French Riviera

Top French Riviera Facts You Didn’t Know About

Cannes Estate

Top French Riviera Facts You Didn’t Know About

The French Riviera, the beautiful part of France that stretches along the Mediterranean sea which attracts millions of tourists all year around.

You probably know a bit about the French Riviera but do you know about these French Riviera facts?

Take a look and see how many of these French Riviera facts that were new and how many of these French Riviera facts that were old.

  • The French Riviera covers about 550 miles

  • The French Riviera acquired the nickname Cote d’Azur or Azure (Blue) coast in 1887

  • The population on the French Riviera is over two million

  • The largest city of the French Riviera is Nice

  • Nice airport (Nice Côte d’Azur Airport) is the third largest airport in France following behind Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport and Paris-Orly

  • The seaside coasts in France are named after precious stones. Some examples are mother of pearl coast, jade coast, and alabaster coast

  • Cannes Film festival, taking place on the French Riviera is one of the most prestigious and oldest film festivals in the world

  • The Film festival was first conceived in the 1930’s by Jean Jay

  • The inhabitants of Monaco are not legally allowed to gamble, nor enter the Casino.

  • Since gambling wasn’t allowed by the church, when the casino in Monaco was built, it was called a health spa

  • The tourist that visit the French Riviera spend close to $5 billion per year

  • The “Man in the Iron Mask” spent 11 years of his life in a prison on Île Sainte-Marguerite, an island located just right outside of Cannes. If you visit the island, you can see the cell he resided in

  • Grasse, a town located 20-30 minute from Cannes by car has been capital of the perfume industry since the Renaissance period. Here, perfumes for the world’s top exclusive brands are made

  • Monaco has the world’s highest per-capita GDP

  • Residents in Monaco do not pay any income tax

  • Jazz-à-Juan, arranged in Juan-les-Pins is the oldest jazz festival in Europe

  • Some examples of movies that have been recorded on the French Riviera are: To Catch A Thief, An Affair To Remember, James Bond movies Diamonds are Forever and GoldenEye, The Life Aquatic, Oceans Twelve, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to name a few

  • The French Riviera coastline was one of the first modern resort areas

  • In the late 18th century, the French Riviera started out as a winter health resort for the British upper class.

  • As the railway was built along the French Riviera in the mid 19th century, the Riviera became even more popular for  British, Russian, and other aristocrats, as you could travel between the different cities along the Riviera with easy – something that wasn’t possible previously

  • Today, the railway is located in the same place as it was placed when built in the middle of the 19th century, but of course, it has been modernized for faster transportation

  • The French Riviera was frequently visited by famous French artists and writers such as Picasso, Matisse, Edith Wharton, and Aldous Huxley. It was also frequently visited by many wealthy Americans and Europeans, too

  • After World War II, the French Riviera became a popular tourist destination and convention site

  • Elton John bought a humungous luxury villa on the French Riviera, located next to a castle

  • The French Riviera has roughly 300 days of sunshine per year

  • After Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier III on the French Riviera, the region became a lot more popular, because their wealthy and famous friends started spending their time there

  • The Monaco Grand Prix is one of the most, if not the most famous formula one race circuits and races in the whole formula one

  • The Monaco Grand Prix has been arranged yearly since 1929

  • 14 million tourists visit the French Riviera every year

  • On the French Riviera, you can find the most expensive house in the World by the name Villa Leopolda. The property costs $1.2 billion

  • The Monte Carlo Casino in Monaco was built in the 1800s to save the country from bankruptcy, and indeed it did, resulting in tons of revenue for the country

  • The total accommodation capacity of the French Riviera is 150,000 beds

  • 46% of hotel capacity is ranked 4 or 5 stars

  • The French Riviera has close to 180,000 secondary residences, 48,000 of which are foreign

  • 1 out of 5 visitors coming to the French Riviera are traveling “on business or for a conference”

  • The French Riviera has 15 ski resorts

  • There were 8 million entries to tourists attractions on the French Riviera, split up on

  • There were 802,156 cruise passengers during the season of 2015 on the French Riviera

  • 11 million tourists stay an average of 6.3 nights

  • There are a total of 70 million overnight stays per year on the French Riviera

  • 26% of tourists who come to the French Riviera arrive by airplane

  • 56% of tourists on the French Riviera arrive by car

  • On average, there are always 200,000 tourists present on the French Riviera

  • More than half of the stays on the French Riviera takes place outside of the summer months

  • The peak month August accounts for 14% of the stays on the French Riviera

  • 18% of foreign tourists come from Italy

  • 17% of foreign French Riviera tourists come from Great-Britain-Ireland

  • 9 out of 10 tourists say they are “very satisfied” with their stay on the French Riviera

  • Touristic expenses related to stays on the French Riviera is at a whopping €5.8 billion

  • The tourists who stay on the French Riviera generate a total revenue of €10 billion

  • The average rate of a hotel room was measured to €152 in 2014

  • 16 casinos on the French Riviera, including 4 in Monaco generated a gross profit of €264 million between 2014/2015

  • 75,000 jobs are related to tourism on the French Riviera

  • The total number of jobs generated by tourism on the French Riviera could be 150,000 if you factor in indirect employment etc.

  • 36% of tourists on the French Riviera stay in Nice

  • The Principality of Monaco welcomes a whopping 7.5 million visitors yearly

  • 3 out of 10 French tourists to the French Riviera are from Paris

How many of these French Riviera facts did you know?

Let us know how many of these French Riviera facts you knew from before in the comment section below, and how many of these were new!

Which of the French Riviera facts was your favorite?

1 Comment

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    Found your blog. We are thankful to you for sharing this important information about Top French Riviera Facts

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