Berlitz Pocket Guide Nice, Cannes & Monte Carlo (Travel Guide eBook)

By Insight Guides

With an iconic style and a bestselling brand, this is the quintessential pocket-sized travel guide to Nice, Cannes & Monte Carlo - now with a bilingual dictionary

Plan your trip, plan perfect days and discover how to get around - this pocket-sized guide is a convenient, quick-reference companion to discovering fun and interesting things to do and see in Nice, Cannes & Monte Carlo, from top tourist attractions like Vieux Nice, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nice, Casino de Monte Carlo, La Croisette and the Vieux Port, to hidden gems, including Palais Lascaris, Marché Forville and Iles de Lérins. 

- What to see: comprehensive coverage of the cities' attractions, illustrated with striking photography
- What to do: how to make the most of your leisure time, from local entertainment to the best activities and shopping
- History and culture: giving you a deeper understanding of the cities' heritage, people and contemporary life
- Practical tips: where to stay, dining out and how to get around: reliable recommendations and expert travel advice
- Dictionary: quick-reference bilingual language guide to help you with vocabulary on the ground
- Covers: Top 10 attractions, A perfect day/tour itinerary, A brief history, Where to go, What to do, Eating out, A-Z travel tips and Recommended hotels

About Berlitz: Berlitz draws on years of travel and language expertise to bring you a wide range of travel and language products, including travel guides, maps, phrase books, language-learning courses, dictionaries and kids' language products.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Insight Guides
• Release date: Jun 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781789199109

Insight Guides

Pictorial travel guide to Arizona & the Grand Canyon with a free eBook provides all you need for every step of your journey. With in-depth features on culture and history, stunning colour photography and handy maps, it’s perfect for inspiration and finding out when to go to Arizona & the Grand Canyon and what to see in Arizona & the Grand Canyon. 

Book preview

How To Use This E-Book

Getting Around the e-Book

This Pocket Guide e-book is designed to give you inspiration and planning advice for your visit to Nice, Cannes & Monte Carlo, and is also the perfect on-the-ground companion for your trip.

The guide begins with our selection of Top 10 Attractions, plus a Perfect Itinerary feature to help you plan unmissable experiences. The Introduction and History chapters paint a vivid cultural portrait of Nice, Cannes & Monte Carlo, and the Where to Go chapter gives a complete guide to all the sights worth visiting. You will find ideas for activities in the What to Do section, while the Eating Out chapter describes the local cuisine and gives listings of the best restaurants. The Travel Tips offer practical information to help you plan your trip. Finally, there are carefully selected hotel listings.

In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.

Maps

All key attractions and sights in Nice, Cannes & Monte Carlo are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map], tap once to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.

Images

You’ll find lots of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of Nice, Cannes & Monte Carlo. Simply double-tap an image to see it in full-screen.

About Berlitz Pocket Guides

The Berlitz story began in 1877 when Maximilian Berlitz devised his revolutionary method of language learning. More than 130 years later, Berlitz is a household name, famed not only for language schools but also as a provider of best-selling language and travel guides.

Our wide-ranging travel products – printed travel guides and phrase books, as well as apps and ebooks – offer all the information you need for a perfect trip, and are regularly updated by our team of expert local authors. Their practical emphasis means they are perfect for use on the ground. Wherever you’re going – whether it’s on a short break, the trip of a lifetime, a cruise or a business trip – we offer the ideal guide for your needs.

Our Berlitz Pocket Guides are the perfect choice if you need reliable, concise information in a handy format. We provide amazing value for money – these guides may be small, but they are packed with information. No wonder they have sold more than 45 million copies worldwide.

