CAP D’ANTIBES, France — a Colombe d’Or sits on the edge of the stone ramparts of Saint-Paul de Vence, once a Roman hill town. It is a retreat that celebrates life in the exuberance of the surroundings overlooking France’s famed Cote d’Azur.
Paul Roux and his wife, Baptistine, known as “Titine,” began the business in the 1920s as a bistro. In the early days, his mother, Marie, cooked Provencale food for the growing number of guests.
As the hotel took shape in the 1930s, Colombe d’Or became a regular hangout for such artists as Picasso and Leger, who became, in a sense, part of the family. The artists frequently paid for their lodgings with works of art, now found throughout the hotel.
Colombe d’Or (the golden dove) is almost as much a museum of modern art as it is an iconic hotel; yet, it retains a bohemian vibe and remains a family affair, passed on from Paul Roux to his son, Francis, and now run by grandson Francois and his wife Danielle.
From the outdoor patio to the venerated but tiny vaulted bar, to the swimming pool with a large Calder mobile at one end, La Colombe d’Or is an experience to be breathed deep with the hope of never having to exhale.
Our rooms are more like an apartment, with a sunken living room, large, old wooden beams in the ceiling, exquisite furnishings and beautifully tiled floors. Our corner bedroom overlooks the ramparts of the town — the restaurant’s patio garden from one window, and the open lawn at the edge of the town from the other. Men gather outside to play petanque in the afternoon.
A small hotel with 16 rooms and 10 suites, Colombe d’Or is mindful of its reputation but never allows guests to feel like they are anything but a member of an extended family. The dining room, with a large wooden beam, has several rooms off to the sides; there is a large fireplace in one room with a sitting area and an antechamber with a wooden beam ceiling overlooking the swimming pool.
Then there is the art, on every wall, in every crevice, a Picasso above a table, a Miro in the corner, a Leger beside that, a Braque above the next table, and three Calders on the wall above the fireplace. The dinner is exquisite, turbot and sea bass grilled perfectly, tantalizing escargot, and chateaubriand carved tableside and served by a staff that operates as precisely as a watch.
Cocktails before dinner in the small bar bring a traditional gathering of guests. After dinner, our first night we join Michelle “Pitou” Roux, Francois’ sister, for a discussion of the Colombe d’Or legend, with tales of Picasso, actors Simon Signoret and Yves Montand, who lived next door for years, and Calder and all the richness in life that was and is Colombe d’Or.
Saint-Paul de Vence’s 2,000-year-old ramparts remain imposing and intact, like a fortress on the hilltop. With its patchwork of narrow streets, the small village is a delight, filled with galleries of fine and lesser art, cafes and shops, and an air of the Middle Ages meeting the 21st century. The homes here are centuries old, and the city walls look down into a steep valley and out to the Mediterranean Sea several miles away.
In the morning, we have breakfast in the brilliant sunshine on the patio. The church tower in the village peals the hour. We visit the Maeght Foundation, a nearby museum of modern art with spectacular lawn sculpture and a building designed by Spanish architect Josep Lluis Sert.
We next set off for Biot, an old town famous for its glassware, where we buy flavored vinegars and olive oil at Le Mas des Oranges, Roger Rekkas’ boutique in a restored 1490 house off the main square set. We have lunch at a simple, charming local restaurant, Les Arcades, as the village bustles to life around us.
Then we drive the mountain roads on the scenic route back to Saint-Paul, through the town of Valbonne and the lovely mystical cliffside village of Tourrettes sur Loup.
Dinner that evening is at Le Saint Paul, an exquisite hotel affiliated with Relais & Chateaux in the middle of the village of St. Paul de Vence, occupying a beautiful location on the ramparts. Its Michelin-starred restaurant is a wonder of refinement and splendid cooking. Squid stuffed with risotto is outrageously good, lobster lasagna is superb, and crisp sweetbreads are prepared impeccably. The cheese course is legendary. In summer, meals are served on the sparking patio, but, it is spring, and we dine in a lovely vaulted room. Always a special place, Le Saint Paul retains an air of constant excellence in lodging and dining.
