The quest for the ideal balcony by Jane Tolbert

Balcony near the Cours Salaya, Nice



Balcony in Juan-les-Pins

In my dreams I am sitting on an opulent, turn-of-the-century balcony overlooking the Mediterranean. Geraniums overhang the balustrade. Lemon trees grow in large clay pots. It’s only a dream--it is not the typical French balcony for that period. Rather the older French apartments have spacious rooms and large, double windows that open onto a tiny balcony or more commonly, a grill in the window. Even the paintings of Matisse show iron-work grills in the window rather than large terraces with chairs. Residents in these older buildings do spend a lot of time learning on the grill or balustrade, watching passersby below. After all, their balcony space only enables the placement of a few pots of geraniums or a small line of laundry.

In contrast, the apartments I rented (circa 1970s and more recent) had large balconies and small rooms. A terrible irony emerged. My large balconies quickly filled with boxes, my bicycle, a laundry rack and numerous terracotta pots, which held live flowers at one time. This clutter left little room for those lemon trees, comfortable lounge chairs or visiting friends. At another apartment, the balcony facing north remained empty. It was too cold. Another ground-floor balcony overlooking a peaceful garden could not be used either—the apartment rules and regulations strictly dictated the type of furniture that could be displayed.



Somewhere in Nice

My quest for the ideal balcony côté sud has taken me to coastal cities between Cannes and Nice as well as inland to Grasse. Those turn-of-the century apartments with small balconies or window grills for leaning seem to indicate a transformation of lifestyles. After all, we do have more conveniences (no need to rush to the outdoor lavoir to do laundry), so perhaps we do have more leisure! But many of these newer apartments are just outside of the centre ville and its activity—the passersby, the flirtatious encounters, the pets on their walks and the children. We commute to return to our newer and larger balconies that overlook parking lots instead of city streets.

Perhaps a loggia would be just the thing.



Moorish style house with Loggia near Bijou Plage, Juan-les-Pins