Road Tripping XIII: The Côte d’Azur

Late June on the Côte d’Azur offers a particular kind of glamour—quiet, golden, and fleeting. The light softens, the sea calms, and time stretches between long lunches in Juan-les-Pins and late dinners in the hills above Nice. For the thirteenth edition of Road Tripping, IRMA traced a Riviera route in the Range Rover Velar P400 PHEV, a hybrid beauty as smooth as it is silent.

The journey starts in Cannes, where we live at la Californie on a hill above Cannes. Once the residences of the English and Russian society who had built their mansions and chateaux in beautiful parks to spend the winter season in the sun and now the ground for private residences still in beautiful lush parcs with tennis courts and swimming pools .
In Juan-les-Pins, the team took refuge beneath the palms of the Hôtel Belle Rives. Once home to F. Scott Fitzgerald, the hotel remains a quiet homage to Riviera elegance. Lunch lingered on the terrace with grilled dorade, thin slices of fennel, and perfectly chilled rosé. The sea, just few steps away, glinted with that particular shade of blue found only on vintage postcards. Waterski anyone?

Hôtel Belle Rives

Evenings brought a change of tempo. Inland, La Colombe d’Or in Saint-Paul-de-Vence offered a different kind of indulgence. Beneath Calder mobiles and beside Picasso sketches, dinner was both cultural encounter and culinary ritual. The restaurant—still family-owned—remains a refuge for creatives and aesthetes. The Range Rover waited patiently under plane trees, catching the moonlight on the return through the hills.
By the weekend, the rhythm of the road had become its own form of meditation. Sketchbooks filled with notes and drawings, linen dresses fluttered in the breeze, and mornings began without urgency.

La Colombe d’Or

At Zuma Cannes, nestled into the reimagined Palm Beach, Sunday evening unfolded under stars. The setting—once a playground for the 1920s elite—has been given new life. Zuma’s signature dishes—spicy tuna tartare, miso-glazed black cod—were served to a crowd that felt distinctly global. The cocktails, ginger-laced and elegantly spiced, were a match for the rising moonlight over the bay.

Palm Beach Cannes 

 

Further along the coast, the Monte Carlo Beach Club retained its reputation for refined Riviera hedonism. Reimagined by the French fashion house Jacquemus, striped parasols now line the infinity pool and the scent of pine mingles with the salty sea air.

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At La Vigie by Jondal, the culinary team brought a touch of Ibiza to Monaco. Local seafood met Mediterranean technique: octopus carpaccio, citrus-marinated seabass, and seasonal vegetables brushed in olive oil so fresh it might’ve been pressed that morning.

La Vigie by Jondal,

As the sun dipped behind the hills, the journey continued west. In Nice, the newly opened Hôtel du Couvent—a converted convent turned boutique hideaway—hosted a final dinner at La Guinguette du Couvent. The space, lit by candles and framed by arched stone, balanced restraint with quiet luxury. The aubergine mille-feuille, stacked with smoked layers and Provencal herbs, stood out as the evening’s highlight.

The last stop brought the team to Biot, where Les Arcades offered a final taste of tradition. The family-run restaurant and ceramic gallery sits beneath a canopy of vines, and the menu speaks fluent Provençal. Grilled garden vegetables, rabbit with mustard sauce, and tarte fine aux pommes closed the trip with gentle generosity.

 

On the return drive, the Velar hugged the coastal curves with elegance. This was road tripping, Riviera-style: a sequence of quiet indulgences, storied addresses, and effortless beauty.

LOCATIONS VISITED

For your next Riviera escape, IRMA recommends:

We would especially like to thank Jaguar Land Rover Deutschland GmbH for providing us with the Range  Rover Velar P400 PHEV, It was a particular pleasure to drive.