We return to Colombe d’Or, where the lively scene at the bar carries on undiminished. We sit with owner Francois Roux and reflect on how Colombe d’Or has endured through the decades. Someday it will pass to his own children, but the art will remain, a legacy never to be parted with. Few places carry the charm of legend with such ease, and authority, and authenticity.
We return to Tourrettes sur Loup to explore the lovely medieval town with cobbled streets. Just west of the town of Vence, it is built on top of a sheer cliff whose three sides make the town and cliff look like an isthmus in the sky. The 14th- and 15th-century houses tower above us. Tourrettes is filled with lovely shops and working artists, including Damien Vigroux, a potter who throws, shapes, glazes and fires his ceramics on the premises, and Ica Saez, a painter who is busy creating in her Gallerie Eponyme as she shows her and other artists’ canvases in her restored 14th-century town house. A transplanted Swede, Hans Bloom, invites us into his cliffside home, and we are in awe of what he has done with this restored former hayloft in the sky. We stop in the main square for a beer and take in the magical surroundings.
We check in at Le Chateau Saint-Martin & Spa, nestled in the hills high above Vence with grand views of the Riviera from Monaco to Saint-Tropez. This elegant Relais & Chateaux resort estate is at the base of Baou de Blanc, a butte that rises behind it. Our suite has vaulted ceilings, sumptuous decor, and a large balcony overlooking Vence and the Cote d’Azur.
A series of hotel villas cling to the hillside just above the hotel along the face of Baou de Blanc. A five-star hotel since the late ’50s, it was built on a Knights Templar site, whose ruins from the 14th century still stand on the grounds. Guests have included Elizabeth Taylor and numerous other stars, particularly during the annual Cannes Film Festival. The Saint-Martin has its own helipad.
We dine that evening in the hotel’s main dining room of the hotel, where master chef Yannick Franques arrived after working at the Hotel Bristol in Paris. Foie gras with an artichoke sauce is a revelation, and the risotto, properly slightly al dente, is like something from a dream, with mascarpone cheeses and a touch of anise. Sea bass with wild spinach, and John Dory with peas are extraordinary. Views of the Mediterranean coast at night, precision service, sublime cuisine, and a definitive Chambertin from Cote de Beaune make a memorable evening.
At breakfast, the sun dapples the hillside as we overlook Vence from the cheerful breakfast room. Today, we explore the warrens of Vence, moving down the narrow alleys of the old medieval bastion, past shops and outdoor markets, very much a working city with locals buying food, and less a tourist mecca, yet still rich in charm, galleries and restaurants. We wander into Regards, where Caroline Hauptman, a former retoucher at the Louvre Museum in Paris, is creating new works amid her other fine paintings.
We stop for lunch at La Litote, where owner and head chef Stephane Furlon has created a fabulous, if tiny, enclave of innovative cuisine: foie gras with mango chutney; lobster salad with bean sprouts and beet sauce; and black tagliolini with unshelled braised prawns. La Litote proves that amazing things can come in smaller packages and is worth the trek to Vence.
Dinner is in La Farigoule, Patrick Bruot’s charming bistro that is wildly popular with the Vence locals. Sea bass is crispy and luscious while duck breast is lean and tender. The atmosphere is bustling, and it is a treat to be the only tourists in a crowded local restaurant.
The morning is glorious as we head for Cap d’Antibes and check into the legendary Hotel du Cap, playground for the famous that since 1870 has been synonymous with the ultimate Riviera destination. The Hotel du Cap Eden Rock has 26 immaculate acres right by the sea in the most exclusive part of Cap d’Antibes. The resort is centered around a grand chateau and the wonderful oceanside hotel, Eden Roc, where we have a magnificent suite overlooking the pounding surf. Our room is like something from a Vogue magazine ad, the stunning Mediterranean stretching down the coast to Cannes in the distance.
