Le Journal

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Destinations

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  1. Aerial of Château de Théoule and La Plage Blanche — the castle ramparts of the property at the south-western edge of Théoule-sur-Mer, with the rows of white-umbrellaed sun loungers in formation on the white-sand beach below and the Mediterranean alongside.

    Destinations · May 11, 2026 · 8 min read

    A coastal day from Valbonne.

    An April-voice editorial on the Wednesday-off coastal day from Valbonne — thirty minutes south to Théoule-sur-Mer and La Plage Blanche at Château de Théoule (Leading Hotels of the World). Loungers reserved by the hour, Mediterranean lunch on the sea-facing terrace, the Michelin-starred Mareluna upstairs at the same property, and concierge-arranged private boats out to the Esterel coves you cannot reach by road.

  2. Tourrettes-sur-Loup seen from across the valley — the medieval village perched on a long ridge of stone, beige limestone built into the rock with a drop into the scrub-oak greenery below and the lower hills above Vence behind it.

    Destinations · May 10, 2026 · 9 min read

    Tourrettes-sur-Loup, by an editor who lives thirty minutes away.

    A Mike-voice editorial on Tourrettes-sur-Loup, the violet capital of France perched above Vence. Dubosq Et Fils for olive wood (depuis 1958), Le Clovis for lunch (reopened March 2026, with a wine cave next to the kitchen), Spelt — La Table for dinner. By an Afore editor who has been visiting for over a decade and lives thirty minutes south in Valbonne.

  3. Èze rooftops with the French flag and Cap-Ferrat in the bay beyond — the cinematic Riviera vista that has put Hollywood on this coast since 1955.

    Destinations · May 6, 2026 · 8 min read

    A Map to the Riviera Hollywood Has Been Quietly Sketching for Seventy Years

    An editorial map of the Côte d'Azur as Hollywood has used it for seventy years — Hitchcock's Saint-Jeannet villa, Bond's Villefranche harbor, GoldenEye's Thorenc hairpins, the Iron Man casino, and the Provence villages used for A Good Year and Magic in the Moonlight. By April, for Le Journal, May 2026.

  4. The Crudité at Detour, Grasse — broccoli, radish, sugar snap and snow peas, peppers, courgette, carrots, with the leek hummus and a herbed dip — on opening night.

    Destinations · May 6, 2026 · 7 min read

    Detour, Grasse

    April reviews Detour, the new Grasse restaurant from Kendall Lane (chef), Ross (sommelier), and Makenna Held & Chris Nylund of La Pitchoune. Opens at 3 PM, sources from ten named Provence producers, and is the most overdue restaurant innovation on the Côte d'Azur.

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The first thing about Hidden Pond is fir trees and wood smoke. Todd Snyder designed The From Away Lodge after his firstCandelaria, Paris. The Mexican restaurant in the Marais behind the door that looks like a wall. The taqueria in front; Three lobster rolls. One bike. One Kennebunk. My bike lives on Boothby Road. It goes everywhere here — past the traffiCinque Terre. Five villages on the Ligurian coast — Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, Monterosso. The trains Memorial Day, from Kennebunkport. The flags are out across Maine — on the porches, in the trees, at the harbors, above A Provençal mas in the Luberon. The shutters open onto a field; the field stops at a hill; the hill stops at a horizon.