When you are travelling along the exquisite, beautiful and luxurious coastline of the Cote d’Azur, one dominant feature stands out at virtually all of the harbours and quaysides – the vast amount of elegant super-yachts that can be seen gently bobbing up and down on the crystal clear waters of the Mediterranean Ocean.

Super-yachts and the Cote d’Azur have long been associated and luxury yacht charter companies which specialise in Luxury Yacht Charters for the many exclusive events that are held on the Cote d’Azur throughout the year, including the Cannes Film Festival and the Monaco Grand Grand Prix are bountiful on this stretch of coastline.

Contributing to the vibrant and world-leading luxury yacht scene the French Riviera has become renowned for is Monaco Marine, which is based around the slogan, ‘Pleasure is a serious matter’.

In a recent press release issued by Monaco Marine it was announced that the super-yacht charter and refit company has gained a foothold in Antibes in the Cote d’Azur by taking over the super-yacht refit yard Antibes Marine Chantier.

The acquisition means that Monaco Marine has extended its network of five shipyards to six, the others being dotted across the South of France in Monaco, Beaulieu Sur Mer, Saint Laurent du Var, La Ciotat and Cogolin.

In obtaining a new shipyard in Antibes, Monaco Marine has undoubtedly strengthened its existence in the Provence Alpes Cote d’Azur region, a place where luxury yachts and super-yachts are in high demand.

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Mightily dominating the crossroads of Saint Tropez, Cannes and Monaco is Chateau Diter, a magnificent Neo-Renaissance relic situated on the hills just to the south of Grasse. Sat among a preserved and verdurous rapture of trees, gardens and hills, blessed with the most splendid of views of the property’s orchid, olive groves and park, this extraordinary spectacular castle truly epitomises the essence of its advantaged position close to three of the Cote d’Azur’s most wealthy, elite and regal of towns.

The castle itself is a construction of Italian architectural chef-d’oeuvre, representing approximately 4500 metres squares of accommodation of the most lavishness. With arches and columns resonating a Roman marvel and with the ceilings and walls throughout the castle having been painted by several Italian fresco painters, Chateau Diter is at the apex of flamboyant and luxury accommodation even on the Cote d’Azur.

This opulence and grandeur of its interior drifting seamlessly into the exterior where antique ornaments, ancient sculptures, stunning ornamental ponds, inner courtyards encircled by Roman columns, thematic gardens and many extensive and immaculately kept lawns, create a harmonious embodiment of the unique charm and grandeur of the French Riviera.

This incarnation of the Cote d’Azur elatedness is heightened even further with the two helicopters landing pads on the property, which allow 11 landings per day, a high tech security and audio system which consists of 132 loud speakers and the three huge and stately swimming pools that enhance the castle’s recreational and relaxing activities.

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When we think of the Cannes Film Festival, images of Ginger Rogers, Elizabeth Taylor and Diana Dors sipping the finest champagne among a star-studded Palais des Festivals et des Congres, may spring to mind, with us mere imaginers of the ‘world’s most glamorous film festival’, being right to visualise scenes of hedonism, glamour and almost unimaginable wealth taking centre stage at what is irrefutably one of the world of movies most highly acclaimed annual events.

In fact since it first began in 1946 the Cannes Film Festival quickly became one of the world’s most prestigious movie events and being ‘invitation only’ has always attracted a wealth of media and public attention.

Although in spite of its seven-decade monopoly of being globally acclaimed as being a swanky Cote d’Azur “schmoozathon”, has the famous Cannes Film Festival and its “finely contoured head” about to be knocked off its pedestal in the film-festival-prestige stakes?

Hot on the Cannes Film Festival’s heels in the glamour recompenses, is the New York Film Festival. This highly prestigious annual event was founded in 2002 by  American film producer Jane Rosenthal, Hollywood actor Robert De Niro, and the American philanthropist and real estate investor, Craig Hatkoff, in response to the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York.

The eleventh Tribeca Film Festival took place in April this year, generated approximately $600 million and drew in an estimated three million people.

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Without wanting to sound like a cliché, the village of Gordes truly is a hidden gem on the Cote d’Azur. Built into a rock and clinging cosily to the face of a cliff, Gordes’ presence cries out a million tales and legends.

Whilst the beauty and overall charm of many of the villages and towns on the Cote d’Azur is augmented by the narrow cobbled streets that climb, wind and descend through a labyrinth of marvels, delights and treasures, the cobbled streets of Gordes, which gently coil past tall stone houses, stunning architecture, picturesque squares, until they finally reach the zenith of the village’s assets – a castle standing proudly atop the hill, keeping a watchful eye over the Gordes’ villagers and equally as beautiful Luberon valley in the distance.

This impressive castle was originally built in the tenth century and was rebuilt in 1525, and brings together a unique amalgamation of architecture from the medieval period and hints of a more contemporary Renaissance period. The inspiring castle is now home to Gordes Town Hall and the Pol Mara Museum, in honour of the late Flemish painter, Pol Mara.

Pol Mara died in 1998 and spent much of his life living in Gordes, where he was inspired by the beauty of the village and its surroundings. Although a visit to the Pol Mara Museum is not for the physically unfit, as to experience the museum in its most splendid form, one is required to climb a spiral Renaissance staircase that leads to the top of the castle, where one can then begin a transfixing chronological tour of the life and work of this extraordinary painter.

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The Cote d’Azur is home to a throng of jaw-dropping mansions and listed houses, which, being set in acre upon acre of impressive regal grounds and containing so many huge rooms with imposingly high ceilings, you are frightened that if you don’t keep up with the house’s guide you may get lost, for the majority of us humble mortals, a guided-tour around these mansions are the best we can hope for.

Whilst for most, the prospect of owning our own grade-listed mansion on the Cote d’Azur is almost second to none, there are certain design steps we can take to create a house that is resonant of a Cote d’Azur manor – Here’s how!

Balance the contemporary with rustic

According to a recent report in the Globe and Mail, Canadian expatriates, Max and Trudy bought a villa recently on the French Riviera. What the couple liked most about the villa was that, despite being 200 years old, situated in the ancient stone hills above Provence, it combined a charming mix of contemporary and rustic.

This ‘Cote d’Azur look’ can be achieved even if your home isn’t 200 years old, has six or more bedrooms and is located above Provence. Placing things like false wooden beams on the ceilings with give a room a ‘rustic’ character and make it look considerably older.

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