A celebrity-packed oasis during the film festival — you name them, they stay here — Hotel du Cap lives up to its reputation as the grand dame of Riviera luxury. Picasso, Peggy Guggenheim, John F. Kennedy, Greta Garbo are a few of the names who have stayed here.
We have lunch five minutes away at Bacon, within site of the old walled seaside village of Antibes. Run by the Sordello family for more than 50 years, this Michelin-starred institution is widely known as the final word for bouillabaisse. We have a brilliant start with red mullets, crisply sauteed, a ceviche of sar (a type of sea bream), and then the bouillabaisse arrives, fabulous, definitive.
After lunch, we drive along the ramparts of the old city of Antibes. Then we while away the rest of the afternoon strolling the grounds of Hotel du Cap and watch sunset on the Cote d’Azur from our balcony.
The Mediterranean is a glistening parade of orange and red as gulls hover overhead. Dinner is in the restaurant at Eden Roc, a gorgeous room done in white lattice with large windows on the sea. The food is marvelous: pumpkin risotto, grilled foie gras and rack of veal served by white-jacketed waiters in an atmosphere of refined decadence. Gatsby would have been right at home.
The sea thunders outside and a full moon reflects off its surface while the lights of Cannes twinkle in the distance. The morning is crisp and sparkling as we breakfast on the patio of the chateau. Back in our room, we look down from the balcony at a now calming sea, a clear azure blue. Rope swings, a diving board and a boat ramp are along the rocky shore for the intrepid; above are the lovely infinity pool carved out of the rock in 1914, and an adjacent sunning area.
We visit the medieval village of Cagne sur Mer, dominated by the stark Grimaldi castle, and then spend an hour at the Renoir Museum, an estate where the artist spent his last years. This lovely property, surrounded by an olive grove, has been kept intact since his death in 1919, including the studio where he painted.
Our last dinner is in Les Terraillers, a Michelin-starred restaurant near Biot, set in a 16th-century pottery factory, with beamed ceilings and thick stone walls.
A family affair celebrating its 30th anniversary, head chef Michael Fulci has taken the reins from his parents, Pierre and Chantal, to prove that the Michelin apple never falls far from the tree. A truffle-filled zuchini blossom is flawless, and lobster with a curry bisque sauce is exceptional, but only lead up to the veal cutlets and broiled sweetbreads. With just 14 tables, Les Terraillers is a triumph of haute cuisine and impeccable surroundings.
The Mediterranean laps at the rocks outside Hotel du Cap as we depart the Cote d’Azur. From the bohemian charm of Colombe d’Or, the heights of Chateau Saint-Martin, the cliffs of Tourrettes sur Loup, the kitchens of Les Terraillers or the shores of Eden Roc, we are entranced with the beauty and heritage of the Riviera. We say au revoir to a sublime week, knowing we will return.
•••
Air France offers connecting service to Nice, France, on flights from Washington Dulles International Airport to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. The airline’s sleeper seats go to full horizontal. Air France, 800/237-2747.
La Colombe d’Or, www.la-colombe-dor.com; 33/4.93.32.80.02
Le Chateau Saint-Martin, www.chateau-st-martin.com; 33/4.93.58.02.02
Hotel du Cap, www.edenroc-hotel.fr; 33/4.93.61.39.01
Le St. Paul, www.lesaintpaul.com; 33/4.93.32.65.25
La Litote, 33/4.93.24.27.82
La Farigoule, 33/4.93.58.27.82
Bacon, www.restaurantdebacon.com; 33/4.93.61.50.02
Les Terraillers, www.lesterraillers.com; 33/4.93.65/01/59
Maison de la France, www.franceguide.com
Riviera Tourist Board, www.guideriviera.com
Le Mas des Orangers (Biot), www.lemasdesorangers.com; 33/4.93.65.18.10
Please read our comment policy before commenting.