Bal Harbour

cantering round a special course built right on Port Hercule. The best berth to start among the trio of marinas serving Monaco, she says, is Fontvieille, as long as your superyacht is 30m (around 98 feet) or smaller. "If you're looking for a good night's sleep, but you can still walk into the center of Monaco," says Scalabrino, the insider's spot to idle in the principality is restaurant Club La Vigie, part of the Monte- Carlo Beach hotel, just over the eastern border into France. "You have the waves just below you, and a real sense of being on holiday when you're there." Once you're sailing into the Med, she says, make sure to mix up between being in port and dropping anchor. First place to do the latter: Villefranche-sur-Mer. "The summer is magical there, with the light changing: there's a reason why the Impressionists often came here," says Scalabrino. Get your charter broker to reserve a private dinner at the Rothschild-owned Villa Ephrussi, amid the sumptuous gardens; it can be privatized with the right connections. Hop in a car to drive inland for sundowners: in the battle between the La Chèvre d'Or and Château Eza, Scalabrino sides with the latter. "It's a little bit more intimate, with windows where two or four people can sit." Move on from there to Cannes; weigh anchor between the islands, and use a limo tender to island-hop, but have lunch at La Guérite on Sainte- Marguerite, for a superb salade niçoise. Scoring a berth in peak season in Saint- Tropez is always a challenge, especially on a weekend. "It's lovely to be inside the port for at least one night, to breathe in the atmosphere of the town," she adds, "But otherwise, it's beautiful to anchor in the bay." From there, save the best for last: the chance to explore Porquerolles, an island that Scalabrino says has "the atmosphere of a lost town from Provence," with its pine forests, dirt roads, and no cars. It's home to barely 300 people, and there's scant overnight accommodation, either, so it's even quieter when the final daytripping ferry leaves. One exception: the 47-room hotel Le Mas du Langoustier, whose restaurant La Pinède has a Michelin star. "Get dropped off with a tender on the two beautiful beaches close by and walk there through the pine trees." Otherwise, rent bikes and pit stop whenever you wish—at beaches, of course, or vineyards like Domaine de l'Ile. After that, head back to Monaco after the perfect week on the water. GETTING AROUND IN ST YLE Gylls Wolff began her career as a war reporter— including three years in the jungle during the Vietnam War. She eventually decamped to Nice where she began a second career close to her other passion: cars. Zoom the Solution rents out a fleet of vintage convertibles, (the oldest is a 1930s Jaguar) with or without a chauffeur ("You need to turn the steering wheel more than you expect on antique cars," she cautions), so you can explore the area in chic retro style. Consider a day trip to Cassis, or the tiny Italian Riviera town of San Remo, just 30 miles away. If making the jaunt for lunch, we recommend Michelin-star Paolo e Barbara for an exquisite crayfish cappelletti served in an Abbruzo saffron broth. MONACO'S L ATEST DEVELOPMENTS In a feat of nature-defying engineering (huge concrete chambers were built under the sea close to shore, before being drained and then filled with sand to form the foundation of an entirely new part of the coastline), the principality just reclaimed a 14-acre plot of land from the Med to create a brand-new neighborhood (and enlarge the 499-acre country by 3 percent in the process). It's dubbed Mareterra in a nod to those origins, and has become the hottest place to live in the country, mostly thanks to the unusually large, open-plan apartments and homes designed by the likes of Sir Norman Foster, Tadao Ando, and Renzo Piano. Even if you're not house-hunting, though, head to Mareterra's new entertainment and dining complex for lunch at Marlow, which opened in January. It's a throwback to the era when this area was thronging with British aristocrats, serving Monte-Carlo's Hôtel Métropole has reopened for the season following a redesign by Jacques Garcia. However, its Odyssey pool, designed by Karl Lagerfeld, remains unchanged. contemporary riffs on English classics, whether a full English breakfast or beef Wellington. Meanwhile in Monte-Carlo, the Hôtel Métropole—the only independent hotel there— reopened for the season after a six-month closure, once again deeding the redesign of the rooms to fashionista favorite Jacques Garcia, whose aesthetic defines hotels like La Mamounia in Morocco and Hotel Costes in Paris. There's a new Guerlain-run spa, but one thing remains unchanged: its beloved Odyssey pool, which was the brainchild of the late Karl Lagerfeld, another regular. THE ONE CROISSANT Go to Boulangerie Veziano, the oldest of its kind in Antibes, which just celebrated its centenary and is still family-run (current head baker: Jean-Paul Veziano). Don't just scarf a croissant, though, as it's also known for pizza-style flatbread pissaladière, and chard pie, spiked with pine nuts, raisins and rum, Niçoise-style. C O U R T E S Y O F H OT E L M E T R O P O L E M O N T E- C A R LO

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