With more than 300 days of sunshine every year the Cote d’Azur is the perfect winter holiday destination.

Yet the region – with its superb beaches, picturesque ports and mountainous hinterland – is still regarded by most as somewhere to come to on their summer holiday. Mention the Cote d’Azur to most and they conjure up an image of aqua blue swimming pools, or the shimmering Mediterranean Sea.

However, perhaps the region’s best kept secret is its mild winters where the sun still shines for months on end and breakfast on the terrace of  your South of France real estate could be an every day affair.

The English first discovered the Cote d’Azur in the early 1700s, when they fled to its sandy shores to escape the chill of their own winter. Queen Victoria arrived some 150 years later, when she and 100 staff took over Nice’s Excelsior Hôtel Regina which had been built with her needs in mind.

From there, she liked to drive in her carriage to places like Villefranche-sur-Mer and Beaulieu, both resorts in which you will today find some of the most exclusive property for sale South of France.

Today, the Excelsior Hôtel Regina is no more, but there is still plenty of sunshine to enjoy and a whole host of colourful events held in towns up and down the coast.

Winter on the French Riviera starts with Christmas Celebrations, and almost every town and village across the region hosts its own Marche de Noel, with wonderful handcrafted items and Provencal food for sale.

Among the most spectacular is the Christmas market in Monaco, a short drive from many of our current property for sale South of France. Warm mulled wine and champagne is served from wooden chalets lined up next to some of the world’s most exclusive super yachts, a peculiar sight but well worth a visit.

Another market not to be missed is Antibes’s annual Christmas marche – a twinkling, gingerbread-scented, festive affair where the streets are lit up with white lights and bonhomie.

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