BACK WITH MORE OF THE BEST OF EUROPE.

THIS TIME, IT'S YACHTS, CASINOS, AND FANCY VILLAS.

FUN IN THE SUN ON THE FRENCH RIVIERA.

THANKS FOR JOINING US.

IN EUROPE IS HERE ON THE COTE d'AZUR,

OR THE FRENCH RIVIERA.

AND AFTER SOAKING UP MORE THAN OUR SHARE OF SUN, WE'LL SEE

HOW THIS GLITTERING STRETCH OF FRANCE'S MEDITERRANEAN COAST

OFFERS MORE THAN JUST A FIRST-CLASS BEACH BREAK.

BUT DON'T GET ME WRONG.

WE WILL ENJOY THE BEACH, FROM HIGH-END RESORTS

TO HIDDEN JEWELS OF THE COTE d'AZUR.

WE'LL WANDER THE GARDENS OF A 19th-CENTURY VILLA,

ZIP UP THE CORNICHE

TO SEE A TROPHY OF THE CONQUERING ROMANS,

REFLECT ON THE LIGHT AND COLOR OF MODERN MASTERS,

GO POSH WITH THE GLAMOUR SET,

RELAX IN ANTIBES

AND THEN FEAST ON BOUILLABAISSE.

WHEN EUROPE HEADS FOR THE BEACH,

IT OFTEN ENDS UP ON THE SOUTH COAST OF FRANCE,

THE COTE d'AZUR.

WE'LL START IN NICE,

CHECK OUT VILLEFRANCHE AND CAP FERRAT,

RACE OVER TO MONACO,

VISIT CANNES

AND FINISH IN ANTIBES.

IN THE 19th CENTURY, ARISTOCRATS FROM LONDON TO MOSCOW

FLOCKED TO FRANCE'S SUNNY COTE d'AZUR, OR BLUE COAST.

MUCH LOVED FOR ITS BLUE SEAS AND BLUE SKIES,

THIS WAS THE PLACE FOR NORTHERN EUROPEANS

TO SOCIALIZE, GAMBLE AND ESCAPE THEIR DREARY WEATHER.

WHETHER YOU'RE RICH OR NOT, NICE,

WITH ITS ETERNALLY ENTERTAINING SEAFRONT PROMENADE

AND FINE MUSEUMS, IS THE ENJOYABLE

BIG-CITY HIGHLIGHT OF THE RIVIERA.

IN ITS TRAFFIC-FREE OLD CITY, ITALIAN AND FRENCH FLAVORS MIX

TO CREATE A SPICY MEDITERRANEAN DRESSING.

NICE MAY BE NICE,

BUT IT'S HOT AND JAMMED IN JULY AND AUGUST.

WE'RE HERE IN EARLY JUNE,

BEATING THE SERIOUS HEAT AND CROWDS.

THE BROAD PROMENADE des ANGLAIS,

LITERALLY, THE "WALKWAY OF THE ENGLISH,"

WAS PAVED IN MARBLE

FOR BLUE-BLOODED 19th-CENTURY ENGLISH TOURISTS

WHO WANTED A SAFE PLACE TO STROLL AND ADMIRE THE VIEW

WITHOUT GETTING THEIR SHOES DIRTY

OR SMELLING THAT FISHY GRAVEL.

TODAY, IT'S A FUN PEOPLE'S SCENE

WITH A BIKE AND ROLLER BLADE PATH

THAT LEADS ALL THE WAY TO THE AIRPORT.

THE BEACH, WHILE PEBBLY, IS POPULAR.

WHETHER YOU'RE LOOKING FOR AN ADRENALINE RUSH

OR JUST WORKING ON YOUR SUNTAN, THIS BEACH HAS IT ALL.

TAN LINES CAN BE HARD TO FIND

AS EUROPEANS ARE RELAXED ABOUT TOPLESS SUNBATHING.

WHILE MAJOR STRETCHES OF THE BEACH ARE PUBLIC,

MUCH OF IT IS PRIVATE, WHERE YOU PAY TO RENT A SPOT,

COMPLETE WITH MATTRESS, LOUNGE CHAIR AND UMBRELLA.

