The steep climbing paths that wind through the tiny medieval village of Eze, have been frequently trodden by Frederich Nietzsche, Walt Disney, Bill Clinton and a host of other famous names.

Perched on cliffs 429 metres above the sea, Eze is situated on a corniche (coastal road) between Nice and Monaco.

Villefranche-sur-Mer

Villefranche is separated from Nice by the verdant heights of Mont-Boron, whose Belle-Époque villas offer fabulous panoramas of either Nice or Villefranche and remain relatively tranquil due to the neighbouring nature reserve. For example the Villa la Romarine offers views right across Nice and the Baie des Anges.

The coastal area of south-eastern France received its highly marketable brand-name from Stéphen Liégeard’s 1887 book, the Côte d'Azur, meaning ‘azure coast’. He coined the name to describe the region’s, “countryside of blue sea, sun and flowers”.

Due to the tourist implications of being part of the Côte d'Azur, there is some ambiguity as to where it actually begins. There is an argument that it commences as far west as the town of Cassis, 20 km outside of Marseille; although the general perception is that it stretches from around Toulon and Hyères to Menton on the Franco-Italian border. Its territory spreads over both the Var and Alpes-Maritimes departments and includes the principality of Monaco.

As the preferred destination for British skiers, France is expected to attract approximately half of all the UK’s snow sports enthusiasts heading abroad this winter.

The reasons for France’s popularity are quite obvious. Firstly there’s its size. According to the French national Institute of statistics, France contains a total skiable area of 1950 km², with 13,000km of downhill ski pistes, serviced by 4200 ski lifts, which if laid end to end would reach from Paris to Cairo.

Every year, France welcomes over 75 million tourists across its borders. This figure makes it the most popular holiday destination in the world with 25 million more visitors annually than the USA, the second most popular destination.

A large attraction for many people is France’s incredible diversity. Being the largest country in Western Europe, France’s territory encompasses many varied features. It has five different mountain ranges, vast plains, borders with seven different countries (as well as containing the independent state of Monaco), numerous major rivers and coastlines on the Channel, Mediterranean and Atlantic Ocean.

This is the second part of our guide to the top ten places to rent property in France, detailing the type and style of property available in each as well as an indication of seasonal prices.

An area spread out over four departments (counties), the Loire river valley is famed for its historic towns and breath-taking castles, set against a backdrop of never-ending vineyards. Its climate is also noticeably better than the north of France and it is easily accessible from several airports in the region, including the Val de Loire airport in Tours that has regular services to the UK.

This is the third part of our guide to the top ten places to rent property in France, detailing the type and style of property available in each as well as an indication of seasonal prices.

Painters such as Cezanne and Van Gogh were fascinated by sun, colour and rural life of Provence, painting masterpieces of its grape harvests, Cyprus trees and other features of its countryside. It also provided inspiration for authors such as Marcel Pagnol (whose classic novels Jean de Florette and Manon des Souces were set in the region) and Peter Mayle who engraved the Provencal countryside into the psyche of British Francophiles with his novel, A Year in Provence.