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France
Grasse
The perfume city, Grasse, lies in the department of Alpes Maritimes in the beautiful and vigorous inland, only 20 km from Cannes. Grasse is situated at 333 metres above sea level, well protected by mountains, surrounded by flower fields and with a view to the Mediterranean. Because of its fantastic geographic situation, Grasse is an extremely pleasant place to spend a holiday. Grasse is France’s perfume centre, due to its production of perfume extracts and perfume essences. Some of the factories, for instance Fragonard at boulevard Fragonard and Molinard at the highway out of town are open to the public and there are fragrant souvenirs for sale at the exit.
En savoir plus sur Grasse Toutes les locations de vacances - GrasseGrasse does not give the feel of a pure tourist town. It is not the souvenir shops that dominate in Grasse. The old city, vielle ville, is big, old and utterly interesting. The streets still appear as in the Middle Ages – narrow passages and stairways, narrow, dark tunnels where the sun never breaks through.
If you live in Grasse or near Grasse, Gorges-du-Loup is just the place for a great trip. It is one of the most breathtaking canyons in the area with a river that tumbles down in a torrential current through the deep gorge that has been hollowed out over thousands of years.
Grasse joined the UNESCO World Heritage List at the end of 2018 for its unique perfume manufacturing technique that has been used for centuries.
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06.408 | Maison de vacances Antibes, France
The Riviera’s third largest town. The old town in Antibes is highly interesting with its covered market, beautiful marina, Picasso museum and Marineland, with dolphins and killer whales.
A very popular, medieval village in the department of Alpes Maritimes, best known for its glassware. Here one can also find a very interesting Fernand Léger-museum.
Cagnes-sur-Mer, situated between Nice and Antibes, first of all offers a magnificent, fortified old quarter, Haut-de-Cagnes, perched high up on top of a small rock. The town is intersected by steep, winding streets and stairways and a multitude of small, idyllic squares. At the top of the town you will find the ancient Grimaldi castle from the 14th century.
The most fashionable town on the French Riviera with its long elegant promenade La Croisette and the luxurious Hotel Carlton. Lying across from Cannes is Iles de Lérins, two charming flower filled little islands, Ste-Marguerite and St-Honoret. Ste-Marguerite, the island closest to the mainland is almost covered in pine forest. It is particularly renowned because of ”the man with the iron mask” who was imprisoned here and whose identity is still unknown. At St-Honoret there is a beautiful old monastery, dating from the 11th century. In earlier times, St-Honoret was a religious centre for southern Europe and the monastery owned most of the land along the Mediterranean including Cannes. The island is still inhabited by monks. A museum and a church can be visited by the public.
Has almost grown together with the neighbouring town St-Raphaël. In Fréjus one can find a characteristic French promenade with nice, little cafés and a multitude of restaurants, bars and discos, seething with life every night. The marina is the normal meeting point in the evenings, and here there is a really good atmosphere. In Fréjus there are quite a few Roman monuments, among other things a small arena which is still used for concerts and bullfights. One can also find a big amusement park with a Marineland.
Golfe Juan, situated between Cannes and Antibes, offers one of the very best beaches on the French Riviera, an impressive marina, restaurants, cafés and boutiques. It was also here Napoleon landed in 1815, when escaping from Elba. In Golfe Juan there is a 5 hectares public park, Exflora Park, showing different Mediterranean gardens exactly as they were in Roman Times and in the sumptuous 19th century.
Gourdon has a beautiful location, perched as an eagle’s nest on top of a mountain. An old medieval village with wide views, fine restaurants and boutiques.
Situated between Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Var. The breathtaking canyon, Gorges du Verdon, is one of Europe’s greatest nature wonders - an outstanding nature experience that one must experience. At the Verdon river, which is cutting 700 metres down into the cliff, one can go hiking, climbing, canoeing and rafting.
The French centre for perfumes, producing perfume extracts and essences. Grasse is beautifully situated at 333 metres altitude, in the hinterland of Cannes. The old city is very exciting with a labyrinth of streets and narrow passages. Here, there is a multitude of small, interesting boutiques.
A popular beach resort beside Antibes. Juan-les-Pins is a town for young people with its many boutiques, restaurants, bars, nightclubs and a casino.
Le Cannet is perched high up above Cannes, and enjoys, for this reason, a fantastic panorama of the bay of Cannes and the island group, Îles de Lérins. Le Cannet is especially well known for its artists’ quarter which is dominated by art craft workshops and galleries. It is an extremely nice and picturesque old town with skilfully restored houses, narrow, steep streets with numerous small, homely restaurants and cafés.
Mandelieu-la-Napoule is a beach resort between Cannes and Fréjus. It has good beaches, a nice marina, lots of restaurants and cafés and a huge variety of water sports.
