ON LOCATION 58
ON LOCATION 58 NetJets
COASTAL CHIC Facing page: Club La Vigie Monte-Carlo Previous page: The view from Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat, A Four Seasons Hotel © MONTE-CARLO SOCIÉTÉ DES BAINS DE MER; PREVIOUS SPREAD: CHRISTIAN HORAN MAKE IT NICE The Anantara Plaza Nice Hotel (anantara.com) is the city’s new pride and joy: a meticulously restored 1848-built landmark set back behind the seafront Promenade des Anglais in Nice’s “Golden Triangle” shopping district. Under new management by the Thailand-based hotel group Anantara, which designed its first French ultra-stylish luxe property with a nod to Nice’s rich heritage, deep comfort abounds. The luminous contemporary-style 151 rooms and suites, awash with Decoinspired furnishings and a soothing mix of cream, gray, and teal, give out to the sea. High points: the sprawling rooftop bar and restaurant SEEN by Olivier, serving a combo of Asian and Niçoise dishes and local wines, and the spa, featuring bespoke treatments with organic seaweed and essential oils. No one leaves Nice without a visit to Le Negresco (hotelnegresco-nice.com), the city’s landmark pink and white wedding-cake grande dame across from the Promenade des Anglais. Begin in the lobby, where the modern world pales beside the glitter of a huge Baccarat chandelier and a dazzling glass and metal dome designed by Gustave Eiffel, chockablock with museum-quality art from every era. Each of the sumptuous 128 rooms (including 15 newly refurbished rooms and sea-view suites) are unique, decked out with precious antique furnishings from Louis XVI and Napoleon III pomp and circumstance. Modernity reigns at the Michelinstar restaurant Le Chantecler, helmed by chef Virginie Basselot, who excels in innovative Riviera-inspired dishes. The Negresco’s elegant walnut-walled bar with live jazz and the new private beach club are other standouts. At sunset, visit the antiques district and experience the lively atmosphere at Rouge (rouge-restaurant.fr) wine bar, where the locals flock for natural vintage, top-notch limited editions and locally brewed beer. The organic small-plate menu (mini-portions of Spanish-inspired or Southern French dishes) includes charcuterie platters, tuna tartare with yuzu and raspberry, squid à la plancha, barbajuans (fried cheese and Swiss-chard ravioli), and a tasty pork knuckle burger. Try the unctuous lemon cream dessert. On the trendy backstreets of the Port, Les Agitateurs (lesagitateurs.com) is the new kid on the block, a Michelinstarred restaurant headed by a trio of young experimental chefs, Juliette, Samuel, and Pierre-Jean. Call it pure poetry on a plate: an inspired cuisine of delicately assembled creations with the very finest ingredients. The three menus feature dishes including asparagus in green curry, purple-coated gnocchi infused with beets and red wine, a fusion of San Remo prawns and Hanoi pork, and luscious caramel and nougat ice cream for dessert. Nice Côte d’Azur Airport to Nice: 5miles/8km Lunching Around A Nice icon, LE PLONGEOIR (leplongeoir.com) was originally a Belle-Époque-built gazebo restaurant – formerly a beach club for cocktails – that now offers a yacht-like experience with a multi-level dining deck extending over the sea. The Deco-style diving board is pure décor, but the Mediterranean fare is the real deal. Try the courgette flower fritters, grilled sea bass with spinach gnocchi, and an iced chocolate truffle dessert. NetJets 59
