In this one-hour presentation, Gary Lee Kraut, editor of France Revisited, and guest expert Jean-Pierre Soutric, a consultant who advises luxury hotels in France on how to live up to the expectations of demanding and well-heeled travelers from around the world, take you to the southeast France to visit famous and historic hotels along the Riviera.

Part 1 of this luxury hotel series, examining the creation and evolution of luxury hotels in Paris from 1855 to 1909, i.e. from the era of Napoleon III though the Belle Epoque, can be viewed here.

Part 2, which examines the creation of luxury hotels from 1910 to today, can be viewed here.

Stay tuned for part 4, coming in the fall. Invitations to attend France Revisited conversations and presentations live are sent out through the France Revisited Newsletter. If you aren’t already a subscriber, you can sign up now to receive the France Revisited Newsletter.

Luxury on the Riviera: Starting time on video – Topics, towns, hotel

0:01:49 – Where is the Riviera?
0:03:43 – The origins of luxury on the Riviera
0:09:30 – Monaco: Hotel de Paris
0:16:14 – Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat: Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat and the Ephrussi de Rothschild Villa and Gardens
0:24:05 – Nice: The Negresco, coastal festivals and museums
0:29:23 – Antibes, Juan-les-Pins, Cap d’Antibes: Les Belles Rives, Jazz à Juan, Hôtel du Cap – Eden-Roc
0:44:18 – Cannes: The Carlton, The Martinez, The Majestic
0:50:34 – Saint Tropez: The Byblos, La Réserve Ramatuelle
0:55:08 – When is the best time to go to the Riviera?
0:58:55 – The Riviera, playground for the rich or destination for all?
1:00:24 – Should you use a travel agent to reserve at a luxury hotel?

© 2021. All rights reserved.

Jean-Pierre Soutric follows in the footsteps of three generations in the hotel industry. His great-grandmother opened a hotel in 1914, just before the outbreak of the First World War. Jean-Pierre has held marketing positions at leading hotel groups, including Four Seasons, with which he worked for 20 years. Passionate about history, culture, art and the evolution of French elegance and style through the centuries, he now works as a Paris-based luxury travel and hotel consultant advising luxury hotels in France on how to live up to the expectations of demanding and well-heeled travelers from around the world.

Gary Lee Kraut has been inspiring and informing travelers to France for three decades. His unparalleled experience as an editor, travel writer, journalist, lecturer, consultant and guide has made him one of the most trusted voices for English-speaking travelers, armchair travelers and travel professionals interested in France.

The post The History of Luxury Hotels on the Riviera (Video) appeared first on France Revisited - Life in Paris, Travel in France.

At 39€ (21€ for children ages 4 to 12) for three consecutive days and 54€ (29€ for children) for six consecutive days, the card throws open the doors to over 100 sights and activities along the Riviera and into the Mercantour Montains which rise up from the coast. The card can be used for consecutive days between April 26 and October 31, 2014.

Most of the major art museums along the coast and inland are accessible with the pass: the Bonnard Museum at Cannet, the Picasso Museum at Antibes, the Cocteau Museum of Menton, the Fernand Leger Museum at Biot, and many others. Taking in several of these museums over a 3- or 6-day period reveals the influence on the work of these 20th artists of the light and leisure along the Riviera. The Maeght Foundation, at Saint-Paul-de-Vence, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, is also included. Entrance there alone normally costs 15€.

The culinary arts also have their place in the Côte d’Azur Card with access to Escoffier Museum of Culinary Art at Villeneuve-Loubet. And the coast’s most popular museum, Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, which normally costs 14€, is also free with the card. Other than several of Nice’s major museums (notably the Museum of Modern Art and the Chagall and Matisse Museums), which aren’t included, the variety of sight and activities in Alpes-Maritimes, as this corner of France is officially called, is well represented by this single piece of plastic.

Possession of the pass doesn’t imply that you’re sole interest in travel along the Riviera is its museums as it also gives access to a variety of outdoor sites such as Menton’s Serre de la Madone Garden and Monaco’s Exotic Garden. You can even use the pass to take the boat from Cannes to Ile Saint-Honorat (one of the Lerins Islands), for a guided tour at Grasse, Antibes or Vence, to play miniature golf in Antibes, to go to the racetrack at Cagnes-sur-Mer or to go sea kayaking at Cap d’Ail or Menton.

Don’t worry, you’ll still find time for a leisurely walk by the beach and an unhurried moment in the café.The choice of a seat is all yours.

The Côte d’Azur Card is available at tourist offices throughout the region and in hotels and other accommodations, as well as online (later this month) at the official website for the card, www.cotedazur-card.com.

The Riviera’s official portal for tourist information is www.frenchriviera-tourism.com.

© 2014, Gary Lee Kraut

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1500: Number of Americans residing on the Riviera.
1000: Number of Americans with a second home on the Riviera.
4: Rank of the United States on list of top tourist markets. The top 3 are Italy, the British Isles and Germany.
9: Percentage of Americans among foreign visitors in hotels on the Riviera (down from 23% in 1985).
16: Percentage of American visitors to the Riviera who visit during the period November to March.
50: Percentage decrease in 4* and 5* hotel occupancy on the Riviera by Americans between 2000 and 2010.
19: Percentage of American visitors lodging in hotels on the Riviera who stay in Cannes (second largest percentage after Nice).
43: Percentage of American visitors lodging in hotels on the Riviera who stay in Nice.
3: Percentage of Americans who are not “entirely satisfied” by the visit on the Riviera (75-80% are “very satisfied”).
109: Average daily spending on the Riviera per American arriving by plane, in euros.
49: Percentage of Americans arriving by plane who have already been to the Riviera at least once.
23: Percentage of Americans arriving by plane who come to the Riviera primarily for business.
42: Percentage of Americans who say that they shop while on the Riviera.
10: Percentage of Americans who go to a casino on the Riviera.
Beautiful, people, food, weather: Top 4 positive words that Americans use in describing their stay on the Riviera.
Hotel, expensive, traffic, poor: Top 4 negative words that American use in describing their stay on the Riviera.

The post The Riviera, American Style appeared first on France Revisited - Life in Paris, Travel in France.

And now, for two days only, Cannes as fortress for a gathering of world leaders as the G20 meeting comes to town under a lingering odor of Greece for the largest summit meeting that France has ever known.

On Nov. 3-4, 2011, the “banana” of Cannes, as the town center within its boulevards is called, will host heads of state and delegations—10,000 participants in all—along with 3,000 journalists and a security force of another 10,000.

But they’ll soon be gone, leaving to more stylish purses the main bastions of luxury along Cannes’ waterfront Boulevard de la Croisette: the Majestic (Barrière), whose location places it at the center of major events, including the G20 summit and the film festival, the Martinez (Concorde), the Carlton (InterContinental), and others.

Here are four boutiquish alternatives:

5* Five Hotel & Spa. 1 rue Notre-Dame. The latest entrance to the 5-star club in Cannes opened in 2011. 45 rooms, including 15 spacious suites.

4* Le Cavendish, 11 boulevard Carnot. 34 rooms.

4* L’Hotel de Paris (Golden Tulip), 34 boulevard d’Alsace. 50 rooms.

2* Le Romanesque, 10 rue du Batéguier. 8 rooms.

Also read The Riviera, American Style.

© 2011

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