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famed 17th-century Fort Royal, the cliff-top fortress (now a museum) in which the legendary Man in the Iron Mask was imprisoned in the 1600’s. The island is also home to the excellent (seasonal) open-air restaurant, La Guerite, which serves superb seafood. HOTEL MARTINEZ The place where A-list celebrities visiting presidents and royalty stay, the Hotel Martinez is one of the Riviera’s grand dames, with its own private beach and pool, a spa and fitness center, grand apartments, suites and pretty rooms. It also plays host to the Michelin awarded restaurant. This Hotel is known for stylish living, where comfort and technology have aesthetic overtones, and from its eminent position on the sea front, on the famous boulevard de La Croisette in Cannes. The Hotel Martinez has established itself over the decades as the flagship hotel on the Riviera. From the outside, its architectural beauty makes it timeless and establishes its elegance and eternal youth. With seven floors that overlook the sea front and a floor area that covers 40,000 square metres, it is one of the top European luxury hotels. As spacious as it is extravagant, the hotel has an extraordinary infrastructure, both in terms of guest accommodation comprising 409 rooms and suites, and in the services the hotel has to offer. The Martinez has three restaurants, ‘La Palme d’Or’, a two stars Michelin gastronomic restaurants, ‘Le Relais’ and the ‘Zplage Beach Restaurant’. There is a piano bar, a vast private beach, a heated pool, fifteen meeting rooms and reception lounges that total 2500 square metres; all this puts the Hotel Martinez just behind the congress centre ‘Palais des Festivals’ in terms of reception capacity in Cannes. During the Cannes Film Festival it houses film-stars and hosts Canal+’s studio for its festival special on its private beach called “Zplage”. Just a short drive away from Cannes you can easily reach St. Tropez and within easy reach Nice and Monte Carlo Cities. MONACO The tax-free haven of Monaco is a tiny and extremely wealthy country, lying in Southern France, where it is actually the world’s second smallest, after only the Vatican City in Rome. Monte Carlo is the most prominent and popular area of Monaco and serves as the capital, while other important districts include the Old City (Monaco Ville), La Condamine, the industrial area of Fontvieille, and the beach front suburb of Larvotto. Monte Carlo is certainly the place to be seen in Monaco and central to the action, being home to the Saint Nicholas Cathedral (Monaco Cathedral). It was here in 1956 that Prince Rainier famously married Hollywood actress Grace Kelly, before they toured the streets in their open-top car, watched by thousands. Today, similar crowds turn up each year in May to watch the Monaco Grand Prix, which uses the streets of Monte Carlo and La Condamine for its circuit, passing the harbour and dating back to 1929. Despite its size, Monte Carlo is packed with some wonderful sights
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