Sculpture Le Guetteur (the lookout) by Sacha Sosno embedded in a building that houses a restaurant and office space
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Sculpture Le Guetteur (the lookout) by Sacha Sosno embedded in a building that houses a restaurant and office space |
Polygone Riviera is an outdoor shopping area that opened in October of 2015 in Cagnes-sur-Mer. As of February 2016, it comprises 150 stores, 26 restaurants, a movie theater, a casino, many fountains, and an art trail featuring ten works of contemporary art (with more being commissioned). The complex is built on more than 70,000 square meters (17 acres) amid one thousand trees, though an extension is already in the works. The owners of Polygone Riviera refer to it as a "lifestyle mall", a concept apparently imported from Japan, but I prefer to call it a theme park where the theme is shopping and, to some extent, food (this is France, after all). Amenities include three hours of free parking (though the site is accessible by public transportation), free and unlimited WiFi, loan of strollers and wheelchairs, and trilingual staff. Parents who wish to shop in peace may drop off their children at a day care center; for those who prefer to keep the family together, there are playgrounds where the little ones can get rid of excess energy.
We visited Polygone Riviera on February 5, 2016, and it's just as well that I had only brought the small and rather unobtrusive Fujifilm X100s camera with me: I had already taken almost all the photos on this page when a security guard informed me rather brusquely that taking pictures was not permitted. Carrying the big Nikon, I would surely have been stopped much sooner. If you live in this area, a visit to this shopping theme park should definitely be on your to-do list; you don't even have to shop: stroll through the beautiful area, take in a movie, enjoy a snack or a meal at one of the many eateries... Polygone Riviera is clearly something to see.
Click on any image to see a larger (2100 x 1400 pixel) version!
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In front of fountains that dance to the rhythm of music... |
...people are enjoying lunch on La Terrasse. |
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The whole space is decorated with plants and waterways |
The movie theater: 10 screens and 1,800 seats |
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The fountain in front of the cinema |
The local Etam women's clothing store |
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Sign posts help shoppers not to get lost |
Reflections |
Shopping street |
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Daniel Buren's colorful polyester tile Pergola |
The head of Another time XIX, a sculpture by Antony Gormley |
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The entire Another Time XIX sculpture |
Shopping street |
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The Pergola is casting a colorful light pattern |
The outside dining room at Woko's where I enjoyed a Pad Thai |
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There are many colors and glass surfaces that reflect the surroundings |
No shortage of opportunities to eat and shop! |
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La Piazza, the Italian restaurant at Polygone Riviera |
Mikado Tree by African artist Pascale Marthine Tayou |
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Shopping Street |
opencage by Nice-born artist Céleste Boursier-Mougenot |
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We could have had coffee at this deli and restaurant combo... |
...but instead settled on the more modest Columbus café. |
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Back at the main pond |
Le Guetteur is still keeping an eye on things |
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Walking along the Malvan river behind the stores... |
...and under a couple of overpasses... |
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...past a bamboo grove... |
...gets us to the very back of Polygone Riviera. |
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Back amid the stores |
A last look at La Terrasse before heading home |
The photos on this page were taken on February 5, 2016.
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