The French Riviera, a festival on the Croisette

For over thirty years, the Barbossi Riviera Golf Club in Mandelieu, designed by Robert Trent Jones, has enjoyed an exceptional, undulating setting, set back from the beaches, with a view of the Esterel hills. The architect adapted his layout to the terrain, nestling it between palm trees, cork oaks, umbrella pines and the Riou de l'Argentière, which winds its way through the fairways. The elegant 18th fairway leads back to the clubhouse, where you can enjoy lunch on the Arbre jaune terrace, which enjoys more than 300 days of sunshine a year.

At Golf de Saint-Endréol, the fairways wind around the foot of the Roquebrune rock, on sun-drenched Provençal soil. Between umbrella pines, cypresses, cork oaks and clumps of strawberry trees, Michel Gayon's layout follows the contours of the land. The highlight of the round is the 13th, a par 3 plunging down to an island green set in the bed of the Endre, a tributary of the Argens. One of the most photographed holes in France! More reasonable, less emotional, the end of the course climbs back up to a clubhouse where the view of the Esterel massif and the table are enchanting.

At the heart of the Club Med estate, the Golf de la Tour d'Opio, designed by Cabell Robinson, is short and fun. It adapts to the relief of the Alpes Maritimes between olive trees, pine trees and rocky terrain. With six pars 3 and three pars 4, there are very few cards in the par where the design gives pride of place to the short game. There's plenty of scope to try and plant the flags, while betting on birdies at the aperitif!

Where to stay?



A charming hotel, the Ermitage de l'Oasis**** faces the Bay of Cannes and the Lérins Islands. This Provencal bastide with its 36 rooms and suites is an invitation to relax, indulge and feel good. The Spa at L'Oasis combines the art of pampering with the benefits of Sothys expertise, the latest LPG technologies and the virtues of balneotherapy and the infrared sauna: a haven of well-being waiting to be discovered! The Bistrot de l'Oasis, the hotel's restaurant, and the Boutique de l'Oasis showcase the wines, olive oils and honeys produced on the estate - the bees feed on the flowers of the maquis - while the Logis d'Azur, in the Ermitage gardens, displays collections of works of art throughout the year.

Situated between Provence and the Côte d'Azur, Domaine de Saint-Endréol stretches over 150 hectares around the eponymous golf course. With 50 rooms and a family-friendly rental residence, a spa, fitness room, swimming pools and tennis courts, not to mention Marc Wynen's excellent table, everything is in place for a pleasant and comfortable stay. Between the rock of Roquebrune and the Estérel massif, the scents of Provence also help you get away from it all.

Tourism

Saint Tropez, the Verdon gorges

A charming little port on the Côte d'Azur, Saint-Tropez shot to fame with the arrival of the New Wave artists in the 1950s. Since then, the craze for this Provençal village has never stopped. While Brigitte Bardot remains the muse of these shady, winding streets, from the Citadelle to the Place des Lices, the world's rich and famous often make headlines here, with their nabobs and nymphettes...

The yachts moored in front of Sénéquier, the famous café with the red banner, are an outward sign of wealth! A party town par excellence, Saint-Tropez returns to its tranquil, gentle way of life from autumn through to spring, before enjoying new and ever more frenzied feasts in the summer months...

Much quieter, the Verdon gorges are a narrow valley 25 km long, almost 700 metres high in places, offering exceptional views from its upper ledge, which has become a must-see for tourists looking for a thrill. If you can avoid the summer rush, the valley floor is an impressive place to walk, cycle or canoe, facing a vast expanse of mineral rock forged in the Tertiary era.

Climbing enthusiasts will also find plenty to enjoy along the steep limestone walls. Other extreme sports such as paragliding, rafting, canyoning, bungee jumping from the Chaulière bridge and base jumping have all found their feet in this magical setting. In spring, fly fishermen tease the trout in the silence disturbed by the flight of the birds of prey that watch over this thousand-year-old valley.

Gastronomy

Originally from Liguria, pissaladière has become a Provençal speciality by extension. Even if the recipe changes from village to village, the basic ingredients remain the same from Genoa to the Var. Bread dough, onions fried in olive oil, anchovies, black olives, baked in the oven... Simple, effective and inexpensive! Some people replace the anchovies with sardine fillets or poutine - a macerated fish fry known as pissala in Nice. This onion tart is part of all the festivities and celebrations throughout Provence.

In the 1950s, a Polish pastry chef who had emigrated to Provence settled with his family in the village of Saint-Tropez. In 1955, during the filming of Et Dieu... créa la femme, his sugar brioche filled with crème pâtissière - a recipe from his grandmother - delighted the entire film crew, led by Roger Vadim and Brigitte Bardot. That was all it took to give birth to the Tropézienne, an end-of-meal sweet that would win over the whole world. Made in Saint-Tropez!

Heritage

In 1950, having survived the Holocaust, Alec and Francine Weisweiller bought a villa on Cap Ferrat. The house soon became a meeting place for artists, patrons of the arts and celebrities, with a carefree atmosphere and frequent parties. Madeleine Castaing, a friend of the couple, decorated the house. In Paris, Francine met Jean Cocteau, who was directing Les Enfants Terribles. She invited him to spend the holidays at the Villa Santo Sospir on the Côte d'Azur. As the walls of the living room were white and sporting activities were not her cup of tea, he suggested she decorate them.

It wasn't long before the whole house was transformed by the artist's pencil strokes. ‘It wasn't necessary to dress up the walls, just to draw on their skin, which is why I treated these frescoes like tattoos, with very few colours...’ Cocteau had taken advice from a number of artists. Cocteau had consulted Henri Matisse before taking the plunge. Invited as a neighbour from Mougins, Pablo Picasso supported Cocteau in this mural work, contenting himself with painting the doors. Now a listed building owned by a wealthy Russian family, the house has been saved and can be visited by appointment.

A man of the sun, Pablo Picasso adopted the Côte d'Azur towards the end of his life. In 1961, he left his château in Vauvenargues, facing Mont Sainte-Victoire, and moved to Mougins, where he had just bought the mas Notre-Dame-de-Vie, in the heart of the garrigue. He made it his studio, where he created until his death. He painted, sculpted, modelled clay - everything was subject to his talent. He was bulimic with work. Jacqueline, his young wife, looked after him until his last breath. Late in the morning of 8 April 1973, the ‘Sun of God’, as she called him, passed away... He leaves behind an immense body of work, a colossal fortune, an imperishable memory!

Event

In 1981, following a night-time challenge between two skippers, the Nioulargue was born in the Bay of Saint-Tropez. In 1999, the event, which had grown to bring together several hundred boats in late September and early October, became the Voiles de Saint-Tropez.

The craze has never left this gathering of sailors and billionaires, who battle it out on the water before feasting at the table, where water is not a priority... On the water, old rigs, mahogany hulls sometimes a hundred years old with gleaming fittings, rub shoulders with ultra-modern vessels in composite materials, packed with technology, but the spirit remains the same as on the first day: fair play on the water, the atmosphere on land. Rendezvous from Friday 29 September to Sunday 8 October 2023 for the 25th Voiles de Saint-Tropez.