The summer season on the Côte d’Azur is in full swing with tourists and residents alike taking advantage of the joie de vivre that only the French Riviera can offer.
A raft of new hotels have opened, including the five-star Hôtel du Couvent in Nice. Transport links have had an upgrade too. A new rail day pass provides unlimited train travel between Cannes, Antibes, Monaco, and into Italy, and the Paris-Riviera sleeper train has been reinstated due to popular demand after the service was discontinued in 2017. Passengers can arrive, ready for their croissant and café, in Cannes and Nice at 8.57am and 9.25am respectively.
Whilst the Côte d’Azur ranked in first place in the Savills World Second Home Locations Index, the region offers many different enclaves each with different strengths. The Savills Joie de Vivre Index ranks the prime Riviera markets by a range of metrics, including residential property prices, connectivity, hospitality, lifestyle and global reach.
Topped by Nice, where prime property prices can range from €10,000 to €16,000 per square metre, the city ranks high when it comes to connectivity and lifestyle attracting buyers from across Europe as well as the US and the Middle East.
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Nice, Alpes-Maritimes - Asking price €2,490,000
In second place is Saint-Tropez, long the playground of the super-rich, the town remains a top destination for global second home owners thanks to the hospitality offering both in terms of food & drink and shopping.
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Saint-Tropez, Var - Asking price €6,400,000
Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat takes third place. Celebrating its 120th anniversary this year, privacy reigns supreme for buyers here and super prime properties can command premiums upwards of €80,000 per square metre. Transaction volumes grew by 25% between 2019 and 2023.
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Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Alpes-Maritimes - Asking price €6,500,000
Moving to the countryside, Saint-Paul de Vence (9th), Mougins (13th) and Valbonne (18th), all score highly for their residential offering. Since the end of the pandemic, there has been an increased interest from the international buyers looking for a more family-oriented, primary residence lifestyle compared to the coastal regions.
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Mougins, Alpes-Maritimes - Asking price €7,500,000
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