Photo above edited from photo and courtesy of "Cap Photo" in Saint Jean-Cap-Ferrat |
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"The" French Riviera Geography |
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What actually is "the" French Riviera? A good question, with some debate. |
In the image to the left, we have shown basically the western limit of the French Riviera, also known as La Cote d'Azur. Azur is, of course Blue, as in Big Blue, another name for the Med along the southern France coastline.
The image also shows the three "Caps," namely from northeast at the Italian border near Menton to the southwest as the coastline runs in this area. Cap Martin is the easternmost Cap, just above the "C" in Monaco, then our Cap, Cap Ferrat, and finally to the southwest past the metropolis of Nice, Cap d'Antibes. St. Tropez is southwest of Cap d'Antibes along the coast, well below Cannes. In the graphic, The word "GRASSE" actually appaears in the location of St. Tropez. San Tropez's storied past in its recent movie fame of the 60's gives it its own faithful followers for its northern exposure to the sun.
This image, although not a 3-D impage per se, also shows the rugged terrain characteristics which provides so many vantage points to the beautiful sea. Those hills are laced with "lacets" which are small roads carved into rock with multiple switch backs to climb the elevations to the inland villages. They are beautiful to drive and navigate in the daytime. However, first-timers to this area should never be caught on these roads after dark. Straight line mileages on local maps mean nothing about how long it actually takes to get from perched village to the next perched village.
The Cote d'Azur "golden triangle" triangle is about 44 miles long and goes inland about 60 miles to the snow country, rising from sea level to 10,500 feet in the Alps. One can snow ski in the morning, play golf for lunch, water ski in the afternoon and dine at the Hotel de Paris or visit the Monte Carlo Casino in the evening.
St. Tropez is at the lower left hand corner of the graphic above. Technically, definition wise, St. Tropez is not part of La Cote dAzur. However, it is assumed to be an integral part of the Riviera cities one wishes to visit in any tour of the "French Riviera." |
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| IGN image edited by M. OSBURN |
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The aerial photograph media including the graphic image to the right was purchased from Institut Géographique National and may not be reproduced without purchasing the same media from IGN.
From left to right, one can see the deep water port of Villefranche-sur-Mer (population about 7,500) and the village on both sides of the Basse Corniche cascading down the hills to the Port. Cap Ferrat is at the center. Beaulieu-sur-Mer (about 4,500) is to the upper right.
Cap Ferrat (about 2,250 St. Jeannois) is about 3100 meters long and about 600 meters wide on average. It is a small exclusive enclave of about 445 villas, very few of which rent. Some are very famous.
It is a very relaxed driving environment. In the village proper, most of the driving is one-way only. However, on the main roads of the upper elevations where the larger villas are located, the divided roads are conventional with two way traffic. There are a few narrow sections which are not marked on the main thoroughfare of Boulevard de Gaulle which rings the peninsula.
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| Mayor (Mairie) René VESTRI |
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| Mayor Vestri was the driving force behind uniting the local communities into adopting the unique name for their region. The terrain between Nice and Monte Carlo is rugged and beautiful. Thanks to his efforts, this set of three roads connecting Nice and all the coastline villages to Monaco and Italy is unique in France. Well done Mr. Mayor! |
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| Detail: High - Middle - Low |
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First, uniquely, this small area between Nice and Monte Carlo is served by three hillside roads, known as Corniches. “Corniche” means “ledge of rock.” There is a high road - the Grande Corniche (D2564), a middle road - the Corniche Moyenne (N7) and the low road - the Basse Corniche, also known as the Corniche Inférieur (N98) becoming (N559) at Eze-Bord-de-Mer from there to Cap d’Ail and Monte Carlo.
The Grand Corniche dates back to the days of Emperor Augustus (6 B.C.) as part of the system to keep his armies mobile and in contact with Rome. Napoleon later improved it for the same reasons of conquest - mobility. In La Turbie on the Corniche Moyenne (site of the chase scene in the movie Ronin), there is a museum with the remains of La Trophée des Alps. It is lighted at night and visible from restaurant terraces in Saint Jean, particularly Le Saint Jean.
The Basse Corniche was the original route along the sea to Monaco and Italy. It has been improved to add the adjacent railroad and tunnels for normal commerce. The Corniche Moyenne was partly financed by the Prince of Monaco to facilitate traffic from Nice into the gambling Casinos at Monte Carlo.
In a recent referendum, the local communes between Nice and Menton adopted a common name for their collective interests for this unique system of three roads, the only one of its kind in France.
They call it “Le pays des 3 corniches.”
It is a spectacular drive in the daylight hours. We do not recommend strangers to the area drive the Grande Corniche after dark. It is a very unforgiving “ledge of rock.”
The graphic above is oriented north/south. However, in actuality, the French Riviera actually runs in a northeast/southwest direction. Saint Jean-Cap-Ferrat is actually oriented almost due north and south along its spine. For an excellent description of the driving required, please get a DVD copy of “To Catch A Thief “ and enjoy Grace Kelly leading the local police on a merry chase through this spectacular scenery while Cary Grant “white knuckles” it in the cockpit of her Jaguar convertible, with the Inspectors close behind in their typical black Renault. Do you remember what caused the Inspectors to crash? Answer: A (Poulet) Chicken ran in front of them! That is also what was in the Picnic Basket - chicken. When Grace asked Cary which piece he prefered, he said “A leg.”
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