EELLAAIINNEE NNGG traveller@newstoday.com.sg

MENTION the South of France,and cities such as Nice, Marseilleand Cannes would most likely cometo mind. For the intrepid traveller,these cities would often be labelled“too touristy” or “been there, donethat … many times over”.

But who could resist the beachtowns that are synonymous withsummer vacations — the towns thatParisians flock to once the mercu-ry moves up. The next time youfind yourself heading south, factorin extra time to explore the smallquaint towns that add arty and cul-tural flavours to the Côte d’Azur.

Within the French Riviera andSouthern Alps, about a 45-minutedrive from Nice, Vence is a hillytown that was once home to writ-ers D H Lawrence and André Gide.A must-see is Vence’s biggest touristattraction, the Chapelle du Rosaire,which is regarded as the completeand final masterpiece of therenowned artist Henri Matisse.

Matisse is said to have designedthe chapel as a gift of thanks to theDominican nuns who cared for himduring the last days of his life. Sit-uated near the north of the vieilleville (old town), the white chapel ex-udes a humble exterior that beliesits stature. Indeed, it took my trav-el companions and me some re-lentless searching before we foundthe chapel sitting uphill along Av-enue Henri Matisse.

To soak in more of the mod-ern art atmosphere, head over tonearby Saint Paul de Vence, a me-dieval-like village that is home toonly about 400 residents, best dis-covered en pied (on foot).

Strolling around the rampartswith fellow day-trippers makes onefeel guilty at destroying the tran-quillity of the slumber-town. Butthe modern artists’ studios andshops selling exquisitely-packagedolive oil, crafts and souvenirs thatexude a certain chi-chi-ness shout-ing for tourists’ attention eased myguilt as I got trigger-happy.

The walk around the rampartsoffers magnificent views of thetiered stone houses that line thevarying contours of the hills. If youmanage to get onto higher ground,be sure to capture your panoramicpostcard shots spanning from theAlps to the sea.

For more historical heritage,don’t miss taking a shot of the ceme-tery by the Porte de Nice. At theCimetière, you will find the tomb of

artist Marc Chagall, who died in1985.

Another must-see is the Fon-dation Maeght — home to a per-manent collection of paintings andsculptures unique in Europe, fromthe works of Giacometti, Miro,Braque, to Chagall and more.

A word of advice for those com-ing here during the summermonths: Temperatures could real-ly soar. I was caught in the middleof the heat wave and the tempera-ture reached 41°Celsius at onepoint.

Despite the heat, I just had tosit under the plane trees of one ofthe most famous sand-pitches inthe world, sipping my au lait at theCafé de la Place around the Placede Gaulle, watching clueless as thefolk of St Paul engage in France’sfamous game of pétanque, a form oflawn bowling.

Here, you take your own sweet

time to explore and to experiencethe unique mix of traditional andmodern art, architecture and cul-ture.

After all, as the local folk say:“In Saint-Paul de Vence, time isyour best guide.”

Visit quaint townswhich draw visitorswith their arty flavoursand medieval setting

6644 TODAY • Thursday • November 16, 2006

plus traveller

GGEETTTTIINNGG TTOO SSAAIINNTT--PPAAUULL DDEE VVEENNCCEE::BByy aaiirr – Nearest airport is NiceCôte d’Azur Airport. Take a taxi from there, or busnumber 400 (takes one hour,eight departures during week-days and four on weekends)BByy ttrraaiinn – Nearest station isCagnes sur MerThen take bus No 400 (Cagnessur Mer to Saint-Paul takesabout 15 minutes) BByy bbuuss from Nice bus station –Take bus number 400 (busdeparts every 30 to 45 min-utes).

ELAINE NG

SSOOUUTTHHEERRNN CCHHAARRMM:: SStt PPaauull ddee VVeennccee ((ttoopp)),, tthhee ttoowwnn’’ss nnaarrrrooww llaanneess aanndd aarrtt sshhooppss((aabboovvee lleefftt)) aanndd tthhee cchhaappeell ddeessiiggnneedd bbyy tthhee aarrttiisstt HHeennrrii MMaattiissssee..

Cote d’Azur’s small delights