Wander the Fascinating Stairways of Roquebrune and Villefranche

This dramatic stretch of vivid blue Monaco coast line with its chic cities, sandy beaches, craggy corniches and fishing villages has long attracted a rich assortment of actors, artists, writers and royalty to its shores.

After all, this is the home of the rich and famous – the world’s most sophisticated holiday playground.

Nowhere is the affluence of the Riviera more apparent than in the tiny Principality of Monaco, with its luxury high-rise hotels, designer shops and ports overflowing with millionaires’ yachts. The neighbouring resort of Cap Ferrat is nicknamed the ‘Peninsula of Billionaires’ with its ostentatious villas set in subtropical gardens, while nearby Villefranche-sur-Mer remains chic but surprisingly unspoilt with its picturesque natural harbour.

If it weren’t for the steep cliffs that plunge down to the sea between Nice and Menton it would easy to forget that 80 per cent of the Alpes-Maritimes is composed of mountains. The Corniches between Nice and Menton offer drivers some breath-taking scenery and the entire area is scattered with timeless villages, from remote Peille and Peillon dozing in the hinterland to Èze, a spectacular hilltop village which clings to a cliff edge above the azure sea.

http://www.monaco-tourism.com

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.