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Mythical routes

You’ve arrived on the Côte d’Azur. That’s great. Now let’s hit the road! Which road is that? The Mimosa, the Perfume, the Gardens, the Cinema or the Baroque. The choice is yours… Discover our selection of mythical itineraries on the Côte d’Azur!

A CÔTE D’AZUR FOR EVERYONE!

To each his own mythical itinerary…

There are those who live the Côte d’Azur exclusively in idleness, quietly enjoying its beaches and blue skies. And others who discover it at the wheel of their car, driving from town to town, through the countryside to enjoy itineraries that are 100% natural, 100% cultural or, sometimes, both! Whether they’re praising the gaiety of mimosas in bloom, the expertise of perfumers, the beauty of exceptional gardens, the genius of great painters, the heyday of the Seventh Art or the follies of the Baroque, these themed and mythical itineraries are well worth the diversions!

THE GOLDEN CITIES

The 130-kilometre Route du Mimosa is a picturesque and natural way to bring sunshine and light into your winter.

The mimosa, an Australian species that arrived on the Côte d’Azur at the end of the 19th century, is in full bloom between January and March. These thousands of tall trees, studded with a thousand golden buds, are a magical sight, warming landscapes numbed by the cold. They weave a thread that takes you from one village to the next, from Bormes-les-Mimosas, one of France’s most beautiful towns in bloom, to Grasse, the birthplace of the perfume industry, via Sainte-Maxime, Le Rayol-Canadel-sur-Mer, Saint-Raphaël, Tanneron, Pégomas and Mandelieu-La Napoule, host of the famous Mimosa Festival and its colourful floats. Discover a legendary itinerary: the Mimosa Route!

The Mimosa Route

A FEAST FOR THE SENSES!

In Grasse, one road ends and another begins: the Perfume Route!

Here, the art of Perfumery goes back a long way, to the 16th century. And it’s still alive! In Grasse, of course, home of the Musée International du Parfum (MIP) and many perfumers. In the surrounding hills, where you can visit the perfume gardens of the Isnard family, Domaine de Manon or Mas de l’Olivine (Au Pays d’Audrey). And in the surrounding towns: Mouans-Sartoux for the Jardin du MIP, a magnificent conservatory of aromatic plants, Tourettes-sur-Loup for the last violet growers, Gourdon for La Source Parfumée and Vallauris for its cooperative specialising in orange blossom.

THE GARDENS OF A PARADISE

Discover the Côte d’Azur along the lush and colourful Garden Route!

Nature can produce charming trails or, quite simply, charming images, moments of contemplation to admire the most beautiful flora when it is served by the hand of man. The Route des Jardins Remarquables de la Côte d’Azur invites you to take a bucolic journey of discovery. There are 14 different sites throughout the Alpes-Maritimes department. Among them are some veritable Edens, the pride of the communities that host them: the Serre de la Madone, one of the jewels in the crown of the famous gardens of Menton; the Gardens of the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, laid out like the deck of a transatlantic liner; and the Jardin Exotique d’Eze, perched on a 400-metre-high peak that juts sheer out into the Grande Bleue.

THE CÔTE D’AZUR BLOWS UP THE SCREEN!

After the postcard images, dare to explore the film sets with the Route du Septième Art.

Discover a new mythical itinerary on the Côte d’Azur: the Route du Cinéma! The best place to start is on the Croisette. Admire the Carlton and its beach, both immortalised in Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller The Hand in the Snare. Climb the steps of the Palais des Festivals, as the stars of the Cannes Film Festival do every May. Find the handprint of your favourite actor among the 400 casts on the “Chemin des stars”, all around the Palais.

THE CÔTE D’AZUR, LAND OF FILM SHOOTS

After Cannes, continue your tour of the Côte d’Azur’s most legendary locations in film form

Continue the film of your holiday in Saint-Tropez at the Musée de la Gendarmerie, which celebrates Adjudant-Chef Cruchot, played by Louis de Funès, and, more broadly, the cinema made in Saint-Tropez, beloved of a certain Brigitte Bardot. Finally, take a look back at some of the legendary scenes from La Main au Collet, La Piscine, Le Grand Bleu, Magic in the MoonLight, Jamais plus Jamais, le Masque de Fer, Ronin and Brice de Nice, through the narrow streets of Menton, the Citadelle of Villefranche-sur-Mer, the Promenade des Anglais, the Fort Carré, Ile Sainte-Marguerite, the Giens peninsula, Ramatuelle and the Dracénie.

BAROQUE ENCHANTMENT ON THE CÔTE D’AZUR

The ultimate mythical itinerary for a holiday full of discovery and emotion: the Baroque Route.

This route takes you through the whole of Nice, a region which, because it was Italian for so long, was fully open to this artistic style born in Rome, in the heart of the Papal City, in the 17th century. The tour starts in Old Nice with the Palais Lascaris and the churches of Gésù and Sainte-Rita. It runs alongside the sea to Menton and the Basilica of Saint-Michel. It then heads up the Roya Valley to La Brigue and its Collégiale Saint-Martin. Finally, it follows the old salt route to Sospel, a superb village at the gateway to the Mercantour, home to the Cathedral of Saint-Michel.

Discover the Baroque Route