As the southern Spanish city of Malaga was the birthplace of Pablo Picasso it is only ‘right’ that Malaga’s ‘best loved son’ has a museum in his honour.

Being the ‘art capital of Spain’, Barcelona also rightly houses a ‘Museu Picasso’ that is home to one of the most extensive collections of artworks by the 20^th century Spanish painter and reveals the artist’s relationship with the Catalan capital, which was shaped by adolescence and youth.

Being the ‘art capital of France’ is it equally as justifiable why Paris boasts the ‘Musee National Picasso Paris’, which has been labelled as being ‘one of the world’s finest museums consecrated to the work and life of Cubist artist Pablo Picasso.’

There is another Picasso Museum situated in the less major but utterly exquisite town of Antibes on the Cote D’Azur, proof of just how much the French Riviera meant to the painter and vice-versa.

Picasso and the Cote d’Azur have enjoyed a reciprocal fascination ever since the famous Spanish painter moved to Vallauris in 1947. Almost 40 years following Picasso’s death, exhibitions in celebration and honour of the artist are held regularly in the place that Picasso fondly admitted, inspired him to most.

Located in the Grimaldi Chateau, the Picasso Museum Antibes opened in 1966 and houses an impressive collection of Picasso’s works from the 20^th century, including much of what the artist donated to Antibes in the 1940s as a means of saying thank you to Antibes for enabling him to be so artistically inspired.

Since it was opened this fascinating Picasso museum has been extended and modified and is now home to the works of other major artists, including Miro, De Stael, Cesar, Dezeuze and Atlan

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So you want to start married life in style? Then taking your honeymoon on the Cote d’Azur will certainly mean that starting your adventure as being ‘Mr and Mrs’ will begin stylishly, eloquently, luxuriously, not to mention utterly romantically.

With its romantic sunsets setting upon the Mediterranean gently bobbing multi-million pounds yachts in the many world-class marines, with first-rate restaurants providing truly exquisite cuisine in the most amorous of settings, and kilometre after kilometre of delicately soft sand, inviting couples to sink in to and spend the day relaxing, yes it’s safe to announce that the Cote d’Azur is a honeymooner’s paradise.

Whilst there is plenty of first-rate accommodation for newly weds to stay in on the Cote d’Azur, one place stands out particularly in providing the bride and groom with the luxury, passion and exclusivity they are yearning on their honeymoon.

Located perfectly between two of the Cote d’Azur’s most glamorous and exclusive cities Cannes and Monaco, is the Michelin star luxury hotel known as Le Mas Candille, five-star accommodation that is a favourite retreat of many a celebrity.

Being a member of the Relais and Chateaux group, a collection of some of the best restaurants and hotels throughout the world, creating world-class cuisine from some of the most highly-acclaimed and sought-after chefs, one would expect the food, service and ambience of Le Mas Candille is nothing short of perfection.

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In spite of the popular image of the Cote d’Azur being a sunbather’s haven with beautiful sandy beaches and bays providing the perfect place to relax, sunbath, swim and snorkel, the nearby mountains that provide a stunning backdrop for the French Riviera’s coast, are just crying out to be explored, particularly in the summer.

If we’ve managed to persuade you do exchange your bikini and towel for the hiking boots and helmet and head to the Cote d’Azur’s most tranquil, beautiful and natural of regions, then you may want to take a look at three great ‘white knuckle’ activities available in the Cote d’Azur ‘quieter side’, which certainly aren’t for the faint hearted.

Potholing

Being lowered into a deep hole amongst the cliffs may not be everybody’s vision of what constitutes a relaxing break on the Cote d’Azur, but for those who dare, potholing in the French Riviera Mountains would be a truly exhilarating and unforgettable experience.

This underground adventure playground, made from mud, water and rock is there to be explored.

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Haute-couture has, for decades, been a prominent feature of the Cote d’Azur’s most affluent and dizzyingly cosmopolitan cities and towns, such as St. Tropez, Monte Carlo, Cannes, Nice and Monaco, although predominantly in a fashion sense.

Yes, you certainly don’t have to walk far in the Cote d’Azur’s most glamorous towns before your eyes meet an elegant-looking individual dressed head to toe in the height of haute-couture fashion.

The haute-couture fashion this stretch of southern France has become seemingly irrevocably renowned for quickly moved into other walks of Cote d’Azur culture, including furniture, interior design and arts and crafts.

But have you ever heard of haute-couture cuisine?

In typical avant-garde fashion, Monaco is leading the way in the emerging concept of haute-couture cuisine, with one man in particular pioneering this new gastronomic scene on the Cote d’Azur – Paolo Sari, a dynamic and youthful Italian chef.

In combining the authentic and traditional Mediterranean cuisine the Cote d’Azur masters so effectively, with an exotic and teasing mix of cuisines and tastes from across the globe, Sari looks set to redefine cuisine in Monaco.

Sari, who has already earned himself a reputation as being a top, world-class chef, has been awarded with the privilege of being head chef of Monte Carlo Beach’s top restaurants – Le Deck, Sea Lounge, Restaurant Elsa and La Vigie.

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In the 1800s, Monte Carlo wasn’t the glamorous, luxurious, fine dining and unparalleled shopping and entertainment, the ‘Las Vegas of Europe’ is world-renowned for today.

On the contrary, in the 1800s the town of Monte Carlo was a much quieter, passive and less well-known part of the Cote d’Azur. In fact, so ‘quiet’ was Monte Carlo, that in the 1870s, Prince Charles III, the Prince of Monaco and Duke of Valentinois, due to a lack of cultural diversions available in Monaco, decided to open an opera house.

What is known as the Salle Garnier was opened in 1879 and was originally Prince Charles III’s private theatre, reserved only for himself and his family.

The design and construction of the Salle Garnier was carried out by the legendary French architect Charles Garnier, best-known for designing the Palais Garnier, one of the most famous opera houses in the world and a powerful symbol of Paris. The Salle Garnier was an exact replica of the Palais Garnier in Paris, although an albeit scaled down version, having just 524 seats.

In 1879 the first opera was performed at Monte Carlo’s Salle Garnier, the French composer of songs and operettas, Robert Planquestte’s Le Chevalier Gaston.

Throughout the twentieth century many great opera performers played at the Salle Garnier, including Feodor Chaliapin, Nellie Melba and Enrico Caruso and Monte Carlo quickly gained a reputation as being a thriving hub of opera sensations. Whilst the Salle Garnier’s “Golden Age”, which occurred in the early twentieth century, may have passed, today the legendary opera house still boasts a thriving production calendar, presenting between five and six operas a season.

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