© 2019 Apa Digital (CH) AG and Apa Publications (UK) Ltd

Table of Contents

Nice, Cannes & Monte Carlo’s Top 10 Attractions

Top Attraction #1

Top Attraction #2

Top Attraction #3

Top Attraction #4

Top Attraction #5

Top Attraction #6

Top Attraction #7

Top Attraction #8

Top Attraction #9

Top Attraction #10

A Perfect Day In Cannes

Introduction

Architectural Heritage

Cities of Contrast

Image Makeover

A Greener Future

A Brief History

Beginnings

Counts Versus Consulats

Wars and Revolution

Winter Visitors

Reunification and Regeneration

War and Post-War

Historical Landmarks

Where To Go

Nice

Vieux Nice

Cours Saleya

Heart of the Old Town

The Colline du Château

The Vieux Port

Promenade du Paillon

Promenade des Arts

The New Town

Promenade des Anglais

Across the New Town

Western Nice

Parc Floral Phoenix

North of the Station

Cimiez

Roman Remains

Homage to Matisse

CANNES

La Croisette

The Port Vieux and Marché Forville

Le Suquet

La Croix des Gardes

Le Cannet

La Californie

The Iles de Lérins

Ile Sainte-Marguerite

Ile Saint-Honorat

Monaco

Monte Carlo

Around the Casino

Further East

La Condamine

Monaco-Ville

Exploring the Old Town

Cathedral and Aquarium

Fontvieille

A Trio of Museums

Moneghetti

Excursions

Cagnes-sur-Mer

The Musée Renoir

Mougins

The Estérel

What To Do

shopping

What to Buy Where

Food and Wine

Arts and Entertainment

Performing Arts

Rock and Jazz

Nightlife

Casinos

Sports and activities

Beaches and Swimming

Sailing and Water Sports

Diving

Golf

Gyms and Fitness

Skiing

Tennis and Squash

Spectator Sports

Children

Calendar of Events

Eating Out

Regional Specialities

Vegetable Heaven

Fish and Meat

Cheese and Desserts

Where to Eat

What to Drink

Reading the Menu

To Help You Order...

Menu reader

Restaurants

Nice

Cannes

Monaco

Excursions

Cagnes-sur-Mer

Vence

Mougins

A–Z Travel Tips

A

Accommodation (See also Youth Hostels, and the list of Recommended Hotels, click here)

Airport

B

Bicycle Hire

Budgeting for Your Trip

C

Car Hire (see also Driving)

Climate

Clothing

Crime and safety (See also Emergencies and Police)

D

Driving (See also Car Hire)

E

Electricity

Embassies and Consulates

Emergencies (see also Health and Police)

G

Getting There (See also Airport)

Guides and Tours

H

Health and Medical Care (See also Emergencies)

L

Language

LGBTQ Travellers

M

Maps

Media

Money

O

Opening Times

P

Police

Post Offices

Public Holidays

R

Religion

T

Telephones

Time Zones

Tipping

Toilets

Tourist Information

Transport

V

Visas and entry Requirements

W

Websites and Internet Access

Y

Youth Hostels

Recommended Hotels

Nice

Cannes

MONACO

Excursions

Cagnes-sur-mer

Vence

Mougins

The Estérel

Dictionary

English–French

French–English

Nice, Cannes & Monte Carlo’s Top 10 Attractions

Top Attraction #1

iStock

Colline du Château

Nothing remains of the medieval citadel, but glorious views of Nice abound. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #2

iStock

Mougins

This picture-perfect hilltop village is a must-visit for foodies. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #3

iStock

Musée Matisse

Nice is home to this unmissable collection from all stages of the artist’s career. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #4

Sylvaine Poitau/APA Publications

La Croisette

The animated seafront promenade at Cannes is perfect for watching the world go by. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #5

Shutterstock

Promenade des Anglais

The legendary footpath epitomises the elegance of Belle Epoque Nice. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #6

Sylvaine Poitau/APA Publications

Casino de Monte Carlo

The ultimate symbol of Monaco glamour since 1863. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #7

Shutterstock

Marché Forville

Cannes’ colourful feast of wonderful Riviera produce. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #8

iStock

Palais Princier

Monaco’s hilltop palace is compact and quaint with wonderful views over the coast. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #9

Shutterstock

Vieux Nice

An atmospheric Italianate maze of narrow streets and coloured campaniles. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #10

Shutterstock

Iles de Lérins

Escape the Cannes crowds and make the trip across the bay to these forested islands. For more information, click here.

A Perfect Day In Cannes

9.00am

Breakfast

Instead of having breakfast in your hotel, head to Café Lenôtre (63 rue d’Antibes, www.lenotre.com) for a croissant and a crème (milky coffee) or, if you’re on a tight budget, grab a pavement seat outside one of the boulangeries on rue Meynadier.

9.30am

At the market

Rub shoulders with top chefs while you check out the wonderful local produce – look out for courgette flowers and Mediterranean fish – at Marché Forville, one of the most animated and colourful markets on the Riviera.

10.00am

Up the hill

Walk up cobbled rue St-Antoine in Cannes’ old town, Le Suquet, and head to the Musée de la Castre to see its collections of primitive art and musical instruments. On the way, don’t forget to admire the views across the bay.

