Scandinavians on the Riviera
Scandinavians have been enjoying the French Riviera since the 19th century.
Wait a minute. Scandinavians… what does that mean?
Scandinavia normally refers to Norway, Denmark and Sweden.
But if you talk about the Scandinavian Peninsula, Denmark is not concerned but a part of Northern Finland is. Quite confusing, isn’t it?
And if you talk about the Nordic countries, you also include Finland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands.
Originally, the word Scandinavia possibly referred to the region of Scania (yes, the truck brand) or Skåne in Swedish, which was Danish before it became part of Sweden in the 17th century. The word may also be related to the Scandes (or Scandinavian Mountains), i.e. the mountain range that runs through the Scandinavian Peninsula.
Many Scandinavians live today on the French Riviera and in the Principality of Monaco; some 10,000 Swedes live on the coast between St. Tropez to Sanremo.
341 Swedes and 262 Danes, were Monaco residents in 2024. In Monaco, you can find several Nordic consulates: Swedish, Danish, Norwegian and Finnish.
Among the famous Scandinavians who once lived on the Riviera, here is my selection…
The Danish King who got married in Cannes…
Christian X, King of Denmark (1870-1947) married Duchess Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in Cannes in 1898. The ceremony, attended by the Danish royal, the Russian and German imperial families, took place in the vacation home of the bride’s parents, Villa Wenden. Located avenue de la Favorite, and nowadays called Le Rouve, it was the first private home in Cannes to have electricity.
Christian X would often stay in Cannes, where the royal regattas were organized in his honor. His widow offered the City of Cannes a bust of the Danish King, inaugurated in 1954, which can be seen near the Palais des Festivals. He was the great grandfather of present King Frederik X.
King Christian X, Cannes - Photo: Elsa Mellac
The Swedes on the French Riviera.
Nice has a Swedish consulate, opened more than a century ago. The diplomatic relations between Charles III, Prince of Monaco and Oscar II, King of Sweden, were established in 1874, by opening a consulate in Sweden.
King Oscar II of Sweden - photo: P. Borsarelli - Collections du Palais Princier.
Greta Garbo (1905-1990), the mythical Swedish actress, so popular and glamorous in the 1920’s and 1930’s, used to stay at Villa The Rock in Cap d’Ail near Monaco.
Greta Garbo, “The Divine” - Photo: public domain.
The first commercial flight between Stockholm and Nice took place in 1946, operated by SAS, born that year. Among the first passengers was the famous Swedish chef and restaurateur Tore Wretman, who later retired in Mougins and whose sons Johan and Filip work in real estate on the Riviera (Wretman Estate). Johan Wretman also is the Swedish consul in Nice.
Tore Wretman - Photo: public domain.
Gustav V Bernadotte, King of Sweden (1858-1950), used to stay regularly in Nice, where he would play tennis, at the Nice Lawn Tennis Club, avenue Suzanne Lenglen, founded in 1890.
A devoted tennis player, appearing under the pseudonym of Mr. G. as player and promoter of the sport, he founded Sweden’s first tennis club on his return from England, where he had learned to play.
King Gustav V of Sweden - Photo Kungl. Lawn Tennis Klubben Stockholm
An avenue in the Nice city center bears his name and where this street meets avenue de Suède there is a bronze bust of Gustav V, great grandfather of the present king, Carl XVI Gustav Bernadotte of Sweden.
Gustav V in Nice - Photo Kristina Svensson
The Bernadotte dynasty that has reigned in the Kingdom of Sweden since 1818 is of French origin. Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, born in Pau, marshal of the French Empire, was adopted by the elderly King Charles XIII of Sweden, who had no heir, and became King Carl XIV Johan.
In Èze-Village, between Monaco and Nice, the hotel and restaurant Château Eza used to be the property of Swedish Prince Wilhelm Bernadotte (1884-1965), second son of King Gustav V and Victoria of Baden, Duke of Södermanland, and well-known writer, aka Prins Wilhelm.
Prins Wilhelm - Photo: Albert Wilhelm Rahmn/Malmö Museer.
In Sainte-Maxime, across the Bay from Saint-Tropez, the waterfront Villa Mirage is the Swedish royal family’s privately-owned retreat.
Originally, the villa was bought in 1946 by Prince Bertil, at a time when the St. Tropez area was much quieter than today and very little-known. Prince Bertil was the third son of Swedish King Gustav VI Adolph and the uncle of the present King of Sweden. He was quite popular in Sweden, loved cars, played tennis and learned how to play pétanque in Sainte-Maxime, where the boules field honors him (Boulodrome Prince Bertil). He made this sport popular in Sweden. In order to protect his position in the royal succession for several decades, he could not marry his beloved Lilian, met in 1943, until 1976.
King Carl XVI Gustav Bernadotte, who inherited the property, loves to spend some time in this vacation home with Queen Silvia.
Prince Bertil and Princess Lilian - Photo © Royaux Suédois.
Boulodrome à Sainte-Maxime - Photo E-Press/TT
Among the Swedish artists who lived on the Riviera, the sculptor and ceramist Hans Hedberg (1917-2007), who lived in Biot and was famous for his giant fruit and egg sculptures.
Hans Hedberg - Photo (c) Modernity Stockholm Gallery
Author Henning Mankell (1948-2015), author of all Inspector Kurt Wallander novels, had a house in Antibes. His widow Eva Bergman is Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman’s daughter.
Henning Mankell - Photo 2013 (c) Claire Delfino / Reuters
Richard Hobert (1951-2025), scriptwriter and film director, had an apartment in Antibes, where he made a part of his movie A one way trip to Antibes - En enkell till Antibes (2011).
In Cagnes-sur-Mer, the Swedish Riviera Club (Svenska Rivieraklubben) gathers almost 4,000 Swedish / Nordic expats. The Villa Ingeborg, that houses the club, has a small chapel for the Swedish Church. In 2025, the club celebrates its 50th anniversary, the largest Swedish club outside Sweden.
And the hotel and restaurant Le Cagnard, located in the medieval part of the town, is owned by a Swede, Frida Ivarsson, who has beautifully renovated the place.
Last but not least, on the Italian Riviera, in Sanremo, the Villa Nobel, where the famous Swedish businessman and inventor Alfred Nobel, known for inventing dynamite, and who bequeathed his fortune to institute the Nobel prizes, died in 1896. His name also survives in modern-day companies such as Dynamit Nobel and AkzoNobel, which are descendants of mergers with companies Nobel himself established. The ties between Sanremo and Nobel still exist today.
The Villa Nobel, Sanremo - Photo (c) Villa Parco Nobel - photo Museo Location Villa Nobel.
On December 10th, year after year, sent by the City and the Region, beautiful flower arrangements adorn Stockholm’s City Hall for the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony and Banquet.
Alfred Nobel © Famous Scientists. Since 1901, the golden medal has been given to the recipients of the of the Nobel Prizes of peace, literature, physics, chemistry, and medicine or physiology.
Finally, Monaco was home for legendary tennis players like Björn Borg and Mats Wilander, and for Alpine skiers like Ingemar Stenmark. The ski champion, model and TV performer Victoria Silvstedt is a Monaco resident.
Guiding Swedish architects near Tadao Ando’s villas in Mareterra, Monaco - Photo: P. Massiani
The tour guide’s POV: I enjoy presenting these facts to Swedish visitors, like I did recently for a group of Swedish architects who came to visit Mareterra, Monaco’s new district. I also had the great opportunity to guide Swedish lawyers and VIPs.
I also wish to thank Mr. Jan Eric Frydman, Consul of Monaco to Sweden, who shares his time between Sweden and Monaco, for his valuable advice.