Did you know it ?
The name “Côte d’Azur” is due to the French writer Stephen Liegeard (1830-1925) and his book the Côte d’Azur published in 1887. Born at Dijon, he was a lawyer, a sous-préfet then a MP under the Second Empire before dedicating himself to literature: he used to live in a villa in Cannes where he spent winter.
Contemplating the Mediterranean sea, he got the idea to create the name “Côte d’Azur” when thinking of his Côte d’Or birth region. (azur meaning blue while or means gold).
Both Alpes-Maritimes and Var departments, the synonym of sweetness of life, paradoxically occupy a quite harsh natural zone: complex mountains entanglement, narrow and deep inner valleys, winds and heavy rains.
The alpine massif (Southern Alps) covers the Côte d’Azur eastern part up to the sea limiting access to neighboring Italy. It continues towards west with the beautiful Estérel and Maures massifs.