Alpes-Maritimes is a French department of PACA that is along the French Riviera. In this part of the country you can find many important towns and cities like Cannes, Nice, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, and Antibes. It is a mountainous area straight to the coast as the Southern area of the Alps is named the Maritime Alps.
Town Property Guides:
- Antibes
- Biot
- Cannes
- Mandelieu la Napoule
- Menton
- Mougins
- Nice
- Saint Jean Cap Ferrat
- Saint Paul de Vence
- Valbonne
Climate:
The average temperatures in the summer are about 28 ºC and the winters are quite mild. This part of the Alps is too close to the Mediterranean climate to offer any possibilities for skiing. Still there is a lot of precipitation and some high altitude resorts like Isola 2000 are open till the end of April. There are some other good skiing resorts in this region.
Geography:
The Alpes-Maritimes area consists of both high hills that are part of the Alps and sunny areas comprising the coasts of the Riviera. After that on the right side you will find the Italian border full of pine trees. The Alpes-Maritimes area is the place where the majestic peaks of the Alps meet the sea.
One of the best features of the area is the good provincial life that consists of healthy cuisine, cultural appreciation and after all relaxation under the sun. Close to it are positioned rose and jasmine fields. In order to make a good photo of the flowers you have to get up at sunrise before the flower pickers remove the scented heads.
The neighboring departments are Var, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, the principality of Monaco, Italy on the east, and the Mediterranean on the south.
Towns:
Some of the most famous areas are Isola 2000 that is close to Auron and the areas in the vicinity like Valberg, Beuil les Launes and Allos-La Foux, Pra Loup. There are more than 700km of ski runs 231km of which are for country ski enthusiasts. There are also opportunities for the ski mountaineers because there are 465 peaks with altitude of more than 2000m and close to the Italian border the peaks are over 3,000 m. These peaks block the moist air that comes from the Mediterranean Sea
Tourism is popular in the Côte d’Azur famous for its beaches and luxury hotels. There are great opportunities for sport like cycling, mountain biking, skiing, walking, rock climbing, canyoning, canoeing, rafting, fishing, horse riding, forests of adventure, caving. Close to this place, you can also find the first ever built via ferrata. There are also some famous paragliding and hang gliding flying sites like Col de Bleyne, Gourdon, Greolieres and Lachens.
One of the major cities is Nice – it is important transportation area and cultural and administrative capital. There you can also find high-class shopping; great restaurants with world-famous cuisine, excellent art displays, twisted old streets, fresh open market located on the promenade des Anglais which is the best place for strolling.
History:
There was a Roman province named Alpes Maritimae that dates from 7 BC. Its capital was Cemenelum, today Cimiez, located north of Nice. It was largest in 297 and then it reached Digne and Briançon, with Embrun being its capital. There was a department with similar name in France from 1793 to 1815 but with different boundaries that even included Monaco and San Remo. The department nowadays was created in 1860 when the county of Nice was annexed. In 1947 the department was extended more by the addition of Tende and La Brigue that remained Italian after the annexation in 1860.
Gastronomy:
You can also enjoy some of the best cuisines in Grasse .Gastronomy is very modern and forward-thinking. You should not be surprised if even a small hotel offers you a wonderful vegetable cappuccino before enjoying a dish of red mullet and caviar.
Useful information:
Tourism office in Alpes-Maritimes
www.francetourism.com
Maps of Alpes-Maritimes
www.ign.fr
www.maps.google.fr
Travel from the UK
By air: British Airways flies to Montpellier and Nice
Ryanair flies to Marseille, Toulon and Nice
Easyjet flies to Marseille and Nice
By rail: TGVs from Paris to Marseille and Aix-en-Provence.
Our team of sale advisers at Sextant Properties will be happy to help you to find a property in Alpes-Maritimes. We have a large network of estate agents in Alpes-Maritimes. All of them are registered French real estate agents and speak both French and English. Whatever kind of property you are looking for: farmhouse, longere, barn, gite, B&B, country house, mill, castle or chateau, we will do our best to find a property in Alpes-Maritimes matching your requirements.