As those of you who have read my intro will know, I am British and live on the French Riviera - that part of the world that includes Monaco, Nice, Cannes and St Tropez. I have lived here for 10 years now and I used to organise travel here for my American colleagues, including their restaurant bookings and suggesting bars to them. I now run my own travel agency organising holidays here for English-speakers.
This is nothing to do with my own company (I organise ultra-luxury vacations) but just to help out as I know all the bars and restaurants down here for all budgets and all occasions. So if you want any help, tips, advice, suggestions, recommendations, places to avoid, don't hesitate to ask. I don't get any commission/free dinners or anything from any of these places so the views are very much neutral.
Here are some basic tips and some basic information for restaurants and bars in France:
* Most restaurants will not start serving until 7.30pm
* From January 1st, 2008 all bars and restaurants in France are 100% no-smoking
* Most bars and restaurants have fairly relaxed dress codes, unless you are going somewhere really upmarket you don't need to wear a tie or a jacket and often jeans are readily accepted
* You don't need to tip big in France - 10% is a HUGE tip and means you have been very happy with everything
* The cheese dish is always before the dessert
* When you arrive at the restaurant you will often be asked if you want an "aperitif" - a before dinner drink. The common ones in France are Pastis - an aniseed drink like Pernod, mixed with water or Kir - blackcurrant liqueur mixed with white wine (Kir Royal is with champagne).
* In 99% of bars a waiter/waitress will come and serve you at your table - you do not need to go to the bar, you can tip these but you don't need to tip much (around 50c for a drink or 1 Euro for several drinks).
* Most restaurants close around midnight and most bars at 2am, nightclubs go on until around 5am
That's all I can think of now, off the top of my head, but don't hesitate to reply to this post if you have any questions or are traveling to this area and want recommendations for a certain town.
Ultra-luxury, tailor-made holidays on the French Riviera
