Linger in Antibes Bustling Massena Market and Chic Juan-Les-Pins

The Cannes coast boasts some of the finest golden sandy beaches of the Riviera and some of its most celebrated resorts, including Cagnes with its fashionable race course; the major yachting haven of Antibes; and glitzy Cannes – famed for its International Film Festival.

The region has been blessed with more than its fair share of beautiful scenery and treasures. Gastronomy reigns supreme at Mougins and Villeneuve-Loubet, and celebrated art galleries abound, including Musée Renoir at Cagnes, Musée Picasso at Antibes and Foundation Maeght in St-Paul-de-Vence. After all, this is the cradle of impressionism, and the surrounding countryside is painted with all the vivid colours of Picasso, Renoir and Matisse.

Picture-postcard villages such as Biot, Fayence and Tourrettes-sur-Loup, rich in local arts and architecture, bear witness to an eventful past. Ornamental fountains splash in the sleepy squares while villagers play boules under shady plane trees. At Grasse, the perfume capital of the world, the air is filled with all the scents of Provence, while the surrounding countryside is striped with neat rows of lavender, stretching like mauve corduroy across the landscape towards olive groves, scented fig trees and fragrant garrique scrubland.

Richard Reeves is the founder of Essential Sailing and if you have been inspired to relax on a luxury sailing holiday, why not make this idyllic world your reality.