FOR A PARTICULARLY SCENIC LUNCH,

YOU CAN EAT ON THE BEACH.

I'M HAVING A salade niçoise, THE HEARTY LOCAL STANDARD

WITH ANCHOVIES, TUNA, HARD-BOILED EGGS

AND TASTY LITTLE niçoise OLIVES.

GRACEFUL BUILDINGS FROM THE TURN OF THE LAST CENTURY

LEAD IN FROM THE BEACH, REMINDERS OF THE Belle Epoque,

LITERALLY, "THE BEAUTIFUL AGE,"

WHEN THE WORLD SEEMED TO REVOLVE AROUND THE UPPER CLASS

AND INDULGENCE WITH ABANDON WAS A LIFE-STYLE.

NICE'S GRAND OPERA HOUSE

ILLUSTRATES THE BEAUTIFUL EXTRAVAGANCE OF THIS ERA.

IMAGINE THIS OPULENT JEWEL

BURIED DEEP IN THE OLD TOWN OF NICE WAY BACK THEN.

WITH EUROPE'S ELITE WINTERING HERE,

THE ROUGH-EDGED TOWN NEEDED SOME HIGH-CLASS ENTERTAINMENT.

A PRIME EXAMPLE OF Belle Epoque LUXURY

IS THE MAJESTIC HOTEL NEGRESCO.

IT OFFERS SOME OF THE CITY'S MOST EXPENSIVE BEDS

AND A CHANCE TO STEP BACK

INTO THAT AGE OF EXTREME REFINEMENT.

THE EXQUISITE ROYAL SALON COMBINES Belle Epoque GRACE

WITH ENGINEERING BY THE GREAT FRENCH ARCHITECT GUSTAV EIFFEL.

THE CHANDELIER IS MADE OF 16,000 PIECES OF CRYSTAL.

IT WAS BUILT IN FRANCE FOR THE RUSSIAN CZAR'S MOSCOW PALACE;

BUT, BECAUSE OF THE BOLSHEVIK REVOLUTION,

HE COULDN'T TAKE DELIVERY.

MANY OF NICE'S EARLY VISITORS WERE RUSSIANS,

AND THE CITY'S RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH CLAIMS TO BE THE FINEST

THIS SIDE OF THE VOLGA.

FIVE HUNDRED RICH RUSSIAN FAMILIES WINTERED IN NICE

AND NEEDED A WORTHY ORTHODOX HOUSE OF WORSHIP.

CZAR NICHOLAS THE SECOND GAVE THIS CHURCH

TO THE RUSSIAN COMMUNITY HERE IN 1912.

A FEW YEARS LATER, RUSSIAN COMRADES,

WHO DIDN'T WINTER ON THE RIVIERA, SHOT HIM.

HERE IN THE LAND OF OLIVES AND ANCHOVIES,

THE CHURCH'S PROUD ONION DOMES SEEM OUT OF PLACE.

BUT, I IMAGINE, SO DID THOSE RUSSIANS.

[ Orthodox choir singing ]

THE INTERIOR IS FILLED WITH ICONS AND CANDLES.

THE ICON WALL

DIVIDES THE TEMPORAL WORLD OF THE WORSHIPPERS

FROM THE SPIRITUAL WORLD BEHIND IT.

THE ANGEL, WITH RED BOOTS AND WINGS,

IS THE PROTECTOR OF RUSSIA'S RULING ROMANOV FAMILY.

THE HAMMERED-COPPER CROSS COMMEMORATES THE MASSACRE

OF THE CZAR AND HIS FAMILY IN 1918.

THE ICON OF THE VIRGIN AND CHILD

IS DECORATED WITH SILVER AND SEMI-PRECIOUS STONES.

A PRIEST HERE TOLD ME THAT, AS THE WORSHIPPER MEDITATES,

STARING DEEP INTO THE EYES OF AN ICON,

HE ENTERS A LAKE, WHERE HE FINDS HIS SOUL.

NICE WAS BORN ON ITS EASY-TO-FORTIFY HILL.

FROM THERE, AND INLAND FROM THE BEACH,

SPREADS ITS COLORFUL OLD TOWN.

