Fort Carré

The French Riviera offers numerous sites beyond the main tourist routes. Medieval hilltop villages such as Èze and Saint-Paul de Vence perch above the coast, while historic fortifications like Fort Carré in Antibes preserve the region's maritime past. Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild on Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat and Château Grimaldi in Cagnes-sur-Mer display architectural styles from different eras. The region extends from the coastline to the backcountry. The Îles de Lérins off Cannes are accessible by ferry, Col de la Bonette reaches 9,193 feet (2,802 meters) elevation, and Vallée des Merveilles in the Mercantour preserves prehistoric rock carvings. Hiking trails cross Parc national du Mercantour and follow the coast at Cap d'Ail. The Gorges du Verdon to the north form one of Europe's deepest canyons. Museums in Nice focus on Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse and Asian art. The Musée de la Mer on Île Sainte-Marguerite documents the island fortress's history. Smaller towns like Tourrettes-sur-Loup and Le Cannet lie a few miles from the coastal cities. Lac de Saint-Cassien near Montauroux provides water sports in a rural setting.

The Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region depicts a land where architecture narrates a thousand years of history between sea and mountains. From the 12th-century Cistercian abbeys to the brutalist experiments of Le Corbusier, this area features an exceptional built heritage shaped by Mediterranean light. You can find fortresses perched on rocky promontories, Romanesque monasteries where Van Gogh depicted his struggles, and contemporary museums that interact with the blue of the Mediterranean. Vineyards contain large-scale sculptures, the perched villages of Luberon display their medieval architecture in light stone, and Belle Époque villas in Cap d'Antibes mark the golden age of the Riviera. Between the limestone cliffs of the Calanques and the alpine valleys carved with prehistoric signs, Provençal architecture follows the contours of the land, capturing shadow and warmth, blending tradition and modernity. From the port of Marseille to the hanging gardens of Èze, each building bears the mark of a region where Cistercian builders, military engineers, visionary artists, and contemporary architects have inscribed their visions in stone, concrete, and landscape.

Between the ramparts of the old town and the pines of Cap d'Antibes, this seaside resort on the French Riviera preserves an architectural heritage spanning eight centuries. Grimaldi Castle, a 12th-century fortress turned Picasso’s first museum in 1946, overlooks the seafront from Place du Safranier. Further south, Fort Carré stands with its four bastions on a 26-meter-high (85 ft) rocky promontory, built in 1565 to defend the border between France and the Duchy of Savoy. Cap d'Antibes features about twenty residences built from the late 19th century through the interwar period. Villa Eilenroc (1867) covers 27 acres with French-style gardens and a rose garden facing the sea. Château de la Croë (1927) once hosted the Duke of Windsor and is now a private estate. Notable visitors included Anatole France, who resided in Villa Soleil, and Karl Lagerfeld in the 1990s. Villa Thuret, established in 1857 by botanist Gustave Thuret, currently hosts a research garden of the INRAE with 2,500 plant species suited to Mediterranean conditions. Modernist architecture is represented by Villa Aujourd'hui (1938), a rare example of geometric design from the 1930s on the Côte d'Azur.

The Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region combines medieval villages, historical fortifications, and natural areas between the Mediterranean coast and the Alps. The landscape ranges from the lavender-covered plateaus of Valensole to the steep limestone cliffs of the Calanques and alpine passes above 8,900 feet (2,700 meters). Geological formations like the mushroom-shaped Demoiselles Coiffées de Théus and the reddish sandstone rocks of Annot show millions of years of natural shaping. Monasteries such as Abbaye de Sénanque and Thoronet Abbey preserve Cistercian architecture, while villages like Gordes and Les Baux-de-Provence maintain their medieval layouts. The coastal settlements of Èze, Menton, and Gourdon sit on rocky perches above the Côte d'Azur, their narrow streets leading to viewpoints overlooking the sea. The Lérins Islands off Cannes and the Îles d'Hyères offer quieter coastal landscapes with Mediterranean vegetation. Inland, hiking trails like Sentier Martel pass through the Verdon Gorge, while the Vallée des Merveilles displays prehistoric rock engravings in an alpine setting. Fortifications including the Citadelle de Sisteron, Fort Carré in Antibes, and the ruins of Fort de Buoux document centuries of military history at strategic passages and heights.