- Where to go to sunbathe?
- Weather features of a beach holiday in France
- Cote d'Azur beaches
- From French cinema
- Useful information
Do you really think that a beach holiday in France is just luxury yachts, diamonds and a movie star party? But no! Homeland of the best fashion designers, architectural masterpieces and open cabriolets with a lion on the grille, racing along the Cote d'Azur with the breeze, can offer its services to budget travelers. There are also quite budget hotels on the French Riviera, restaurants - not only Michelin-starred ones, and the Mediterranean Sea equally affectionately tickles the heels of millionaires, students, and just romantics.
Where to go to sunbathe?
The best beach resorts in France are concentrated on the French Riviera. This is the name of the Mediterranean coast, which stretches for three hundred kilometers from Toulon to the border with Italy:
- The largest French resort Nice offers vacationers pebble beaches, a developed tourist infrastructure, interesting museums and multi-brand shopping centers. From here you can quickly get to the Italian Riviera, which plays into the hands of fidgets and fans of educational recreation.
- In Cannes, you can take a star-style photo on the Croisette and, by renting a luxury yacht, sail the Mediterranean waves on it. Or take an excursion on a pleasure boat to the Lerensky Islands, on one of which the prisoner "The Iron Mask" languished.
- Antibes looks rather modest in comparison with its famous neighbors, but it is here that you can catch the unique charm of the Middle Ages and at the same time enjoy the vibrant nightlife. Beach holidays in France in Antibes hotels are chosen by travelers who are not too fond of a certain stiffness of Nice or Cannes.
- Juan-les-Pins is usually accompanied by the epithet "fashionable". This French resort is loved by the "golden" youth and other fans of chic and glitz.
Weather features of a beach holiday in France
Popular beaches of the Cote d'Azur already in early May are filled with those who profess the cult of the sun and the sea. The air temperature at the end of spring reaches a stable + 25 ° С, and the water warms up to + 18 ° С. By July, the thermometers reach + 30 ° С, but the heat is tolerated very easily thanks to the dry air and fresh winds blowing from the sea. The swimming season lasts until the end of October, when the air and water temperatures become almost equal and reach a comfortable + 22 ° С.
Cote d'Azur beaches
In the photo of any beach on the French Riviera, there is certainly a sea and sky merging into endless blue on the horizon, and snow-white yachts, whose masts are intertwined at sunset with long shadows from pine trees:
- Nice is famous for its small pebbles within the city limits and sandy cozy beaches in the eastern part of the bay. The public free beach is equipped with showers and changing rooms with toilets, and for using the private one you will have to pay about 20 euros.
- Almost all beaches in Cannes charge admission fees, except for the public one near the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès.
- In the resort of Antibes, you can find both pebbles and sand, because local beaches stretch for more than twenty kilometers along the Mediterranean Sea. Fans of outdoor activities will like it here: the resort has five ports for organizing water activities. Antibes offers jet skis and scooters for rent, diving and snorkeling equipment, parasailing and fishing on yachts.
From French cinema
Bohemia prefers beach holidays in France in Saint-Tropez. His views often flicker in films, where the leading roles are talentedly played by Alain Delon, Pierre Richard and Brigitte Bardot.
The resort is surrounded by pine groves, and its sandy beaches have won the Blue Flag certificate more than once. Artists and movie stars stroll along the embankment in the evenings, seafood is served in restaurants, and shoppers do not miss the moment to buy branded tropezienki slippers, invented by local craftsmen.
The main attractions for the curious are the Butterfly House, which has a collection of several thousand specimens of beautiful insects, and the 16th century citadel with panoramic views of the bay.
Fans of fun will book Saint-Tropez tours for September, when they can take unique photos at a traditional sailing regatta or during the legendary Porsche Car Parade.
Useful information
Nice can hardly be called a budget resort and a full lunch or dinner in the local restaurants is unlikely to cost less than 50 euros for two. The cheapest shopping can be found in the mall near the airport. It is called CAP 3000 and offers to visit about 150 of its stores from 10 am to 9 pm, six days a week, except Sunday.
It is convenient to travel around Cannes and the suburbs by city bus, the fare of which is about 1.5 euros.
It is difficult to call Antibes budget restaurants, but there are nice cafes on the local market, where Mediterranean dishes are prepared quickly and inexpensively.
The best place to entertain young travelers is at the Marineland Aquarium in Antibes. In addition to a 30-meter tunnel, where sharks swim in a glass tube overhead, and nightly performances, a huge pool is popular, in which killer whales, dolphins and sea seals perform.
Despite the fame of one of the most expensive, the Juan-les-Pins resort is quite accessible even for families with a thoughtful approach to travel arrangements. There are quite budget restaurants on the shore with perfect menus, and the possibilities for children's entertainment are almost endless. In addition to the butterfly park, young tourists can visit the oceanarium, and at the children's sailing school they will be happy to teach them the basics of catamaran and windsurf management.
