Du jour au lendemain

Early September on beaches of Juan-les-Pins, France.

Colorful umbrellas line private beaches with restaurants. Small boats take tourists on tours of the coast or to the Lerins Islands.

Dateline Juan-les-Pins - Early to mid September brings the transition from thick crowds and heavy traffic on the coast to work-related traffic jams.  The clientele has changed.  No longer one of tourists or families but an increasing number of locals come because they can now find space for their towels on the sand, and retirees, who take advantage of off-season prices. 

Beach restaurants, where you wait in line for a table in high season, now have empty tables any time of day or night.   But the other cafés, open year round, will continue to draw crowds.  Boutiques return to off-season hours. 

In the late summer and early fall, the weather changes from one day to the next—mostly sunny skies, punctuated by the occasional day or gray, rainy day.  Days like this clear beaches and boardwalks.  The few hardy pedestrians are warmly dressed in sweaters or light jackets.  And there are those few people who get in a daily swim.  

A few signs advertise the end of the season.  Things will pick up slightly around the December holidays—after all, this region offers the best European climate—but only return to full season in May.