Biot, France: The Hilltop Village Where Locals Still Outnumber Tourists

Lucía Torres · 2026-09-14

### The Village I Used to Walk To Some places you discover on holiday. Others become part of your life without you really noticing. For me, Biot is one of those places. There was a time when I lived on a golf course not far from the village. I could walk into Biot, which meant it wasn't somewhere we went for a special occasion. It was simply somewhere we went. And that makes all the difference. In the evenings, there was Café Brun, a little bar and restaurant where friends would sometimes take out their acoustic guitars and play. Nothing formal. No stage. No grand production. Just people sitting together, having a drink, listening to music and enjoying the evening. Those are the memories that stay with you. Then there was Les Arcades, where my family used to go for dinner. The restaurant is still there today, with an art gallery underneath it, and it has retained that rather wonderful Biot quality of being good without needing to be expensive or fashionable. It is well known, but it has never felt as though it was trying too hard to be. That, to me, is Biot. A little tucked away. A little artistic. Very French. And remarkably easy to love. ### A Village With a Life of Its Own Biot is often mentioned alongside Valbonne, partly because they are so close and partly because both are beautiful hill villages surrounded by the landscape of the Côte d'Azur. But they don't feel the same. Not at all. Biot is smaller and, to my mind, has a slightly more intimate feel. It has also retained a stronger sense of traditional French village life. You hear different accents, see familiar faces, and there is a sense that people aren't simply passing through. The village has its own daily rhythm. The bakery. The little shops. The cafés. The market. The restaurants. The galleries. The people who have lived there for years. It is the sort of place where you can go out for one thing and end up spending half the morning there. And perhaps that is part of its charm. ### The Village on the Hill Biot's setting is another part of its appeal. The old village sits above the surrounding countryside, with narrow streets and stone buildings climbing the hillside. And then, almost unexpectedly, the landscape opens out. From certain points, you get views across the hills towards the Mediterranean. It is close enough to the coast to make a morning at the beach entirely spontaneous, but sufficiently inland to feel removed from the busier coastal strip. That position is one of Biot's great advantages. You are not choosing between village life and Riviera life. You are choosing where you want your Riviera life to begin each day. ### And Then There Is the Glass There is no getting around Biot's extraordinary relationship with glass. The village has been associated with glassmaking for generations, and its distinctive bubble glass has become part of Biot's identity. Walk around the village and you find the influence everywhere: workshops, galleries, decorative pieces and artists continuing a tradition that has become synonymous with the town. It gives Biot something quite different from many of the other villages around it. Its artistic character isn't simply historical. It is still part of the place. You can walk through the village and actually see people making things. That matters. ### Why Buy a Home in Biot? This is where Biot becomes particularly interesting from a property perspective. It offers something that can be difficult to find on the Riviera: a genuine village atmosphere combined with very practical access to the coast and the airport. - **Authentic village life** – The bakery, the market, the cafés, and the people who have lived there for years create a real sense of community. - **Artistic heritage** – The glassmaking tradition and the galleries give Biot a creative energy that sets it apart. - **Strategic location** – You're just a short drive from the Mediterranean beaches and about 15 minutes from Nice Côte d'Azur Airport. - **Property variety** – From charming village apartments to villas with views, there's something for different budgets and lifestyles. > "Biot is one of the few places on the Côte d'Azur where you can still experience the rhythm of a traditional French village while being minutes from the sea." If you're looking for a home that feels like it has a soul, Biot might just be the place. It's not trying to be the next Saint-Tropez. It's simply being itself. And that's exactly why people fall in love with it.