Alexander in Egypt, Lisbon in Portugal, Florence in Italy, Germany’s Berlin and St. Petersburg in Russia, these cities have got one thing in common – they have all at some point been referred to as being ‘Cities of Art’.

Perched in the fresh air on the hills between Nice and Antibes, the flower-lined town of Vence has also been cited as being a ‘City of Art’.

Bursting with sweet-smelling orange trees, aromatic flowers and olive trees in all directions and with a walled old town that is a sphere of medieval buildings with five ancient gateways known as “portes”, that looks virtually the same now as it did hundreds of years ago, it is not difficult to engage why Vence has attracted artists, writers and poets for centuries.

In the 12th century, Pierre Vidal, a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry  referred to Vence as “Le doux repaire” – “The sweet nest”. In the 13^th century, Italian poet and moral philosopher, Dante Alighieri, included the Lord of Vence, Romeo de Villenueve in his Paradise. Matisse, Soutine, Dubuffet and Dufy all spent time in Vence, working on artistic creations during some point of their careers.

The English novelist, poet, painter and playwright, D.H. Lawrence, spent the last days of his life on the Cote d’Azur in the town of Vence and died here in 1930. The legendary writer was actually buried in Vence for a short while, before his body was exhumed and taken to New Mexico.

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In 1956 a 21-year-old Bridgette Bardot visited Picasso at his studio in Vallauris, Cannes, during the Cannes Film Festival. Many photographs of the stunning French actress, who in 1956, was at the height of her ‘beauty’, ‘demand’ and ‘fame’, were taken during her meeting with Picasso in Cannes and are yet more proof of Bardot’s life-long love-affair with the Cote d’Azur.

Similar to Bridgette Bardot, Pablo Picasso also had an extremely publicised magnetism with the Cote d’Azur and the legendary Spanish artist lived thee for many years. During his time living on the Cote d’Azur, Picasso jumped from Antibes in 1946 to Vallauris in 1947 to Cannes in 1955, where he bought the magnificent 19^th century “La Villa California”, to Mougins in 1961, where the painter died in 1973.

Living in the various towns on the Cote d’Azur, Picasso reportedly experienced many love stories – both romantically and artistically and it has been described that it was the Cote d’Azur which exuded the ‘creative intensity’ from within Picasso and ‘pushed his genius and formidable love of life’.

If you too , like Bridget Bardot some 56 years ago, have yearnings to experience a touch of Picasso in the painter’s most inspirational of places, then visiting the ‘Picasso, les chemins du sud’ exhibition in Cannes is most definitely recommendable.

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Fancy visiting a truly unique and inspiring art exhibition in France this summer? If so, then let us draw your attention to two major exhibitions taking place at the ‘Villa Arson’ in Nice this summer.

‘Ben signe Nice’

You may or may not have heard of a movement known as Fluxus. If you haven’t heard of Fluxus, then it’s a name derived from the Latin meaning ‘to flow’, and is used to describe a network of composers, designers and artists from around the world, which in the 1960s, were noted for combining and blending various artistic disciplines and media.

It is within this premise that the ‘Ben Signe Nice’ exhibition has been crafted, which marks the 50^th anniversary of the Fluxus movement. From July 1 until October 28 2012, ‘Villa Arson’ is home to a temporary boxing ring, which is identical to the ring set up in Cologne in the ‘Happenings and Fluxus’ exhibition of 1970.

The boxing ring will be surrounded by various artworks and objects and various performances will take place in the ring to which the public can go and watch.

‘A la vie deliberee’

Also running from July 1 until October 28 2012 is ‘A la vie deliberee’ exhibition, which looks at the history of performance on the Cote d’Azur from the 1950s until the present day.

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From painters, poets, writer and sculptures, over the centuries the Cote d’Azur has attracted many an artistic genius to its lands. Filmmaking is another artistic genre that has been drawn to this sensational region of southern France.

The late David Lean was one such film director who was unable to resist the unique charms of the Cote d’Azur. The English firm producer and screenwriter, who is best remembered for his legendary screen epics, including Lawrence of Arabia (1962), A Passage to India (1984) and Doctor Zhivago (1965), owned an idyllic luxury retreat on the French Riviera known as Moulin du Jardinier.

The story goes that Lean fell in love with the derelict 15^th century ruin, tucked away inconspicuously within a seven-acre garden in Mouans-Sartoux, a medieval town desirably located between Grasse and Cannes. Lean’s love affair with the ancient ruin allegedly began whilst the filmmaker was working on the screenplay for Nostromo in St Paul de Vence.

Lean restored the mansion to a standard that has been described as ‘almost clichéd Provencal beauty’, with its old walls scattered with wines.

Internally Lean’s Cote d’Azur retreat is said to merge baronial chic with bohemian opulence, being vast and open-plan where grand stone archways separate mighty rooms with staggeringly high ceilings where the eye is drawn to extravagant chandeliers. A huge canopy in the house is believed to pay homage to David Lean, which sits beside a mural of the snow palace from Dr Zhicago.

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