Notes and Pictures from the Côte d’Azur (5) – Menton

Menton

This series finishes in the last town along the Côte d’Azur, just a few kilometres from the Italian border. Menton is mainly known for its lemons and this can already give you an idea that this is not going to be a party hotspot. So if you’re looking for a quiet place to spend a day or so along the Côte d’Azur and like places that feel like time has...

Notes and Pictures from the Côte d’Azur (4): Antibes

Of all the places I visited while I was in the south of France, Antibes was my favourite. We spent a day there, and the next time I go back to the Côte d’Azur I’ll definitely be staying for at least a few days. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but Antibes has a cerain sparkle. Of course it helped that the sun was shining so much, it...

Notes and Pictures from the Côte d’Azur (3) – Clouds over Cannes

Clouds over Cannes

Mid-September is a good time to visit the Côte d’Azur, if you want to avoid the crowds. The downside is that the weather can be quite unstable. It wasn’t exactly beach weather the afternoon we went to Cannes and this definitely coloured my impression of it. As we walked along the Allée des Etoiles and stood at the foot of the Palais de Festival, it was difficult to imagine that...

Notes and Pictures from the Côte d’Azur (2)

Museum of Oceanography, Monaco

A Day in Montecarlo – The day after I arrived in Nice was my birthday and, always eager to add another country to my list, we decided to spend the day in Montecarlo. Monaco is just a twenty minute train journey from Nice and a return ticket costs around 7 euros return at time of writing (2018). Montecarlo train station is located in the higher part of the city and...

Notes and pictures from the Côte d’Azur: Nice

Mosaic at the top of Castle Hill, Nice

This is the start of a short series of posts on the week I spent along the Côte d’Azur. At first I wanted to pack it all into one post, then that got a bit long … plus, I think it will be more useful for those who are just interested in reading about specific places. In this post, I’ll write about what I saw and did when I wasn’t...

Under a sky of stars – tango in Nice

Nice at night

There’s something about dancing outside. When I go to an indoor milonga, I often feel as if I am stepping into another world. Outdoors it’s there, beside everyday life, often surrounded by non-dancers who watch or are simply going about their daily life. In an open square, in a park, or as I experienced when I was in Nice, under an arcade and outside a museum. Maybe I think it’s...

A day around the Port of Marseille

After spending my first night in Marseille dancing tango, I set out the next day to explore one of the city’s main attractions: the Old Port. The area has been completely redesigned in recent years, ahead of Marseille being the European Capital of Culture in 2013 and it’s a great place to walk around. If you get there early, you can walk around the fish market. During the day, there...