ABSTRACT
Because the Mediterranean Basin is the world’s most popular and successful tourist region its climate is perceived by many as idyllic, hospitable and delightful with unremitting warmth, endless sun and perpetual dryness. With its renowned radiance and clarity of light, it has remained seductive to north European visitors since the habit of escaping from the cold and dark of the northern winter became well established by the upper classes last century (see Chapter 14). Yeo’s (1882) description of the climate of the Côte d’Azur as ‘a tonic, stimulating and exciting’ sums up this traditional view.
