There must be something in the Riviera air that attracts artists to its churches. Cocteau painted Villefranche, Matisse designed Vence, and Vasarely covered François Spoerry’s 1960s Port Grimaud church with 25 geometric stained-glass windows that track the sun’s path. The colours shift throughout the day, and in summer the cool stone interior is a welcome relief from the heat. Climb the bell tower for a couple of euros, and the entire lagoon spreads out like a map below.