11.00am

Retail therapy

Browse the high street and designer shops along rue d’Antibes and rue du Commandant André to pick out something stylish to wear for your night out on the town.

12.30pm

Lunch

Take the boat from the port over to Ile Saint-Honorat and enjoy a waterside lunch with panoramic views across the coast at La Tonnelle restaurant (http://tonnelle-abbayedelerins.fr). Visit the Abbaye de Lérins, home to 30 Cistercian monks, and buy some of their wine, liqueurs or lavender honey to take home.

3.00pm

On the beach

Back on the continent, rent a sunbed at Zplage, the private beach of the five-star Hôtel Martinez and one of the swankiest places to sun yourself on the French Riviera. If sipping cocktails alongside celebs and the international jetset is out of your reach, head to the sandy public beach, Plage du Midi, west of the port.

7.00pm

Apéro time

Once you’ve showered and changed back at the hotel, take a stroll along La Croisette, admiring the luxury clothes and jewellery shops on the way, and turn into rue des Frères Pradignac for an apéritif on the terrace at the bar, For You.

8.30pm

Dinner is served

Take your table at Table 22 (www.restaurantmantel.com) in rue St-Antoine to try some delicious Mediterranean cuisine cooked by Noël Mantel and his Dutch wife. Fish fans can also head to Astoux et Brun (for more information, click here) near the port to savour some seafood.

10.30pm

On the town

There’s only one place to be seen partying in Cannes and that’s Le Bâoli at the eastern end of La Croisette – at least, if the doormen think you’re cool enough to get in. Otherwise, try the Sun7 Bar on rue Gérard-Monod.

Introduction

Nice, Cannes, Monaco. The three names alone evoke many of the myths of the Côte d’Azur, each endowed with grandiose architecture and spectacular natural settings: the Baie de Cannes with the backdrop of the red Estérel mountains to the west, Nissa la Bella (Beautiful Nice) sitting on the glorious curve of the Baie des Anges, or the crazy piled-up tower blocks of Monaco, clustered between sea and the white limestone crags of the Alpine foothills.

The gentle Mediterranean climate made the French Riviera a magnet for the aristocratic winter visitors of the Belle Epoque, and its quality of light attracted Matisse, Picasso, Bonnard, de Staël and countless other artists during the 20th century. Today, mild sunny winters interspersed by just a few chilly days, crisp spring sunlight and the guarantee of hot summers with an azure-blue sea continue to draw tourists from the world over.

These are active year-round cities. Nice is the administrative capital of the Alpes-Maritimes département, with a dynamic cultural scene, a growing university, a large services sector and a nearby hi-tech science park at Sophia Antipolis. Cannes glories in film-star kudos yet resounds to a busy congress schedule that is fuelled by a non-stop succession of TV producers, music industry magnates, property developers and experts in all things luxurious (the luxury shopping, tourism and yachting industries all descend here for their trade fairs). Monaco’s casinos now merely play a supporting role to the profits generated by luxury spas and financial and banking services.

Architectural Heritage

All three cities have an architectural heritage begging to be discovered. The late 16th- and 17th-century expansion of Nice below the Colline du Château gave Vieux Nice pretty much the Italianate Baroque face it still has today, with pastel-coloured campaniles, imposing Genoese-style palaces, such as Palais Lascaris, and richly decorated churches, like the Cathédrale Sainte-Réparate, the Gésu and the Miséricorde and Sainte-Rita chapels, where relatively sober facades hide interiors awash with the carving, stucco and fake marble, sculpted saints and cherubs, sunbursts and barley-sugar columns that marked the Catholic Counter-Reformation.

Cathédrale Sainte-Réparate in Nice

Shutterstock

Above all, the late 19th and early 20th centuries shaped the architectural flavour of the cities, when the Riviera developed as a chic winter destination for the European aristocracy. The Belle Epoque was marked by eclectic decoration – neo-Gothic, neo-Renaissance, neoclassical and neo-Louis XIII were all utilised in banks, hotels, casinos, villas and churches. The winter gardens of Hôtel Hermitage in Monte Carlo and the Art Deco facade of the Palais de la Méditerranée in Nice give today’s visitors a hint of what life was previously like, at least for the wealthy, in the cities’ heyday.

Cities of Contrast

Perhaps part of the appeal of all three destinations and one of the reasons they continue to fascinate are their apparent paradoxes. Palatial seafront hotels