Sunday, May 17, 2015

Beaches of the Côte d'Azur

Plage Mala, Cap d'Ail

It's official. The first swim of the season on the Côte d'Azur. Or rather, I dived into the exquisite turquoise-blue water and almost immediately ran out. Yes the water was really that cold, but the sun was hot and the day has been perfect.



Although I have lived here for many years I have never been to the mythical Plage Mala, Cap d'Ail,  near Monaco. So it was about time I took a trip. It is often mooted as the most beautiful beach on the Côte, the most unspoilt and so on. In reality it is very nice, but not as unspoilt as I had hoped. (But then, I'm from New Zealand so unspoilt beaches for me are another thing altogether.)

The thing about Plage Mala that keeps it relatively low-key is the difficulty of getting there. There are 120 steps or so down to the beach. Going down, not so bad. Coming up, just a bit harder. You can also walk along the coastal path from Monaco, but this takes time. The extremely stylish alternative is to arrive by yacht and be ferried ashore. I think I am going to go for that option next time. 

There are two restaurant-clubs on the beach. Both very cool and very expensive (the young Monaco crowd obviously likes to hang here). But we took home-made sandwiches like real Niçois locals do and sat on the pebbles. You get use to them, honest you do. Anyway, sun loungers are for sissies.

So that's Plage Mala for you. Stunningly beautiful, difficult to get to, but not as remote and unspoilt as I would have hoped. 

I'll  carry on my swims of the summer around the Côte's different beaches and report back.



This post also features on the excellent #AllAboutFrance Lou Messugo blog; Check it out here http://www.loumessugo.com/en/blog/entry/all-about-france-5

5 comments:

  1. Cool info! Picnics are totally the way to go!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love photographing Mala plage, it certainly is beautiful. Out of season it feels more remote, without all the loungers set up. Are you on FB Rebecca? Another local blogger and I have set up a group which you might like to join. Let me know.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You probably photograph it better than I do, Phoebe! It is a great beach but hard work walking back up.

      Delete
  3. Dear Rebecca,

    My name is Joe Pinzone and I'm casting an international travel show about expats moving abroad. We'd love to film in France and wanted to know if you could help us find expats who have moved there within the last 15 months or have been there for 3-4 years, but recently moved into a new home. The show documents their move to a new country and will place the country in fabulous light. The contributors on the show would also receive monetary compensation if they are filmed. If you'd like more information, please give me a call at 212-231-7716 or skype me at joefromnyc. You can also email me at joepinzone@leopardusa.com. Looking forward to hearing from you.

    Joe Pinzone
    Casting Producer
    P: 212-231-7716
    Skype: Joefromnyc

    ReplyDelete