W. Somerset Maugham
The famous novelist Somerset Maugham left England to find a place in the Mediterranean sun among the colony of artists, royals and celebrities living on the glamorous Cote d’Azur.
Famous Residents in Monaco
Discover famous and infamous Monaco celebrity inhabitants
Paul Signac
Admirer of Monet, mentor of Matisse, confidante of Van Gogh, the career of neo-impressionist painter Paul Signac was heavily influenced by two things: his friendship with George Seurat, and the famed light of the French Riviera.
Henri Matisse
As is the case with many of the great artists and writers who found their way to the French Riviera, Henri Matisse’s life was shaped by three things: sickness, light, and a willingness to disappoint his father.
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson, the author of Treasure Island, Kidnapped and The Strange Case of Dr Jekylland Hyde, wrote of his time on the French Riviera with nostalgia.
Bono - U2 Frontman
Located in Saint Tropez
Bono, front man of U2 is a common sight on the French Riviera. Everyone who lives here seems to have seen him at some point- whether partying in a fashionable beach clubs in Saint Tropez, having a quiet drink in a bar in a bar in Antibes, or strolling along the beach of Eze-sur-Mer, the village where he has his mansion. He’s certainly not hard to spot, with those trademark clear glasses.
King Leopold II of Belgium
Located in Saint Tropez
King Leopold II of Belgium is another person who was quick to see the astonishing virtues of the Coted’Azur- much like his English cousin Queen Victoria.
Pablo Picasso
Although not born here, Pablo Picasso spent a lot of his life in Antibes. He felt particularly inspired whilst he was visiting the town and eventually bought a large house in Antibes and several others along the Cote d'Azur. As a result, there is a museum dedicated to him and his work in a chatueaux where he used to rent a room as a young and aspiring artist.
Jules Verne
Jules Verne, adventure novelist and the ‘father of science fiction’, found writing inspiration surrounded by the pine trees and villas of Cap d’Antibes, that splendid headland with its crystal clear coves, pine trees and sweeping view of the Bay of the Angels across to the snow-capped Alps.
Queen Victoria of England
It’s hard to overstate the importance of Queen Victoria of England in the transformation of the French Riviera from sleepy rural backwater into a glittering playground for royals and celebrities.
Olivier Beretta
Located in Monaco
Monaco racing driver Olivier Beretta is often known as a Formula One driver from the 90’s, but it is in endurance racing that he has really risen to prominence, taking out Le Mans class wins no less than 6 times racing for Corvette and later Ferrari.
Katherine Mansfield
Katherine Mansfield’s life was both terribly short and terribly complicated, with tumultuous love affairs with both men and women. However, her short but intense love affair with the South of France would last until her death from tuberculosis at just 34 years old.
Grace Kelly
Located in Monaco
When Grace Kelly, silver screen goddess, married Prince Rainier III, ruler of Monaco, it was thought to be the perfect Hollywood film plot with the perfect fairytale ending: Commoner meets prince, commoner falls in love with prince, commoner marries prince in glittering cathedral ceremony and goes to live out her days in a Renaissance palace built high on the cliffs over the Mediterranean Sea.