Biot, France | The Hidden Village of Glass & Art on the French Riviera

Join me for a slow, unhurried walk through the beautiful medieval streets of Biot — a historic hilltop village between Nice and Cannes, known for its stone houses, shaded passageways, flower-filled streets, artists’ workshops and extraordinary tradition of craftsmanship.

Biot has a fascinating history stretching back more than 2,000 years. Once connected with the Knights Templar, the village was later repopulated in 1470 by around fifty families who came from the Ligurian coast of present-day Italy. Over the following centuries, Biot became famous for its pottery and enormous terracotta jars, which were exported throughout the Mediterranean, to America and even as far as the coast of India.

But perhaps the most beautiful chapter of Biot’s story began in the 20th century.

In the 1950s, ceramic engineer Éloi Monod began experimenting with glass here. What would normally have been considered an imperfection — an air bubble trapped inside the glass — became part of the design. In 1956 he founded the Verrerie de Biot, and the distinctive verre bullé, or bubble glass, eventually became one of the symbols of the village.

Biot also attracted artists including Fernand Léger and Raymond Peynet. Léger lived and worked here, and today the Musée National Fernand Léger stands at the foot of the village.

Perhaps that is why Biot feels so inspiring to me as a florist. There is creativity everywhere — in the old stone, ceramics, glass, architecture, colours, textures and small details hidden along its streets.

No narration, no rush — just a quiet walk and the atmosphere of this remarkable little corner of the South of France.