WHERE TO GO IN FRANCE |
Posted on Wednesday, 18 November 2009 |
 More than 80 million tourists every year establishes France as one of the most visited countries in the world if not the most visited country in the world. According to French Government sites, France welcomed 81.9 million tourists annually to her shores in recent years.
81.9 million visitors is a lot of holidays, a lot of holidays and a lot of holiday rentals to find for people but before you find your perfect holiday rental the big question to answer is where to go in France to holiday? Where do 81 million people go to in France to holiday and where do they find their holiday homes?
The most visited region in France is the Provence Alpes Cote d'Azur region, known geo-politically as the PACA region, but more lovingly known as the French Riviera or the Cote d'Azur, the blue coast.
The French Riviera is made up of a string of world famous and world renowned holiday cities, Cannes, Saint Tropez, Juan-les-Pins, Antibes, Saint Raphael, Nice and Monaco, conjuring up images of sun drenched beaches, glamourous people and luxurious holiday homes. So when it comes to being more exact in your holiday choice just how do you decide where to go in France and when, or indeed when to go to France and where?
Cannes is of course famous for the Cannes Film Festival held in the month of May each year. The Film Festival has come to mark the real start of the summer season on the French Riviera. Officially the season begins on May 1st but everyone who is anyone knows that the real season starts when the first A-list Hollywood celebrity hits the French Riviera red carpet in Cannes for the Film Festival.
It all seems to arrive at once, the beautiful weather and the beautiful people and whether the Film Festival has established Cannes or Cannes has established the Film Festival no one can much remember but everyone is in agreement Cannes is the place to go, either to holiday, or to be seen, in the month of May.
It also means that Cannes has a residual glamour attached to it. Not just because of the Film Festival but also afforded by the gorgeous architecture and long sandy beaches framed by the dramatic landscape of sweeping mountains around the Bay of Cannes. The original old town sits perched atop a steep hill but Cannes has developed along the main natural curve of the Croisette or seafront which is lined with the most prestigious luxury homes and rental apartments in Cannes. Over the generations Cannes has elegantly spread out with many of it's large villas and exquisite homes in the centre of town.
If you decide to rent in Cannes you certainly have more of a choice of luxury holiday homes right in the centre of the action. Much more so than if you rent in Saint Tropez where the heart of this luxury resort is in fact a tiny fishing village. This means that the more elaborate luxury villas and homes to rent with landscaped gardens and private pools are pushed further away from town.
That is not to say that there are not apartments to rent in Cannes, or luxury rental villas in the centre of Saint Tropez. In fact Cannes has also become as much a haven for contemporary designed rental apartments as much as it is for the beautiful Belle Epoch architecture so well known on the French Riviera. With influences clearly taken from the clean sharp lines of Miami beach, Cannes has a wealth of vast modern penthouses and stark architectural villas to rent.
Cannes, by dent of it's glamourous Film Festival, it's wealthy residents and it's historical evolvement, is a luxury holiday destination with sprawling vacation homes to rent or palatial apartments to go to.
Cannes launches the summer season on the French Riviera in high style with an unprecedented celebrity head count and reaches it's zenith in the heated months of August when rentals are full and all that's on anyone's mind is glamour, party and beach.
In contrast Nice was also once a tiny perched village on the top of a hill but it was destroyed in the 15th century and the 'Old Town' of Nice, in its reincarnation, spread along a warren of streets at the foot of the hill and along the seafront. This means that Nice's development has tucked in around this original old town and is now densely populated with holiday apartments to rent. Villas to rent in Nice for holidays are also available but they tend to be deeper into the suburbs of Nice. Of course Nice has it's own grand history with palatial Princes homes and luxury residences but in terms of holiday choice, Nice is a city centre holiday apartment haven.
Nice is a very versatile vacation destination. It is less glamourous than Cannes or Saint Tropez but it has a lot to offer if you decide to rent in Nice. If you want to dine out in the incredible variety of local restaurants rent an apartment in Nice Old Town, if you are a family with lots of different ages to entertain then rent a house or an apartment in Nice centre, if you want to be in the centre of things but still have easy access to the rest of the coast then rent your vacation apartment in Nice near the train station. Nice has everything for most ages and is less seasonal than other cities on the French Riviera.
Nice Port has traditionally been a fishing port as well as a ferry port rather than the picturesque marinas of other French Riviera towns but that is all set to change and Nice Port apartments to rent are becoming more popular. The new development of the port area with apartments, restaurants, shops and the ferry relocating will see interest in Nice Port surge. Already apartment prices, to rent and to buy, have been creeping up.
Villefranche-sur-Mer has a lot in common with Saint Tropez. Both are small fishing villages, both are exceptionally picturesque, both are set in beautiful landscape of stunning and natural beauty and both are home to some of the world's wealthiest and most famous residents. Villefranche-sur-mer boasts the world's most expensive private residence several times over, while Saint Tropez boasts the most celebrities visiting her French shores every year.
This doesn't mean that they are ideal holiday destinations for the same people. Villefranche has seen its fair share of action, most notably in the 60's when the Rolling Stones moved into a stunning luxury villa and wreaked havoc over the course of writing several albums. Things are a little more subdued in Villefranche now with many of the luxury homes occupied with a quieter clientèle, even the Rolling Stones get older.
Villefranche rentals tend to be grand and luxurious with many homes having once been palaces to the aristocracy. Villas to rent are of high style, with fine views over the bay of Villefranche. The gardens tend to be smaller as the gradient is steep but the beach is close and the orientation is towards family holiday rentals.
Saint Tropez villas are also luxurious and this prestigious five star resort has a tendency to have larger gardens and private pools. With more flat land surrounding Saint Tropez town there is literally more space for the luxury holiday homes that have sprung up on the peninsula which includes the famous beaches of Ramatuelle and Pampelonne. When to go to Saint Tropez is a key factor as this is a seasonal resort and the summer months are the time when the villas are full, the centre is hopping and it is a vacation to go go. Be ready to dress to impress and turn your holiday rental into a summer long St Tropez celebrity beach party.
Rent a holiday home in Cannes in 2010 for old school glamour in the heat of the summer.
Look for a 2010 rental apartment in Nice to enjoy a versatile, value for money holiday any time of the year.
Find your inner Rock star in a luxurious Villefranche rental but keep it quiet.
Stock your holiday villa with champagne if you rent a sprawling home in Saint Tropez for summer 2010 and wherever you choose to go in France remember that you and 81 million visitors can't be wrong.
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 Recommended Holiday Rental:
Self catering holiday rental villa
Bedrooms: 5; Sleeps: 10
Price p/n: €1,380.00 |
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Bedrooms: 5
