Looking forward to enjoying the beautiful light of the Côte d'Azur with your kids? What to do first: wander in the alleys of Vieux Nice while enjoying a pan bagnat with them, or explore the villages perched high above Mediterranean, lovingly portrayed by many artists? While waiting to visit in real life, here are coloring pages, recipes and riddles to entertain young and old and teach them about the Côte d'Azur.
Let's dream of the Côte d'Azur
The most beautiful villa on the Côte d'Azur is a Renaissance style palace perched on the top of the peninsula of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. It's surrounded by wonderful gardens with patios, waterfalls, ponds, flowerbeds, shaded alleys and trees with precious essences… Baroness Ephrussi de Rothschild built the Villa Ephrussi at the dawn of the 20th century, resulting in this amazing structure overlooking the Mediterranean! Even the youngest visitors are gobsmacked. Your little botanists and apprentice architects will love to go on this dream visit from home with drawings, models and coloring pages of French gardens, exotic plants, and 3D patios. The baroness would probably have been so proud of their artworks, she'd frame them in the villa!
Draw the Côte d'Azur
Antibes Juan-Les-Pins, Cagnes-sur-Mer, Eze, Saint-Paul-de-Vence and Menton are some of the jewels of the Côte d'Azur. These are easide towns and cliff-perched villages that your seeds of artists will love to color! Choose your medium: watercolour, felt, pencils, pastels, collage, cuttings, or another. Give their creativity free rein, especially since the coloring pages by local artist Sylvia Bertini can be downloaded as you go from the website cotedazurfrance
Whatever the medium, one thing is for sure: the French Riviera will inspire your budding artists, just like it inspires you. Don’t forget to keep all your masterpieces, to compare them with the original sites when you visit as a family!
Cook the flavors of the Côte d'Azur
Fancy a sunny dish that smells like the French Riviera? Why don’t you ask your little ones to help you make some Niçois stuffing? From socca, pissaladière or pan bagnat, one of the culinary specialties of the Côte d'Azur is sure to please everyone in the family.
Have the little ones help prepare the small plump tomatoes, chubby peppers, round zucchini, cute onions and eggplants. They'll be hollowed out and stuffed with a filling of vegetables, meat, bread crumbs, olive oil, herbs and spices. Little chefs love to put their hands in the stuffing, fill the market vegetables with a spoon and cover them with breadcrumbs before putting them in the oven. Of course, check out a cooking class with Rosa, who gives lessons remotely from Nice, to make sure you're preparing it properly. With her, the whole family can also learn the secrets of a good ratatouille or the art of gnocchi and Niçoise salad. Grab your apron and let's go!
Teach me about the Côte d'Azur
Are you curious to know more about the French Riviera? Learn more and test your family knowledge with these themed quizzes. Cinema or gardens, beaches or gastronomy, art or sports—the Côte d'Azur contains a multitude of subjects for budding champions.
On which famous Azuriénne island was the Man in the Iron Mask imprisoned? What was the name of the character that Louis de Funès played in the famous Gendarme of Saint-Tropez? What medieval village in the hinterland of Nice is like an eagle’s nest overlooking the Mediterranean? This is a fun way to prepare your next holiday by putting your teens in the game. Divvy up into two teams and play for a prize: whoever loses buys the first ice cream when you get to the Côte d'Azur for real!
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By Pascale Filliâtre
Journalist-traveller. I often voyage to the end of the world to explore what France offers... just next door. filliatre.pascale@orange.fr
