Riviera

For other uses, see Riviera (disambiguation).

Riviera, pronounced [riˈvjɛːra], is an Italian word which means "coastline", ultimately derived from Latin ripa, through Ligurian rivea. It came to be applied as a proper name to the coast of Liguria, in the form riviera ligure, then shortened to riviera. The two areas currently known in English as "The Riviera" without additional qualification are:

• the French Riviera, part of the southern coast of France and
• the Italian Riviera, part of the coast of Italy.

"Riviera" may be also applied to any coastline, especially one that is sunny, topographically diverse and popular with tourists. Such places called Riviera include:

Africa

• Red Sea Riviera, the eastern shore of Egypt

America

• Hollywood Riviera, Redondo Beach, California
• American Riviera, Santa Barbara, California
• Mexican Riviera, the western coast of Mexico including Acapulco
• Riviera Maya, the Caribbean coast of the Yucatán peninsula
• Redneck Riviera, the Gulf of Mexico coast between Panama City, Florida and Gulf Shores, Alabama

Asia and Oceania

• Chinese Riviera, coastal region in Zhuhai, China
• Australian Riviera, Gold Coast, Queensland

Europe

• Albanian Riviera, in southern Albania
• Austrian Riviera, a former coastline of Austria-Hungary near Trieste on the Adriatic Sea
• Belgian Riviera, part of the Belgian coast
• Budva Riviera, in Montenegro
• Bulgarian Riviera, Bulgarian Black Sea Coast
• Caucasian Riviera, Russia: Sochi, Georgia: Abkhazia and Adjara
• Crimean Riviera, the southern coast of the Crimean peninsula
• English Riviera, Torbay in the southwest of England
• Furness Riviera, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England
• German Riviera, southern Baltic Sea coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
• Greek Riviera, the island of Spetses, Hydra and the eastern coast of Peloponnese
• Haggerston Riviera, Hackney, London
• Makarska Riviera, in Croatia
• Norrbotten Riviera at Piteå in Sweden
• Romanian Riviera, Romania's Black Sea Coast
• Slovenian Riviera, Slovenia's Adriatic Sea Coast
• Spanish Riviera, Costa del Sol, Costa Brava, Costa Blanca
• Swiss Riviera, Vevey-Montreux
• Sussex Riviera, Worthing, West Sussex
• Scandinavian Riviera, Landskrona, southwest Sweden
• Turkish Riviera, also known as the Turquoise Coast

See also

• Riviera (disambiguation), other entities known as "Riviera"
• Irish Riviera (disambiguation), various locations in the United States with high populations of Irish Americans