Situated seven kilometres to the west of Saint Tropez lies the seaside town of Port Grimaud. Whilst the town of Saint Tropez was becoming internationally renowned as being a ‘playground for the rich and famous’, Port Grimaud had not even been built.

It was in the 1960s when architect Francois Spoerry created Port Grimaud based around the marshes of the River Giscle on the bay of Saint Tropez and an eclectic mix of Venetian-style channels and French ‘Fisherman’s’ houses.

This virtually car-free town quickly became known as being a ‘private lagoon pleasure city’, with a waterway for yachts parked at the bottom of every garden. So exquisite did Port Grimaud soon become that it was only the likes of Joan Collins who owned a house here.

Port Grimaud has maintained its desirability to the well-heeled members of society and has kept its popularity with the world’s yachting elite. In light of its lack of cars and commitment to being a ‘private lagoon pleasure city’, chartered psychologist Graham W Price set up ‘Training and Sailing’ holidays in Port Grimaud.

During the one-week holiday, guests will have the pleasure of sailing on a 50 foot Beneteau Oceanis yacht with a qualified skipper. They will sail to the wonderfully exclusive nearby town of Saint Tropez and they will be will inspired by staying in a comfortable ‘fisherman’s Cottage’ overlooking the beautiful Mediterranean Ocean sparkling in the sun.

Graham Price’s holidays ‘Training and Sailing’ holidays in Port Grimaud are designed to enable guests to eliminate stress, regret, worry, frustration, procrastination and a host of other limiting thoughts and feelings.

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Being a hotspot for the rich and famous, the lavish town of St Tropez, adjoined by immaculately pebbled beaches, is naturally home to a hive of chic and stylish wine bars.

With tastefully decorated wine bars beckoning a well-to-do clientele through their doors existing on every corner of this fashionable French Riviera town, knowing which the best of an exceptional bunch is, is a difficult task to achieve.

To help one make their arduous decision of where to rest their feet in St Tropez, weary from a day relaxing on the beach, shopping or perhaps walking down the stunning Promenade des Anglais, in order to be rejuvenated by sipping the finest champagne on the French Riviera, Facconable has located three of the most seductively irresistible wine bars in St Tropez.

La Maison Blanche Champagne Bar

La Maison Blanche Champagne Bar located in the Place des Lices, is a bar that is typical of St Tropez. Despite being built at the beginning of the 20^th century, La Maison Blanche never fails to exude a contemporary style and a romantic spirit, perfect for a pre-dinner drink.

The bar is awash with white walls, a white floor and white furniture surrounding an 18^th century fountain, with music gently playing in the background, and serving only the finest vins and champagnes found on the French Riviera.

Nikki Beach

With the likes of Prince Albert of Monaco, Bono and George Michael seen propping up the bar here, this swanky beach club is one of the ‘hippest’ places to be seen in in the whole of St Tropez.

St Tropez’s Nikki Beach follows on from the huge success of the Nikki Beach in Miami, where zillionaires, A-listers and billion-dollar yacht owners head to in their droves. Naturally the drinks at Nikki beach are as grand as its décor, reputation and clientele.

Les Caves Du Roy

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‘Savon de Marseille’ is one of the world’s most popular and well-known soaps, which is as popular today as it once when it was originally created many centuries ago. Being made from a delicate blend of water from the Mediterranean Ocean and the region’s finest olive oil, ‘savon de Marseille’ really epitomises the essence of the city of Marseille and the Cote d’Azur – luxurious, refined and brimming with natural beauty!

This height of luxury soap dates back more than 600 years when the first documented soap maker of the Cote d’Azur province reportedly created Marseille soap.

The soap rapidly became a symbol of wealth and taste across France, and so popular had it become, that in 1688, King Louis XIV, otherwise known as “King Louis the Great”, inaugurated regulations so that the name ‘savon de Marseille’ could not be used anywhere but in Marseille and its surrounding areas.

By the early 20^th century production of the Marseille soap had reached a phenomenal 180,000 tons a year, and in 1924 there was a total of 132 soap-making factories in Marseille and the Cote d’Azur, all churning out the sweet-smelling soap in abundance.

Modern day varieties of the Marseille soap boast little differences since the original production of the world-famous cleanser.

The Cote d’Azur’s distinct cuisine comprising of lashings of olive oil remains, since antiquity, one of the main ingredients of the Marseille soap and the one that gives the soap its feeling of both lavishness and delicateness.

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La Promenada de la Croisette is one of the most prominent boulevards in Cannes. Stretching for two kilometres along the Mediterranean shoreline, La Croisette is a hub of well-heeled existence.

With designer shops, five-star hotels,, the Palais des Festivals et des Congres, and, of course, being the location of the Cannes Film Festival, La Croisette embodies every meaning of the word ‘glamour’ – No wonder La Promenada de la Croisette is listed in the cultural heritage general inventory of France!

Whilst one cannot fail to be seduced by La Croisette’s blatant exquisiteness  as soon as they step on to one of the most prosperous boulevards in the whole of France, the history of la Croisette remains less apparent, which is a shame, because, like its vibrant and pulsating aesthetics, the promenade’s history is equally as effervescent.

This stunning boulevard is overlooked by the medieval castle of De La Castre Museum, which was built at the end of the 11^th century in order to defend the rapidly prospering town of Cannes. The castle has managed to retain its most prized possession, the Romanesque Sainte-Anne chapel and cisterns.

De La Castre is now home to the Musee de la Castre, which houses many ancient and treasured artefacts and paintings from all over the world.

The birth of La Promenada de la Croisette began in the 19^th century and was built on a former coastal path known as “chemin de la petite croix” – the “Path of the small cross.”

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When one closes their eyes and thinks of the Cote d’Azur, beautiful, long sandy beaches, lapped by turquoise and crystal-clear waters, immediately spring to mind. Although these scenes of serenity are quickly followed by images of casinos, Lamborghinis with their hoods down, champagne on ice, five-star hotels, and scantily-clad people donning to-die-for bodies.

There is, however, a lesser known side of the Cote d’Azur that often goes almost overlooked.

The Maritime Alps region offers the perfect backdrop to contrast with the glam and the glitz of the Cote d’Azur coastline.

Throughout the Maritime Alps area there is more than 6,500 km of marked trails, which take walkers, nature-lovers, cyclists, or anyone wanting to exchange the glitziness of the Cote d’Azur with compelling natural beauty, though some sensational unspoilt landscapes.

A 30-minute drive will take you from the notoriously cosmopolitan cities of Nice, St-Tropez and Monaco, into the heart of the Maritime Alps, where the natural scenery diverges profoundly to the French Riviera’s towns and cities and the air becomes notably fresher.

With an abundance of lakes and rivers entwining through the forests, mountains, meadows and trails, the Maritime Alps region is home to a hub of activities for outdoor adventure seekers.

From trekking through the mountains on horseback, to white water rafting on a cascading river, to rock climbing up a precariously vertical cliff face, life in these beautiful mountains seems like a million miles away from the breath-taking extravagance of the Cote d’Azur’s towns and cities.

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