The Principality of Monaco (pop.: 31,842) is a sovereign state lying out to the Mediterranean and surrounded by the French Alpes Maritimes department. Its geographical extent of 2 km² makes Monaco the world’s smallest country. Monaco is nicknamed The Mediterranean Manhattan as it is packed with sky scrapers and sumptuous villas. It is a constitutional monarchy and Prince Albert’s family, the Grimaldies, have reigned in Monaco since 1297. Monaco consists of three towns: The old town, Monaco-Ville, with the Royal Palace on top of a cliff, Monte-Carlo with its very famous Casino and the residential area la Condamine, with its big marina.
A fantastic, medieval mountain village beautifully situated. Here one can also find one of the most famous restaurants in France, Moulin de Mougins.
The main city in the department of Alpes Maritimes, France’s fifth biggest city and the most important city on the Riviera. Famous for its beautiful location by the Baie des Anges, surrounded by mountains, Nice first of all offers a very interesting old city, the magnificent promenade, Promenade des Anglais, the museum of modern art and Chagall and Matisse museums.
The artists’ town, St-Paul-de-Vence, is one of the prettiest and most picturesque villages in the region. Here one can find Auberge Colombe d’Or, one of southern France’s most famous restaurants.
This town has almost grown together with the neighbouring town, Fréjus. Since the middle of the 19th century St-Raphaël has been a popular holiday resort with nice, sandy beaches, marina and good shopping facilities. It was at this place Napoleon landed on his way back from Egypt in 1799, and so did the French- American troupes in 1944. One of the greatest sights in the town is a Templar’s church, dating back to the 12th century.
Originally St-Tropez was a small, humble, fishing village, until Brigitte Bardot, Françoise Sagan and other celebrities discovered the town in the 1950’s and pulled in the whole jet set. In high season (August), around 80,000 tourists arrive at this extraordinary holiday resort. Despite this “big circus” in the summer, the town is definitely worth a visit.
A most charming medieval village, situated between Cannes and Nice, only 14 km from the coast. It is renowned for its culture of violets. Tourrettes-sur-Loup is very much worth a visit.
A nice medieval village in the hinterland of Cannes. The town is enclosed by fortified houses and the streets are laid out in symmetric rectangles, a phenomenon not often seen in this region.
Vallauris has been a city with pottery traditions ever since Roman Times., traditions which were later carried on by Italian potters from Grasse. Picasso has also worked in a pottery in this town. Today the town houses an exciting Picasso museum: http://www.musee-picasso-vallauris.fr/
Vence, like St-Paul-de-Vence, is one of the really big pearls in the hinterland of Nice and Cannes and has also one of the most beautiful locations. The town’s greatest tourist attraction is the Chapelle du Rosaire, better known as the Matisse chapel.
Actvités en/à Grasse
- Public swimming pool.
- Riding.
- Golf – Just above the town is an 18 holes golf course, Golf du Claux-Amic. The site is beautiful, at a 19th century former hunting property: http://www.claux-amic.com. Europe’s biggest golf course is only 27 km southwest of Grasse in the little village Tourrettes, Four Seasons Golf Club: http://www.fourseasons.com/provence.
- Golf: There are lots of courses in the department of Alpes Maritimes. Most of the courses can be found on the French golf union’s website. Unfortunately the website is in French. Seek under Guide de golfs and then under the region Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur: www.ffgolf.org
- Tennis
- Festivals (jasmine and rose).
- Concerts.
- Excursions.
- Parks (Princess Pauline, Villa Noailles, St. Jean).
- Culinary specialities.
- Little tourist train
- Casino.
- Guided tours in the town (90 min) – arranged by the tourist office.
- Walking and hiking tours.
- Caves – In the porous limestone hills north of Grasse there are lots of caves. Most of the caves are around 4 km north of Grasse at the Plateau de la Malle, which rises towards the Plateau de Caussols.
- Ski resorts within easy travelling distance: http://www.skifrance.fr/default-a.htm
Sites à visiter en/à Grasse
- Musée de la Marine: Maritime museum. Situated at Amiral de Grasse.
- The old part of town with its narrow streets and exciting shops
- Musée de la Parfumerie Fragonard: Shows perfume production in the old days. Situated at bd. Fragonard
- Musée Fragonard: Paintings, sculptures and etchings by J.H. Fragonard and the son Evariste, both born in Grasse and represented at the Louvre. These important artists are relatives of the perfume family.
- Musée International de la Parfumerie: Here you can follow the whole proces of the perfume production. There are also antiques, related to 300 years of perfume production, amongst others the travel suitcase of Marie Antoinette.
- Musée d’Art et d’Histoire de Provence: Exhibits of Provence’s history, archaeology, art and traditions, including furniture, faience, pottery and glass. Situated in 2, Rue Mirabeau.
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