Chapter 6: Nice and the Côte d'Azur - Riviera Glamour and Local Life

The French Riviera presents extreme café contrasts. Nice's Promenade des Anglais hosts some of France's most expensive cafés, while the old town maintains working-class establishments serving locals at reasonable prices.

In Vieux Nice, tiny cafés squeeze between ancient buildings, their terraces spilling onto narrow streets. Here, conversations flow in Nissart (the local dialect) as old-timers discuss pétanque strategies over morning pastis. These cafés resist tourist colonization through language barriers and local knowledge.

Cannes during film festival represents café culture at its most theatrical. Celebrities and wannabes pack the Carlton terrace, where coffee prices reach absurd heights. Yet blocks inland, neighborhood cafés serve film industry workers—the gaffers, drivers, and assistants who make the glamour possible.

Monaco pushes café luxury to extremes. The Café de Paris charges 12 euros for espresso, justified by Monte Carlo views and celebrity-spotting potential. These aren't democratic spaces but exclusive clubs with coffee service.

Yet the Riviera maintains democratic café traditions. In Antibes' old town, fishermen cafés open before dawn. In Menton's covered market, vendors gather for pre-work coffees. These working cafés ground the Riviera in reality, serving those who clean hotels and maintain yachts.