Ritzy, flash or elegantly traditional pretty much sums up the beach resorts. If it’s an old fashioned holiday by the sea you want, choose carefully.

Flights are frequent from the UK to Nice, and considering that Mediterranean temperatures usually hold up well into late October, the Riviera has become a favourite for weekend breaks.

Nice, with its 5 km trademark palm fringed coastal road, the Promenade des Anglais, packs a considerable punch for visitors looking for off-beach interests. The central square Place Masséna is the focus of the new-ish town, while Cours Saleya, an easy one kilometre walk away with its sprawling daily market (not Mondays), is the magnet for the old part.

La Croisette, Cannes

Baroque chapels and churches are shoe horned into almost impossibly tiny corners as if leaving extra space for museums. From the fiercely avant-garde, Musée d’Art Contemporain to the more conventional, Musée Chagall, Musée des Beaux Arts, and Musée Matisse, the names read like pages from a history of art book.

Cannes is as glamorously styled as the pouting film stars who descend on it for the annual film festival in May. The Promenade La Croisette overlooking the expensively manicured beach is the place to be seen – and see the celebrities. Window shopping in the exclusive boutiques off La Croisette is free and to avoid paying for a spot on the sand, head west of Le Suquet, the old town.

Regular ferry trips to the Iles des Lérins and Ile Ste Marguerite from Cannes are worth doing. Round trips run to both - but pack a picnic to avoid the overpriced restaurants

Gorges du Loup

Some lucky, smaller resorts have escaped the whole Riviera scene and retained more of their original character, including the harbour town of Antibes with its cobbled streets and Picasso museum. The sandy beaches of Juan les Pins are a short walk away.

Villefranche sur Mer overlooks a beautiful harbour with an Italianate facaded waterfront while the village of Biot, tucked away in the hills, is famous for its bubble-flecked glassware. Inland, away from the hurly burly of the coast, behind Grasse, the Gorges du Loup sports superb scenery with dramatic waterfalls iced with several perched villages for which Provence is famous.

Galleries and studios dominate St Paul de Vence but the Fondation Maeght, just outside the town, is the real star of the area. A raft of works by contemporary French artists including Matisse, Miro and Chagall are housed in a striking pink and white purpose built gallery - which is flooded with light.

	Casino, Monte Carlo

A few kilometres north, Vence was once a major religious centre, but today attracts visitors heading for the Chapelle du Rosaire, which was decorated by Matisse as a thank you to the nuns who nursed him through an illness. The drawings on the chapel walls - black outline figures on a white background - are a complete departure from his usual colourful style.

Monte Carlo in the tiny principality of Monaco merits a day trip but do not expect too much. The drive along the cliff clinging Moyenne Corniche is stunning - straight from the golden age of James Bond - but the skyscrapers crowding the tiny piece of land are a bit of a disappointment to say the least.

The Grand Casino looks lavish, but there’s an entrance fee. The Palais du Prince has some unbelievable furniture and frescoes. The Musée de la Chapelle de la Visitation has a small but quite stunning collection of religious art.

Prices rocket all along the coast in May for the Grand Prix and the roads become even more impossible than usual.