
but the prince built a casinoand managed to connect his domain to the restof the riviera with a new roadand a train line. humble monaco was suddenly on the grand tour map, the place for the vacationing aristocracy to play. today, the people of monaco have about the world's highest per capita income, with plush apartments to match. its famous casino allows the wealthy to enjoy losing money in extreme comfort.
if monaco is a business,the prince is its ceo. while the casino generatesonly a small part of the state's revenue,its many banks, which provide an attractive way to protectyour money from the tax man, earn much more. there is no income tax here,but the prince collects plenty of money in value-addedtaxes, real estate taxes and corporate taxes. nearly all of monaco's sights are packed
in a cinderella neighborhood atop its fortified hill. its impressive aquarium, which proudly crowns the cliff like a palace, was directed by jacques cousteau for 17 years. a medieval castle sat where monaco's palace sits today. the palace guards protect the ruling grimaldi family 24/7 and they change with the pageantry of an important nation. every day at about noon,
tourists pack the square to witness the spectacle. [ marching music playing ] the palace square features a statue of francois grimaldi, a renegade italian who captured monaco disguised as a monk in 1297. this first ruler of monacoestablished the dynasty that still rulesthe principality. today, over 700 years later, the current princeis his direct descendant.
monaco's cathedral holds the tombs of centuries of grimaldis, the most-visited one: that of princess grace. the glamorous romanceand marriage of the american actressgrace kelly to prince rainier added to monaco'sfairy-tale mystique. grace kelly came to monacoin the 1950s to star in a movie. she fell in lovewith the prince, married himand adopted the country.
tragically, monaco's much-lovedprincess grace died in a car accidenton the corniche in 1982. exploring the riviera by train is faster, less expensive and safer than by car. while traffic is exasperating and parking is costly, the region seems designed to be explored by train, frequent trains linking nearly everything we're seeing in a scenic snap. we're connecting the east and west extremes of our visit,
monaco and cannes, in just over an hour. cannes is famous for its international film festival. its sister city, not surprisingly, is beverly hills. this city has hostedthe famous cannes film festival annually since 1946. each may, as the world looks on,the city's packed with film producers,celebrities and paparazzi. with exclusive hotels lining mostly private stretches of sandy beach, cannes is for strolling,
dreaming of meeting a movie star and lounging on the seafront. don't look for any actual sights to tour. if you missed the film festival, there's little to do other than shop... and enjoy the beach. while there is a public beach, the majority of its beaches come with a fee. the real cannes experience seems to be paying to sunbathe
without commoners mucking up your space. while those enamored with life-styles of the rich and famous flock to resorts like cannes or the insufferably chic saint tropez, i prefer antibes. nestled between nice and cannes, antibes has a down-to-earth ambiance rare for this area. its old-town charms
are wrapped in a rampart and watched over by twin medieval towers. antibes was "discovered"after world war i. it enjoyed a particularlyroaring '20s, with the help of party animalslike rudolf valentino and the rowdy, yet ever-silentcharlie chaplin. they say fun seekerseven invented water-skiing right here in the 1920s.
before 1860, when nice was under italian rule, antibes was france's last fort before the italian border. the french king made sure the ramparts were strong and well-defended. today, the fort protects a priceless collection of picassos. in 1946, 65-year-oldpablo picasso was reborn. world war ii was overand picasso could finally escape the gray skies and gray uniformsof nazi-occupied paris.
enjoying worldwide fame and the love of 23-year-oldfrancoise gilot, picasso moved to antibes. he lived and worked in thiscastle and on this terrace. he painted like a madman, swam in the mediterraneanin the morning, partied with his friendsin the evening and painted againlate into the night. ever restless, picasso had finally found
his garden of eden, his joy of life, and he painted it. in his joie de vivre, we see his flower child, francoise. she kicks up her heels and dances across a riviera beach. flute-playing satyrs, centaurs and fauns announce the newfound freedom of a newly liberated france and a newly liberated picasso. after decades in the city,
picasso rediscovered the joys of village life. shopping in the antibes market, he'd return home and turn groceries into masterpieces. with his distinct cubist style, he captured sunbathers and munching locals. he was fascinated with the simple life of fishermen. picasso painted a pagan paradise, where civilized people could let their hair down and indulge in simple, animal pleasures.
for an edible joie de vivre, we're finishing back in villefranche with bouillabaisse, the riviera's most famous dish. this spicy fish stew is based on recipes handed down from sailors in nearby marseille. a true bouillabaisse must contain at least four types of fresh fish, though most have more. the fish is cooked in a tomato-based stock,
flavored with saffron and white wine. the bouillabaisse is topped with a dollop of garlicky sauce and crunchy croutons. travel, like a fine bouillabaisse, is the happy result of good things coming together. for the french riviera, take a variety of beach towns, spice with modern art, toss in a pinch of history, sprinkle in some glamour
and let simmer under the mediterranean sun. all these tasty experiencescoming together make the cote d'azura corner of france any traveler can enjoy. i'm rick steves. until next time,keep on travelin'.
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