Europe

It has become somewhat of an expectation for anyone who’s been to France to come back raving about Paris. It’s not surprising that Paris continues to win millions and millions of hearts, year after year. Paris is a beautiful city. Architecturally, it is quite impressive. The people here are a good looking bunch and they have style too. The history is rich. Paris just has a lot going on for it and there’s a lot one can say about this city. I myself have written quite a bit about Paris somewhere on the pages of my website and I’m pretty sure there’s still more I’ve mentioned in my book. Everything that has been written says a lot about the impact this city continues to have on people and it’s no wonder Paris continues to attract an incredible number of visitors each year.

However, there’s a part of France I feel is hugely underrated and that is the south of France. I’ve been fortunate enough to experience a few of the cities on this part of France – Cannes, Nice, Monaco. Monaco is of course a whole country on its own but because of its location and for the purposes of this discussion, I will ‘lump it’ in for reasons I hope I’ll be able to express as I unpack my journey. What struck me about The French Riviera, as it is known, is the natural beauty that this region possesses. This part of France does not derive its beauty only from man-made structures The French Riviera is the side of France that will remind you that France is not just about the city lights or the skyscrapers.

Let’s take Cannes for example. My first visit here was on a work conference back in 2014. I had been to France before but never to this part of it. From the moments our aircraft approached the airport of Nice, which is a short drive from Cannes, I knew I was about to discover something special. Let’s park the drama that unfolded with my luggage and me falling terribly ill on my very first day there and skip right to the pleasant experiences that followed thereafter.

Well, I can’t deny this. I was first blown away by fact that everyone seemed to have found out about my arrival in Cannes and decided to take their best car for a ride around the city. What else could it be? I don’t remember seeing the sort of cars that we all drive back home. No regular Mercedes Benz or BMW. Not even what we consider luxury family cars from the Germans but really, the best and most expensive sports cars you can imagine. Literally every car that drove past was either a Ferrari or a Lamborghini or a Porsche! Oh, did I mention the fact that the harbor was filled with luxury yachts? I believe the same people who drive those expensive sports cars are the ones who own the yachts too. But I’m still failing to make my point because I’ve said nothing about the beauty of this place. That was intentional because now I want you to imagine these glorious machines (the yachts and the wheels) with the most gorgeous shoreline you’ve ever seen! Now place a backdrop of the most beautiful buildings you can fathom in your mind. How does that look? Place yourself at a table outside a street cafe overlooking the ocean and take it all in. The picture is about to be complete because I now want to throw in a few passers-by who are draped in the most stylish clothing you’ve ever seen. Men and women between the ages of 40 and 60. They’re all clearly there on holiday because they are walking by ever so casually. They can’t be on a lunch break.

I got to understand later that a lot of people from other European countries buy their holiday homes on the South of France. They buy into the weather here. It is absolutely glorious. They buy into the natural beauty of this place and the peaceful yet lively energy it exudes. In Cannes, things can go as fast or as slow as you want. And I believe that’s what qualifies this place as the best to buy a holiday home. This is the first memory I have of Cannes.

I spent a week here and every single day I would have the opportunity to explore a new spot because I got invited to afternoon parties and lunches by different companies who were hosting clients from all over the world. Once such party was at Hotel Martinez. A five star hotel situated right along the La Croisette beachfront. This party was on the top floor of the hotel and I’ll never forget the views of Cannes from up there. The gorgeous ocean that went on forever. The yachts along the shoreline looked even more inviting from this floor. There was absolutely nothing that seemed to be out of place. Cannes was just absolute perfection and if I could choose to live anywhere in France, this place would be it, provided I’d have the money to afford a little bit of food to sustain me because Cannes is incredibly expensive.

Another gem of the French Riviera is Monaco. Monaco is a playground for tourists and a haven for the wealthy. It is the ultimate symbol of opulence. It’s a real pity we didn’t get to spend too much time here because we got lost on our way there. We had missed our turnoff and only made it back later. By the time we found our way, we had very little time to explore before we needed to head back to Nice, which is where we were based. Nice is a short scenic drive from Monaco. The drive will take approximately 30 minutes but it goes by so fast because you’ll practically lose yourself in the beauty of the ride over the mountains.

Nice is a lot more like Barcelona in terms of its energy but it’s obviously a lot smaller than Barcelona and also less crowded. People still walk up and down the streets through the night. There’s a constant buzz which I didn’t experience in any of the other French cities I’ve been to. Nice is a beautiful city, with strikingly unique beachfronts. There’s no sand on the beaches, just small black rocks. So, naturally, you don’t find a lot of people lining up along the beach but it’s a sight to behold nonetheless. Visit France, is what I would recommend. Spend some time in Paris but do yourself a favour and add a little time to explore the French Riviera. You’ll be glad you did.