• Medieval Village
• Ateliers & Galleries
• World Famous Art Collection

St. Paul de Vence is a classic rendition of the famous Provençal perched villages. Perfectly preserved, and set within the ramparts lies a maze of tiny cobbled streets filled with galleries and art studios. This celebrity village was first ‘discovered’ by Bonnard, Modigliani, and others in the 1920s. Since then, many of the rich and famous have flocked to St. Paul. The local museum displays photos of some of these visitors, such as Simon de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, Francis Scott Fitzgerald, Catherine Deneuvre, Sophia Loren, Greta Garbo . . . Many of whom slept and dined at the Colombe d'Or auberge. Today it has an incredible 20th century art collection built up over the years from struggling artists who paid with their paintings in lieu of money. The collection includes works by Miró, Picasso and Braque. You can dine here also (but book well ahead) and enjoy the famous artwork, or a more humble option is lunch at one of the picturesque cafes in the village.

The Fondation Maeght is a short walk from the village. Here you will find one of the best private collections of modern and contemporary art in the world. Painters and sculptors collaborated with its creation so that art, building and garden are entirely integrated: the Giacometti courtyard, Miró labyrinth, Chagall mosaics. . . The collection and setting make it a must see for art lovers from around the world. The main street runs from the 13th century entrance gate of Porte Royale, past the Grande Fontaine to the Porte Sud, which looks out to the cemetery where Chagall, the Maeghts, and Escoffier rest in peace in this beautiful spot overlooking the sea and terraced countryside. At Sunlight Properties, we have some exquisite villas with gardens and lovely views of the famous landscape available to rent in this area for your next holiday.

A short distance from St. Paul de Vence is the town of Vence. It has a lovely old cathedral and has long attracted artists including D.H. Lawrence. The Porte de Peyra, which dates from 1441 is the entry to the Old Town. In the place du Frêne is a giant ash tree. You can also see the Chapelle du Rosaire decorated by Henri Matisse as a thank you to the nuns who nursed him through an illness. The cathedral is one of the smallest in France and is situated beside the former site of the forum of the Roman city Vintium.

Château Musée Grimaldi in Haute de Cagnes is the fortress built by the Grimaldi family in 1309 and withstood centuries of sieges before becoming a palace for Baron Grimaldi in 1620. It now houses an eclectic mix of museums, from modern art to olive trees. Close by is the Renoir museum where Renoir lovers can visit the home where he spent the last 12 years of his life in Haut de Cagnes. The Domaine des Collettes is a beautiful house surrounded by orange and olive groves. It was designed by Renoir to his own specifications with carefully framed views from every window. You can take Bus 400 from the centre of Nice to St. Paul de Vence in about 1 hour; visit the bus network site for further details: www.lignesdazur.com.

• Beautiful Old Towns
• Boating Mecca
• Lively Atmosphere

• Glamorous & Sophisticated
• Great Shopping
• Beautiful Bay

The British Lord Chancellor, Lord Brougham was responsible for initially putting Cannes on the map, when back in 1834 it was a simple little fishing village. He was on his way to Nice and stopped here, fell in love with the climate and built a villa. He managed to convince King Louis Philippe to contribute two million francs towards the construction of the harbour wall. This encouraged the first wave of English aristocracy and helped make Cannes what it is today – a resort for the rich and famous.

At the Western end is a charming little square which hosts a flower market in the morning and games of ‘Petanque’ in the afternoon. Further inland rue Meynadier leads to the Marché Forville where you can buy a host of different fresh produce. This is where you can also find ‘Le Suquet’ or the old town of Cannes, which features at the top the castle erected by the monks of Lérins in the 11th and 12th centuries. Home to the most famous film festival in the world – where all the stars, their entourage and fans descend in May; yet only 30 minutes by train from your holiday rental apartment in Nice. Click here to view our selection.

Walk along the famous palm tree lined boulevard de la Croisette that borders the Bay of Cannes and see the Carlton Hotel featured in the wonderful film with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly – ‘To Catch a Thief’. Along the Croisette are luxury hotels, restaurants and shops and also fine views of the Esterel hills beyond the bay. Sunlight Properties is fortunate to have a selection of luxurious apartments and villas in Cannes and the surrounding hills for you to rent for your next holiday in the South of France, click here to view.

