There is no official boundary, but it is considered to be the coastal area of the Alpes-Maritimes department , extending from the rock formation Massif de l'Esterel to Menton , at the France—Italy border , although some other sources place the western boundary further west around Saint-Tropez or even Toulon.
The Principality of Monaco is a semi-enclave within the region, surrounded on three sides by France and fronting the Mediterranean. Riviera is an Italian word that originates from the ancient Ligurian territory of Italy, wedged between the Var and Magra rivers. When the Mistral Northwest and the Tramontane North winds are blowing in the Languedoc and Provence areas, the temperature of the Mediterranean can be very cool in summer. This phenomenon is observed very little or not at all on the coast between the French Riviera and the Italian Riviera.
This coastline was one of the first modern resort areas. It began as a winter health resort for the British upper class at the end of the 18th century. In the summer, it also played home to many members of the Rothschild family. After World War II , it became a popular tourist destination and convention site. Many celebrities, such as Elton John and Brigitte Bardot , have homes in the region. Officially, the French Riviera is home to nationalities with 83, foreign residents, [ 4 ] although estimates of the number of non-French nationals living in the area are often much higher.
A second airport at Mandelieu was once the region's commercial airport, [ 7 ] but is now mainly used by private and business aircraft. The A8 autoroute runs through the region, as does the old main road generally known as the Route nationale 7 officially now DN7 in Var and D in Alpes-Maritimes. The French Riviera has a total population of more than two million. It is home to a high tech and science park French: technopole at Sophia-Antipolis north of Antibes and a research and technology centre at the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis.
The region has 35, students, of whom 25 percent are working toward a doctorate. Some sources put the western boundary at Saint-Tropez. Ripley , Patricia Highsmith describes the Riviera as including all of the coast between Toulon and the Italian border. The region of the French Riviera has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Primitive tools dating to between 1,, and 1,, years ago were discovered in the Grotte du Vallonnet , near Roquebrune-Cap-Martin , with stones and bones of animals, including bovines, rhinoceros, and bison.
