These places are still insider tips on the Côte d'Azur

When you talk about a holiday on the Côte d'Azur, you often get admiration - after all, the sonorous name promises glamour, beauty and atmosphere. The popularity and reputation of the French Riviera is not only based on its mild climate with more than 300 days of sunshine a year, but above all on its staging.

From the middle of the 19th century, it became the preferred travel destination for wealthy foreigners, especially the British. After gambling became established in Monaco and the road and rail network was expanded along the Riviera, it attracted more and more wealthy people, celebrities and artists. The nimbus of the Côte d'Azur was created - although even its name is an artificial term created by the poet Stéphen Liégeard when he wrote what was probably the first travel guide about the region in 1887.

Later, American visitors in particular drove the fame of the coast further, fishing villages such as Antibes or Saint-Tropez became fashionable meeting places for the wealthy, events such as the Monaco Grand Prix or the Cannes Film Festival made the Côte d'Azur one of the world's most famous Brand. It is understandable that their prestigious locations still dictate the usual travel routes today, but it is a pity. Because France's most prominent coast offers much more than luxury, splendor and azure sea.

If you want to discover the other colors of the Côte d'Azur and escape the hustle and bustle of the Riviera, you should open your eyes to the hinterland or to its islands. Away from the famous cities, attentive travelers are rewarded with spectacular nature, charming country life and authentic villages, the charm of which sometimes only becomes apparent at second glance.

One of the prettiest gems among the villages on the Côte is Mougins, just beyond Cannes. It gained notoriety because Pablo Picasso spent his old age and died there.

The snail shell-shaped town center is dotted with picturesque houses which, typical of the south of France, are always either cared for down to the smallest detail or completely neglected. In between there are small galleries that always seem to be run by middle-aged women but never seem to have customers, and a variety of excellent restaurants.

Other coastal villages have also retained their charm, such as Valbonne with its huge market square, Biot with its craft shops and even the tourist magnets of Saint-Paul-de-Vence and Èze with their contrast between vibrant seasonal life and melancholy after that, when its streets are deserted.

The diverse mountain world is quieter and comparatively undiscovered: the Corniches above Monaco, the snow-covered Maritime Alps that seem almost tangible from the beach, the light breaking through the mountain ranges at Cabris or Tourrettes-sur-Loup in the evening - all these places prove that the Côte d'Azur is much more than just a bathing destination.

The Train des Pignes narrow-gauge railway is ideal for a trip to the upper reaches of the Côte. The "pinecone train" runs directly from Nice up to Digne-les-Bains - like a time machine, it transports travelers from the hasty modernity of the capital of the Riviera to medieval High Provence.

The 151-kilometer journey takes three and a half hours, on which the small tourist train climbs up to 1000 meters in altitude and makes an expedition through southern France in miniature, past mountain villages built of sandstone, lavender fields, vineyards and poppy meadows, along the Var and Verdon, through tunnels and Gorges, over bridges and viaducts.

The train got its nickname from its early days more than 100 years ago, when it struggled uphill so slowly with the steam locomotive that its passengers supposedly had time to get off and collect pine cones. Today it is - you may regret it or welcome it - a little faster.

The little-known islands on the Côte are also a discovery. The Îles de Lérins are only 15 minutes by ferry from Cannes, but it doesn't feel like they could be further. While crowds of visitors cause hustle and bustle in the film festival city from Easter onwards, the islands located directly in front of the Croisette offer a wonderful retreat, perfect for a day trip.

Saint-Honorat is home to an abbey founded around the year 400, where around 20 monks still live and produce the island's wines and liqueurs, and greet everyone on the island's paths when they're not busy with their iPhone.

On the sister island of Sainte-Marguerite sits Fort Royal, a garrison commissioned by Cardinal Richelieu in the 17th century, where the legendary "Man in the Iron Mask" is said to have been imprisoned. His former, surprisingly comfortable cell can now be viewed in the Musée de la Mer if you don't shy away from meeting the gruff cashier.

Or you can simply stroll all day long along the island paths lined with olive trees, cedars and cypresses, from which wonderful panoramas of the shimmering, vibrant Cannes or the volcanic red Esterel massif open up. Just don't miss the last ferry back - there are no overnight accommodations here.

An almost surreal water landscape can be found near Marseille: In the mountainous coastal strip south-east of France's second largest city there are fjord-like bays that seem Norwegian, but whose turquoise, emerald green or midnight blue water creates the illusion that you are in the south sea The calanques are sharp coastal indentations that were formed in the last ice age and are framed by steep limestone cliffs.

Because of the dry climate and the salty sea air, there is a special ecosystem in which various bird species breed and wild plants and herbs grow. In 2012 the area was declared a national park, one of only eleven areas in all of France. Apart from by boat, many calanques can only be reached via a hiking trail, at the end of which villages such as pretty Cassis or Bandol, known for its wines, invite you to revive your spirits.

Between splendor and opulence on the one hand and nature and idyll on the other, the Côte has another special facet: normal life. A good example of the proximity of appearance and reality is the thoroughly down-to-earth Le Cannet, which in principle forms a unit with Cannes and yet is completely different - simply because the "real" inhabitants of the Riviera live here, who not only are present for a few weeks a year.

While the soul of Le Cannet is its bakeries, charcuterie and cheese shops, its heart is the square on rue Saint-Sauveur, canopied by plane trees and filled with the tables and chairs of unpretentious restaurants. There are hardly any tourists here, just a few local pétanque players or snoozing dogs. If you invest a few steps to its edge, you will be rewarded with a brilliant view of Cannes and the sea, which is only interrupted by the fact that the waitress from the adjacent Corsican bar cheekily asks if you would like a beer.

Along the coast there are more of these often overlooked, authentic places, such as Cagnes-sur-Mer, Menton or Saint-Raphaël. The Côte d'Azur is also worth a second look because of them - at least.

Getting there: By train from Cologne via Paris with Thalys/TGV or from Frankfurt via Strasbourg with ICE/TGV in around eight hours to Marseille, then by rental car or train. Lufthansa (lufthansa.com) or Easyjet (easyjet.com) offer flights to Nice or Marseille, for example.

Accommodation: "Hostellerie de l'Abbaye de la Celle", Brignoles, Provençal residence with a beautiful garden next to a former monastery, double room from 166 euros (abbaye-celle.com). "Hotel Alexandre III", Cannes, beautiful guesthouse within walking distance to the Croisette and the beach, double room from 108 euros (hotel-alexandre3.com). "Hotel Alain Llorca", La Colle-sur-Loup, garden hotel with a view of St.-Paul-de-Vence and an excellent restaurant, double room from 206 euros (hotel-llorca.fr).

Further information: france.fr/de; cotedazurfrance.fr/en/

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