Just five minutes from Cannes is Vallauris, where Picasso made his home for a while and is a pilgrimage spot for Picasso lovers. There is an enormous collection of his pottery that the town itself is also famous for; as well as the Musée de la Ceramique Moderne dedicated to local contemporary ceramics and pre-Columbian. The Musée Magnelli has a collection by this important pioneer in abstract art. Vallauris is a pleasant place to wander around; the place du Marché was the spot chosen by Rita Hayworth and the Aga Khan to marry. This is where can also be found Picasso’s famous stature ‘Man and Sheep’. The town had wanted to move this stature to a museum however Picasso insisted that it stay put in the square “where the children could climb over it and the dogs water it unhindered”.

A short boat ride from Cannes, can be found the magical islands known as the Iles de Lerins. The two islands are separated by a narrow strait and were once the most powerful religious centre in France. One of the islands, St. Honorat, is named after a Gallo-Roman saint who founded a monastery here in the 4th century. The second island Ste. Marguerite, was named after his sister who following in her brother’s footsteps set up a nunnery. Its fort is famous for being the prison that held the ‘Man in the Iron Mask’, who spent 11 years incarcerated here in the 17th century. The eucalyptus and pine scented islands couldn’t be more contrasting from the glitz and glamour of Cannes.

Further along the coast is the Château de la Napoule in Mandelieu la Napoule set on Pointe des Pendus (Hanged Man's Point), the Château de la Napoule is a fascinating mix of Gothic, Moroccan, Romanesque, as well as the bizarre elements added by its eccentric owner – the American sculptor Henry Clews. Clews, along with his wife turned this 14th century castle into the reality of their fantastic imaginations. The couple died in the 1930s and are entombed in the tower crypt. The windows were deliberately left open to allow their souls to escape and to then "return at eventide as sprites and dance upon the windowsill."

You can take Bus 200 from the centre of Nice to Cannes in about 1 ½ hours, visit the bus network site for further details: www.lignesdazur.com.

• Perfume Capital of the World
• Stunning Countryside
• Peace & Quiet

A charming old town with some excellent museums, but what Grasse is famous the world over for, is perfume and the flowers that are produced here to make it. You can visit Molinard, Fragonard and Galimard – perfume houses with a long and inimitable reputation. You can see and smell the fields of flowers as well as the place of alchemy where nature is turned into wonderful scents. Learn how perfume is made, you can also make your own fragrances and all products are sold at factory prices. You can create your own fragrances in the garden of your very own rental holiday villa situated in the countryside of Grasse, click here to view our beautiful properties.

Grasse was once a famous resort attracting the likes of Queen Victoria and Napoléon’s promiscuous sister, Princess Borghese. You can get to Grasse by train in only 1 hour from your Sunlight Properties holiday rental apartment in Nice. You can also take Bus 500 to Grasse in 1 ½ hours from the centre of Nice, visit the bus network site for further details: www.lignesdazur.com.

Only 8km north of Cannes, the once fortified town of Mougins is over 1000 years old, but has probably never been so popular as a place to enjoy the good life as in recent years - a charming hilltop village filled with galleries, art studios, cafes, excellent restaurants and surrounded by forests and parks. Picasso who could afford to live anywhere in the world elected to live in a beautiful property nearby this picturesque town, which is renown for its excellent cuisine. Other famous residents have included Fernand Léger, Isadora Duncan and Christian Dior.

It is the quintessential French village: stone houses lovingly preserved, wooden shutters, flower baskets, fountains, cobbled streets . .  The chapel is worth a visit. In summer the colours and smells are truly magical. You can also take Bus 600, which operates between Cannes (the stop is at the main terminal beside the train station) and Grasse stopping at Mougins along the way. It takes about 20 minutes. The bus doesn’t go directly to the old town of Mougins, but stops just outside so there is a 10 minute walk up the hill. Visit the bus network site for further details: www.lignesdazur.com.

Biot was a Gallo-Roman settlement and has an interesting war torn history. This medieval village set slightly inland on a high point in the landscape was once home to the Knights Templar, with some of their fortifications remaining today, one being the Porte des Migraniers. The church is worth a visit for its 16th century paintings. The town is famous for glass blowing as well as pottery. Local sands supply the raw materials for the distinctive Biot glass, which is robust with little air bubbles.

At La Verrerie de Biot you can view the craftsman manufacturing glass in the same fashion they have been doing for centuries. The Museum of Fernand Leger is found here and has the greatest collection of artworks by this important artist. Most of the collection was gifted to the state by his wife. There are also some excellent Michelin star restaurants, a Bonsai museum, and pleasant walks in the nearby countryside. Biot is about 1 hour from Nice on Bus 200 (for Cannes). It stops at the Biot train station, you can then take a local bus the 5 minutes to the centre of the town.