In this irresistible marriage of watercolorist’s sketchbook and traveler’s guide, Virginia Johnson lovingly captures the magic of one of the world’s most storied regions, the French Riviera. We walk the Promenade des Anglais in Nice. Shop for handmade sandals at Rondini in Saint-Tropez. Visit the Madoura workshop in Antibes, where Picasso discovered his genius for pottery. Meet legendary characters like Pierre Gruneberg, a swimming instructor who taught Jean Cocteau, Brigitte Bardot, Paul McCartney, and many others.

Saturated with the limpid colors of sea and sun, the dazzling greens of verdant gardens, and the rose and ochre of sunbaked villas and joyous with paisleys and blue-striped sailor’s shirts and the riotous look of a patisserie window filled with confections, Travels Through the French Riviera is a gift book of visual wonder, the souvenir every Francophile will want. But it is also a quirky yet singularly useful travel guide, whether showing how to order coffee like a local, plan a beach day at Menton, or hike the Cap Ferrat peninsula or where to taste the best ice cream in Antibes (at Amarena—try the mint).

Virginia Johnson is a Canadian artist and textile designer. Her collections of colorful prints on clothing, shawls, and home accessories have been sold around the world in stores including Anthropologie, Barneys, Holt Renfrew, Liberty London, and J.Crew. She also illustrated a series of books for Kate Spade and The Perfectly Imperfect Home for Deborah Needleman. Johnson lives with her husband and two children in Toronto, Canada.

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“Whimsical and personal . . . [and] rich with practical information: where to eat gelato, where to buy traditional fabrics, what to pack, what to bring back, how to make a citron pressé, and more.
—Afar, 8 New Books You Need to Read Before Flying to France

“Charm is such an underrated virtue! This book—like the French Riviera itself—is full of its magical delights.”
—Deborah Needleman, New York Times columnist and former editor in chief of T Magazine

“Part love letter to the Côte d’Azur, part guide to the most poetic and stylish things to do on this magical coast. The dreamy illustrations make me hear the crickets, taste the foods of Provence, feel the mistral wind, and savor sitting in the shade of a Mediterranean pine.”
—Peter Dunham, designer