Finding Inspiration on France's Côte d’Azur
- Danielle Dybiec
- 13 minutes ago
- 5 min read
This summer the South of France is an especially popular destination for my clients! One of my repeat clients is traveling solo from the InterContinental Marseille Hotel Dieu (where I can secure room upgrades at time of booking) to Nice today, where she'll stay for her day trip adventures to the Maeght Foundation and Saint-Paul-de-Vence plus the charming towns of Eze and Menton. And this morning, a honeymoon couple arrives in Marseille to begin their adventures through Provence (Aix-en-Provence, lavender fields, Châteauneuf du Pape wine region, Luberon villages, Avignon) before continuing to Antibes as a base to explore Nice, Eze, Monte Carlo, and St. Tropez, where their sun loungers are already reserved and waiting at a beach club.
Next month, a family arrives on Bastille Day for a few days in Marseille at the InterContinental Marseille Hotel Dieu too before a week in Bandol at a boutique, beachfront resort with wellness vibes. In August, another honeymoon couple will fly into Marseille to luxuriate in Cassis at the waterfront resort Les Roches Blanches, where I stayed last year and fell in love with this property.
The fun continues into the fall when a married couple journeys through Provence to Nice, not to mention the spring travelers who already returned home from the South of France this year. What's the appeal of this region? There's something for all my clients who love art, architecture, hidden gems, small villages, history, gastronomy, and the azure Mediterranean Sea with a particularly literary legacy.
Virtuoso article below by Todd Plummer from 5/23//2025 can be found here.
In honor of The Great Gatsby’s 100th anniversary, here’s a love letter to some of the author’s favorite places and sources of inspiration on the Côte d’Azur.
In 1924, F. Scott Fitzgerald brought his wife, Zelda, and their daughter, Scottie, from Long Island, New York, to the South of France in search of inspiration. He certainly found it. On the sunbaked Côte d’Azur, between days at the beach and Champagne-drenched evenings, Fitzgerald finished The Great Gatsby, his third novel, which would become one of the Jazz Age’s most enduring works. Although it’s set in New York, the novel draws deep inspiration from the French Riviera; this year, on The Great Gatsby’s 100th anniversary, that tony slice of France’s Mediterranean coast remains as enticing as ever. For as much as the iconic region has changed over the years, it’s still possible to summer there à la the Fitzgeralds, visiting the couple’s original haunts, as well as newer places that evoke timeless Riviera vibes. You might just catch a lingering glimpse of Fitzgerald’s influence, like sunshine through a glass of rosé.
Where to Eat and Drink
Meals on the Côte d’Azur are an experience. One of the region’s most famous spots is La Colombe d’Or, a few miles inland from the coast in the twelfth-century medieval town of Saint-Paul-de-Vence, one of the Riviera’s oldest. Visitors love La Colombe, which has been open since 1920, for its lively terrace and impressive art collection; Scott and Zelda themselves spent long evenings here sipping Champagne beneath paintings by Matisse and Calder.
For seaside dining, ask your Virtuoso travel advisor to book lunch reservations at La Guérite, a restaurant and beach club on Île Sainte-Marguerite, accessible only via boat (15-minute ferries run frequently from both Cannes and Golfe-Juan, next to the village of Juan-les-Pins). La Guérite’s well-heeled patrons look like they were plucked from Jay Gatsby’s social circle, eating lobster as they watch the Riviera’s grandest yachts pull into the marina.
Come evening, the writerly thing to do would be to watch the sunset and pull out the typewriter. Instead, channel Jazz Age-era glamour in Monaco, about 12 miles east of Nice. Fitzgerald’s journal entries recall nights spent at the Casino de Monte-Carlo with Zelda. Next door, dinner at Le Louis XV – Alain Ducasse in the Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo evokes the 1920s, with servers pushing trolleys of Champagne and cheeses.
What to Do and See
During the day, it’s all about soaking up the sunshine. The Fitzgeralds favored Ruhl Plage, a private club in Nice that’s been ushering guests to seaside daybeds since 1904. In Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, six miles east of Nice, the pale-pink Villa et Jardins Ephrussi de Rothschild, opened in 1912 by baroness Béatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild, is filled with her extensive collection of rare art and furniture. Its manicured gardens overlooking the Med are considered some of France’s most remarkable (it’s an ideal spot to pretend you’re one of Fitzgerald’s lovelorn antiheroes). In Antibes, a beloved antiques market on Thursdays and Saturdays on the place Nationale is a great place to pick up vintage souvenirs, while the nearby Picasso Museum, once the artist’s studio, bears testament to the French Riviera’s vast, diverse artistic history.
Where to Stay on the French Riviera
Located in one of the villas that F. Scott Fitzgerald and his family rented in Juan-les-Pins, the 43-room, art deco Hôtel Belles Rives still evokes 1920s mystique. Its picturesque jetty is one of the Riviera’s best spots for diving into the sea or watching the sailboats race by during June’s annual Voiles d’Antibes. The hotel’s aptly named Fitzgerald Bar is celebrating The Great Gatsby’s 100th anniversary with a lineup of live music. Virtuoso travelers receive breakfast daily, a $100 dining credit, and chairs on the property’s private beach.
When it opened in 1913, the belle epoque Carlton Cannes attracted jet-setters with its white-glove service and exclusive beach club. Over a century later – and thanks to a recent two-year renovation – the 332-room grande dame is still the center of the action. Virtuoso travelers receive breakfast daily and a $100 resort credit.
Though The Luxury Collection’s Hôtel du Couvent only debuted in 2024, the Fitzgeralds would have likely been drawn to the 88-room property like Jay Gatsby to a green light. Housed in a former convent in Nice, Couvent hosts three restaurants, Roman baths, and a local artisan market on Saturdays. Virtuoso travelers receive breakfast daily and a $100 resort credit.
While the Côte d’Azur has grown in popularity since its Gatsby era, travelers staying at the Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat, a 74-room Four Seasons retreat perched at the tip of the Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat peninsula, won’t hear a peep from the crowds. Its famous Club Dauphin pool showcases views from Nice to Monaco, and fine-dining Le Cap is home to some of the Riviera’s most coveted tables. Virtuoso travelers receive breakfast daily and a $100 resort credit. ng together with your loved ones!
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Nine Muses Travel designs journeys to inspire artists, arts lovers and the culturally curious.
Danielle Dybiec
Founder & President
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