Beaulieu

With its back pressed hard against the cliffs of the corniche and sheltered between the peninsulas of Cap Ferrat and Cap Roux, this once-grand resort basks in a tropical microclimate that earned its central neighborhood the name Petite Afrique. The town was the pet of 19th-century society, and its grand hotels welcomed Empress Eugénie, the Prince of Wales, and Russian nobility. It's still a posh address, but if you're a picky atmosphere-hunter, you may find the town center too built-up with apartment buildings.