Yachts moored in the harbour of Antibes (de) at the Côte d’Azur (de) in winter. The port was the old center of the greek city of Antipolis and has room for over 2000 boats, yachts and even ships with a length of more then 100m and the height of a 5 story building.
According to locals the waiting-time for a mooring is over 10 years and people are reluctant to let go, even when that means living on their boat instead of a flat.

Even in late December temperatures reach 15+ degrees Celsius. The wind might be cold sometimes, but the sun has enough power that people can take a dip in the Mediterranean Sea (photographers note: not advisable when you already have a light cold…).

Ducks in the evening sun – somewhere in the hinterland of the Cote d’Azure, close to Mougins.

Autumnal beachfront at Nice (Côte d’Azur). The sea retains its azure magic even during the sometimes stormy weather.

The beach is covered with large pebbles, but an artificial stretch of sand gets arranged for tourists to play beach volleyball etc. The playing field is visible on most beachfront-pictures, which are usually taken from Mt. Boron.

The hamlet of Orpierre has seen its days as a climbing mecca come and gone. While still featuring a wide range of climbs in all difficulties as well as several easy and mid-level multi-pitch-routes there are few extremely hard routes and stars of the climbing scene will hardly pay Orpierre a visit.

Whoever turns of the A51 between Aix-en-Provence and Gap will find the sleeping village with the basic set of facilities. One camping ground and a couple of gite, one super market, one bistro and one climbing-store.

The pictured peak towers above Orpierre, catching the afternoon-sun.