THE RIVIERA.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 46, 23 February 1929, Page 1

THE RIVIERA.

1 NOT ALL FOR MILLIONAIRES. > MONTE CARLO NOT COSTLY. ! (By HORACE WYNDHAM.) 1 Without being ultra-"cheap," perhaps, the Riviera is not by any means so expensive as people who have not visited this part of the world's accepted pleasure ' ground would seem to think. As a 1 matter of fact, a holiday at Monte Carlo or Bordighera does not cost the English ' tripper any more than does one at 1 Margate or Blackpool. 1 There are several reasons for this. To ' begin with, everybody who goes off to the "Cote d'Azur" is not a millionaire. Very far from it. The greater propor- | tion, indeed, are people to whom pound's, ' shillings, and pence—or their equiva- : lents in other currencies—are serious : matters. SucE visitors have to. be catered for, just as have those with " "money to burn." Shops and hotels and "pensions," where the tariffs suit their ' slender purses exist in abundance, side ' by side with the "de luxe" establishments ! that appeal to the rich and the fashionable. Then, the Riviera covers so much 1 territory, stretching as it does from Marseilles to San Reino and the Italian border, with scores of little towns and [ villages scattered at intervals along the i route, that prices are kept within limits. • There is healthy competition. It will probably come as news to the untravelled' to hear that .one can enjoy , Monte Carlo, Nice, and Cannes, etc., without actually living in these places. But such is the case. The reason is because they are all linked up by train and tram and char-a-banc with numbers of quiet and inexpensive resorts in the immediate neighbourhood. Roquebrune and Cap Martin, for example, are within an easy walk of Monte Carlo, as is also La Turbie on the hill above; Grimaldi and Sospel adjoin Mentone and Bordighera, and Busano is close to San Remo; and, proceeding in the other direction towards Nice and Hyeres, one has an embarrassing choice of such picturesque and uncrowded places as Eze, Cap Ferret, Grasse, Vence, Antibes, etc. The climate, too, is the same for all. Everywhere olives and oranges; the balmy scent of llowers; the song of birds; soft winds and sunshine; and a dazzling blue sea. To the average tourist, however, the Riviera means Monte Carlo, the accepted playground of Europe. Well, the thing for the economical person to do is to live at La Condamine, clustering round the harbour, and not more than a few minutes' walk from the society world of "Monte" itself. Life is astonishingly cheap at La Condamine, and the hotel tariffs are very moderate. Lota of]

people, indeed, live there to save money. But Monte Carlo itself, so long as one avoids the sumptuous and "de luxe" hotels and restaurants, is not a penny . more expensive than any English resort. As a matter of fact, it is really cheaper, because the rate of exchange is immensely in the visitor's favour. It must be remembered, too, that the occupant of a small back bedroom in a boardinghouse has, equally with the millionaire tenant of a luxurious suite in a !j mammoth hotel, where everything is the 0 "last word," the unrestrained enjoyment 1 of all the various amenities provided by 0 the municipality. Among such are the 1 splendid concerts and theatrical perform--3 ances, the wonderful gardens, the theri mal baths and the entree to the world- ] t famed casino, etc. Tennis and golf can be enjoyed under ideal conditions. 3 Golfers have an IS holes links on > Mount Argel, with a delightful clubhouse, and the green fees are less than those i obtaining on any good Home course. | The International Sporting Club, which is a most sumptuous establishment, can 1 also be joined by temporary members. ' A special advantage of this resort is : i that the club luncheons and dinners 1 and suppers are of a very high standard r aid of a very low price. • ' Life on the Littoral. Monte Carlo, however is only a coli- | , paratively small section of the Riviera, j , As a centre from which to explore the t entire district, the best one is Nice... [ From this point the visitor can pop over J > to Monte Carlo in half an hour; or Antibes, Cannes, and Hyeres, etc., in the , ' opposite direction, are served quickly ' , and cheaply by motor char-a-bancs; and ' electric trams, with what amounts to • sixpenny fares, run for miles along ' practically the whole of the lovely ' ' coast. | Nice itself is a large bustling town, ; with accommodation to suit every pos- | sible requirement. The most expensive | shops and hotels are naturally those j fronting the blue Mediterranean and j stretching along the famous Promenade j 1 des Anglais, where all the fashionable , world foregathers. In the side streets, 1 ' however, prices are much more moderate. t and there are some very reasonable j. "family hotels" and pensions near the railway station. Better value still is c to be had in the suburbs, such as St. Maurice and Cimiez (Queen Victoria's favourite winter resort), where good c board and lodging are readily obtainable r for a couple of guineas a week. Villas, ' too, can be rented on terms that have 1 no suggestion of "profiteering." 1 To get to the Riviera is now a simple 1 matter, as though trains run from Calais. a The second-class is perfectly comfort- j able, but this means travelling eight 'j in a carriage, while the first-class car- f riages are limited to six. It is very £ important to book one's seat well ahead. 11 Otherwise, one may have to stand in a. corridor all night. This is not quite '1 the pleasantest way of reaching the j; Riviera. ti