The resorts of this incredible stretch of coastline, surveyed from afar by snow-capped mountains, have virtually fused together into one giant, bustling megalopolis. The original piece of coast to which the name 'Riviera' was applied, when it began to be fashionable as a winter resort in the 19th century, was the stretch between Menton and Nice - which still evoke their belle époque grandeur. Now the term is taken to include the fashionable yacht-havens of Antibes and Cannes, and a string of popular family resorts stretching as far as trend-setting St-Tropez.