French Riviera

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Map of the French Riviera

The Côte d'Azur [ kotdazyʁ ] (" azure coast") is a section of the French Mediterranean coast that also represents a large part of the Provencal coast. The name is a creation of the poet Stéphen Liégeard , who published a book called La Côte d'Azur in 1887 .

The term French Riviera is synonymous (see Riviera ). In English, the name French Riviera is commonly used.

geography

The extent of the Côte d'Azur is specified in the French lexicon (" Petit Robert ", " Petit Larousse ") and extends from Cassis (near Marseille ) to Menton on the Italian border. However, some sources give Toulon , Hyères or Saint-Tropez as the western starting point. Others limit the Côte d'Azur to the coast of the Alpes-Maritimes department .

The Côte d'Azur is part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region with the coastal borders of the Bouches-du-Rhône , Var and Alpes-Maritimes departments as well as the Principality of Monaco and thus forms the majority of the Mediterranean Provençal coast. Well-known places are Saint-Tropez, Cannes , Antibes , Nice , Monaco and Menton .

The hinterland is very mountainous with the Maritime Alps , the Provencal-Nice Pre-Alps and the Massif des Maures . Characteristic of the western Côte d'Azur are the red rocks of the coast, which stretch from the Esterel mountains to the delimitation by the Calanques . In the east, the Alps at Monaco and Menton drop steeply into the sea and demarcate the Côte d'Azur from the Italian Riviera ( Liguria ).

Events

In addition to the residences of many prominent personalities and even more numerous retirees, it has also been a popular holiday destination for French and foreign tourists since the 18th century.

The Cannes International Film Festival , which has been held in May every year since 1946, enjoys international attention .

Also every year in December the International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo takes place under the patronage of the Monegasque princely family , and in spring the car race The Monaco Grand Prix takes place.

During the main season the beaches and cities are sometimes very crowded. Traffic jams often occur on coastal roads.

Large-scale forest and bush fires regularly occur as nature dries up in summer.

climate

The Côte d'Azur is known for its pleasant Mediterranean climate . Even in winter it can get between 15 ° C and 20 ° C on sunny days. In summer, temperatures rarely climb well above 30 ° C. The Côte d'Azur has about 300 sunny days a year.

in ° C Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Ø / year
Day 13 13 15th 17th 20th 26th 32 30th 25th 21st 18th 13 19.4
night 4th 5 7th 9 13 16 18th 18th 16 12 8th 5 10.9
Water temperature 14th 13 13 14th 17th 21st 23 24 22nd 20th 17th 15th 17.8

literature

  • Philippe Cros: The Provence - A landscape and its painters , Belser Vlg., Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-7630-2529-9 . 240 p., Large-format illustrated book that comprehensively depicts the painting of Provence and the Côte d'Azur. The internationally known artists and the artists of the region are assigned to the individual landscape sections and cities and these are documented graphically through paintings, sketches and some photographs by the painters. The volume is supplemented by a bibliography and a directory of 160 presented and mentioned artists.
  • The green travel guide: Côte d'Azur French Riviera . Michelin, Karlsruhe 2005, ISBN 2-06-000246-X .
  • Barbara F. Freed and Alan Halpern: Artists and their museums on the riviera . Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York 1998 ISBN 0-8109-2761-6
  • Manfred Hammes : "Tell me about the south". A literary journey through Provence, Languedoc and Côte d'Azur . Wunderhorn Verlag, Heidelberg 2005, ISBN 3-88423-230-4
  • Erika and Klaus Mann: The Book of the Riviera . Munich 1931. New edition: Hamburg 2002 a. 2004. ISBN 3-499-23667-2
  • Ralf Nestmeyer: Côte d'Azur . 7th edition. Michael-Müller-Verlag, Erlangen 2012, ISBN 978-3-89953-680-5 .
  • Ralf Nestmeyer : Provence and Côte d'Azur. Literary travel pictures from the Midi . Klett-Cotta Verlag, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-608-93654-8
  • Jean-Charles Pinheira (photographs), Jean-Paul Caracalla u. a. (Text): Côte d'Azur , Stürz Vlg., Würzburg 1992, ISBN 3-8003-0349-3 . 240 p., Large-format illustrated book with special consideration of writers and artists, their houses, studios and paintings
  • Jens Rosteck : Instructions for use for Nice and the Côte d'Azur . Piper, Munich 2007. 3rd edition, Munich 2013. ISBN 978-3-492-27554-5
  • Britta Sandberg : Côte d'Azur . 5th updated edition. DuMont Reiseverlag Ostfildern 2016, ISBN 978-3-7701-7359-4
  • Rolf Toman (eds.) / Christian Freilang (text) / Achim Bednorz (photographs): Provence - Côte d'Azur, architecture • art • landscape , Könemann Vlg., Cologne 1999, ISBN 3-8290-2711-7 . 400 p., Large-format illustrated book
  • Riviera Côte d'Azur Newspaper: The German-language press for southern France, Monaco and the Italian Riviera offers monthly news and current information on the areas of: economy, art and culture, people and lifestyle as well as service, event and real estate reports. The newspaper is published by Mediterraneum Editions and has been in existence for 17 years. Riviera Newspaper

Web links

Wiktionary: Côte d'Azur  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
Commons : Côte d'Azur  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files
Wikivoyage: French Riviera  - travel guide