THE OLD TOWN SQUARES FEEL MORE ITALIAN THAN FRENCH BECAUSE,

UNTIL 1860, NICE WAS RULED BY AN ITALIAN KING.

UNTIL THE MID-1800s, THE PEOPLE HERE SPOKE AN ITALIAN DIALECT.

STREET SIGNS ARE STILL IN TWO LANGUAGES

AND PASTA IS STILL A FAVORITE.

NICE'S ITALIAN RULERS LIVED IN THIS PALACE.

AS THE MODERN NATION OF ITALY WAS BEING CREATED,

THIS REGION WAS GIVEN A CHOICE:

JOIN THE CHAOTIC NEW COUNTRY OF ITALY,

OR JOIN WEALTHY FRANCE, WHICH WAS ENJOYING GOOD TIMES

UNDER THE RULE OF NAPOLEON THE THIRD.

THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE VOTED TO GO FRENCH, AND voilà.

THE OLD TOWN OFFERS

A CULTURAL SCAVENGER HUNT OF OPPORTUNITIES.

FROM ITS MEDIEVAL MARKET SQUARE WITH FRESH SEASONAL PRODUCE,

TO A PASTA SHOP SHOWING NICE'S ITALIAN ROOTS,

TO THE NEARBY PATISSERIE AUER.

ITS Belle Epoque STOREFRONT BRAGS THAT IT'S BEEN RUN

FROM FATHER TO SON SINCE 1820.

QUEEN VICTORIA SATISFIED HER SWEET TOOTH RIGHT HERE.

Socca, A THIN CHICKPEA CREPE,

SEASONED WITH PEPPER AND OLIVE OIL,

IS A PEASANT'S STAPLE PREDATING TOURISM

THAT'S STILL DEAR TO LOCAL HEARTS.

AT THIS BUSY STAND, THE socca ARRIVES BY MOTOR BIKE,

HOT OUT OF THE OVEN, AND IT'S SOLD AND GOBBLED UP

AS QUICKLY AS THEY CAN SLICE IT.

FLOWERS SEEM TO GROW EFFORTLESSLY AND EVERYWHERE

IN THIS IDEAL CLIMATE.

THIS HAS LONG BEEN

THE RIVIERA'S BIGGEST FLOWER MARKET.

FRESH FLOWERS ARE A FINE VALUE IN THIS OTHERWISE PRICEY CITY.

AND WITH SUCH AN ABUNDANCE OF FLOWERS,

IT'S NO WONDER PERFUME IS A LOCAL INDUSTRY.

THE MOLINARD FAMILY HAS BEEN MAKING PERFUME

FROM COTE d'AZUR FLOWERS FOR A CENTURY.

PERFUME IS DISTILLED LIKE COGNAC

AND THEN AGED LIKE WINE.

IT TAKES MORE THAN 400 POUNDS OF LAVENDER

TO PRODUCE JUST ONE QUART OF PURE ESSENCE.

FOR THE FRENCH,

FINDING JUST THE RIGHT PERFUME IS A PERSONAL QUEST.

BECAUSE SO MANY GREAT 20th-CENTURY ARTISTS

CHOSE TO LIVE AND WORK HERE, THE RIVIERA IS STUDDED

WITH WORLD-CLASS MODERN ART MUSEUMS.

HENRI MATISSE, MARC CHAGALL, PABLO PICASSO AND MANY OTHERS

RAVED ABOUT THE REGION'S LIGHT AND VIVID COLORS.

THEY WERE CHARMED BY THE SIMPLE LIFE-STYLES

OF FISHERMEN AND VILLAGERS.

THE ARTISTS' COLORFUL AND SEMI-ABSTRACT WORKS

REFLECT THE SLEEPY, MORE DREAMY RIVIERA

BEFORE ALL THE DEVELOPMENT HIT.

THEY SETTLED HERE IN THE SUN

AND PAINTED WITH WIDE-EYED WONDER.

THE MATISSE MUSEUM OFFERS A FASCINATING INTRODUCTION

TO MODERN ART INSPIRED BY THE FRENCH RIVIERA.

HENRI MATISSE OPENED A WINDOW ONTO PARADISE.

ARMED WITH THE BRIGHT COLORS OF THE IMPRESSIONISTS,