General
The Côte d'Azur, commonly known in English as the French Riviera is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. It also includes the sovereign state of Monaco. It has no officially recognised boundries but is generally considered to extend from either the French town Menton or the Italian border in the east to Saint Tropez, Hyères or even Cassis in the west.
The French Riviera is a major yachting and cruising area with several marinas along its coast. The climate, cuisine and sophistication of the French River make it one of the most popular yachting destinations in the world. According to the Côte d'Azur Economic Development Agency, each year the Riviera hosts 50% of the world's superyacht fleet, with 90% of all superyachts visiting the region's coast at least once in their lifetime. Monaco, Antibes, Cannes and St Tropez are popular ports for these mega yachts.
The Côte d'Azur covers 560 miles of coastline and is home to a mix of sand and shingle beaches. Nice is the areas largest city and home to the Nice Côte d'Azur Airport. Popular yachting destinations and coastal resorts from W to E include; Cassis, La Ciotat, Bandol, Sanary-sur-Mer, Six-Fours-les-Plages, Toulon, Hyères, Îles d'Hyères - Porquerolles, Port-Cros and Île du Levant, Le Lavandou, Cavalaire-sur-Mer, Saint-Tropez, Sainte-Maxime, Fréjus, Saint-Raphaël, Les Adrets-de-l'Estérel, Théoule-sur-Mer, Mandelieu and La Napoule, Îles de Lérins - Île Sainte-Marguerite and Île Saint-Honorat, Cannes, Golfe-Juan, Juan-les-Pins, Antibes, Villeneuve-Loubet, Cagnes-sur-Mer, Saint-Laurent-du-Var, Nice, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Tanneron, Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Èze, Cap d'Ail, Monaco, Monte-Carlo, Beausoleil, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin and Menton.
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What You Need - Experience, Qualifications, Visa Requirements, etc. For bareboat charters the skipper of the boat is required to have an ICC certificate or equivilant.
Visa Requirements
Charter Season
The French Riviera charter season generally runs from April to the end of October. July and August are the hottest months and tend to have the lightest winds and also the largest crowds. This is also the high season for yacht charter. Other good times to charter your yacht are on either side of the high season, April-May and September-October, the temperatures are more comfortable and there is not the overcrowding that can be experienced during July and August.
Weather
The Côte d'Azur has a Mediterranean climate, with sunny, hot, dry summers and mild winters. Temperatures are moderated by the Mediterranean days of frost are rare in the winter and in summer the maximum rarely exceeds 30°C. Strong winds such as the Mistral, a cold dry wind from the northwest or from the east, are another characteristic, particularly in the winter. Click the following link for more detailed information on the climate of France
Time Difference - UTC +1
How to Get There
Nice Cote d'Azur is the nearest airport. It is the third busiest airport in France and is used by numerous airlines offering a mix of year round and seasonal flights. Major carriers include; Aer Lingus, Aeroflot, Air Berlin, Air France, Alitalia, British Airways, Delta Air Lines, EasyJet, KLM, Lufthansa, Ryanair and SAS Scandinavian Airlines
By rail the TGV Sud Est service takes 5.5 hours from Paris to Nice. Click the following link for more detailed information on traveling to France
Currency - Euro
Language - French. English is spoken widely
Food & Drink
Provence cusine is the result of the warm, dry Mediterranean climate. Basic ingredients are olives and olive oil, garlic, sardines, rockfish, sea urchins and octopus, lamb and goat, chickpeas and local fruits. The great majority of the wines produced in Provence are rosés. The most characteristic grape is mourvèdre, used most famously in the red wines of Bandol. Cassis is the only area in Provence known for its white wines.
Suggested Itineraries & Routes - Click the following link for more Cote d'Azur Yacht Charter Itineraries
Marinas
See the following link for detailed reports on marinas on the Cote d'Azur
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History of the Area
The Côte d'Azur has been inhabited since prehistoric times. In the 7th century BC, Greek sailors began to visit and build trading posts along the Côte d'Azur. Roman towns, monuments and amphitheatres were built along the Côte d'Azur and many still survive, such as the amphitheatre and baths at Cimiez, above Nice, and the amphitheatre, Roman walls and other remains at Fréjus. The fall of the Western Roman Empire in the first half of the 5th century was followed by invasions of Provence by the Visigoths, the Burgundians and the Ostrogoths. There was then a long period of wars, which in turn led to further invasions by the Saracens and the Normans in the 9th century. Provence retained its formal independence until 1480 and became part of France in 1486.
Until the end of the 18th century, the area later known as the Côte d'Azur was a remote and impoverished region, known mostly for fishing, olive groves and the production of flowers for perfume (manufactured in Grasse). A new phase began when the coast became a fashionable health resort for the British upper class in the late 18th century.
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