A land of a great many contrasts,
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur lies in the south-eastern corner of France and borders Monaco and Italy on the east. Its six departments, Var, Vaucluse, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône, Alpes-Maritimes and Hautes-Alpes are home to about 4.5 million persons and are responsible for producing nearly two-thirds of all the nation's olives, three-quarters of its rice and half of all its edible apples.
Over-tanned wannabes, ex-film stars obsessed with yachts and fast cars and wealthy pensioners addicted to casino gambling are among the second home owners in
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Further inland from these apartment blocks and modern white villas with swimming pools of
Cannes, St. Tropez and St. Raphael, the inhabitants of the rugged scenery are consumers of a more rustic type of chic.
It is no mystery why many people desire to live in
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. The quality of life and climate of this region are certainly among some of the best in all of France. The alluring inland landscape with its dazzling rich coloured soils, which stain your feet for days on end, and stunning rock formations are a thing of beauty. Not to mention the deep gorges between the hills and mountains, or the carpets of almond groves, lavender and ancient vines and olive trees filling the fertile valleys. The pleasant and enchanting aromas of basil, thyme, rosemary, verbena, lemon and other such wild herbs can be smelt all around, making the land smell so sweet that it is no great wonder that the perfume industry in
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur is quite substantial.
Provençal cuisine is famous for its use of olive oil, tomatoes, herbs, garlic, onions, artichokes, and sweet and hot peppers. Vegetables are often fried or baked to produce dishes such as ratatouille. Fish and shellfish - tuna, monkfish, sea bass, sardines, red mullet, and anchovies - are commonly accompanied by raïto or rayte which is a tomato, red wine, garlic and walnut sauce. Renowned fish dishes include bouillabaisse which is stew-soup with scorpion fish, gurnet, eel, and other fish, in a broth of saffron, fennel, garlic and bitter orange peel, and always served alongside garlic mayonnaise. Slow cooked stews such as daube and estouffade are usually beef or mutton based and go well with the Vinsobres, Chusclan, Cairanne and Vacqueyras red wines, and even a fine white such as a Laudun. The Côtes du Ventoux can also be counted upon for some very good reds and rosés.
The economy in
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur is quite good with salaries averaging the second highest salaries in all of France. The capital city of the region,
Marseille and its satellite cities are host to several hundred companies in areas such as computing, business services, logistics and industry.
Cannes and Nice are cities of Riviera culture, while
Aix-en-Provence and
Avignon provide culture as well as academic excellence.
Though a lovely place to live,
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur has the disadvantage of being very expensive to live in, not to mention the extremely high property prices. The coastal parts of the region are also very heavily populated, with packed beaches, traffic-clogged towns and full bastides particularly in the summer months when tourism peaks. The pretty villages of
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur are suitable for a second home as they are picture postcard locations.
