Riviera (pronounced [riˈvjɛːra]) is an Italian word which means 'coastline',[1][2] ultimately derived from Latin rīpa, through Ligurian rivêa.[3] It came to be applied as a proper name to the coast of Liguria, in the form Riviera ligure, then shortened in English. The areas currently known in English as "the Riviera" are:
- the Italian Riviera (Riviera ligure), in Liguria, northwestern Italy
- the French Riviera (Côte d'Azur), the adjacent southeastern coast of France
- the Spanish Riviera (Costa del Sol), in Andalusia, southern Spain
- the Portuguese Riviera (Riviera portuguesa, Costa do Sol or Costa do Estoril), along Estoril to the west of Lisbon
- the Kalk Bay Riviera (Riviera Kalk Bay or Coasta Kalk), to the west of Cape Town, South Africa.
Riviera may also refer to:
Africa
- Red Sea Riviera, the eastern shore of Egypt
North America
Mexico
- Riviera Maya, the Caribbean coast of the Yucatán Peninsula
- Mexican Riviera, the southwestern coast of Mexico, including Acapulco
- Riviera Nayarit, another part of Pacific coast of Mexico
United States
- California Riviera, Santa Barbara, California[4][5]
- Florida Riviera, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Florida Riviera, Sunny Isles Beach, Florida
- Irish Riviera, Scituate, Massachusetts[6]
- the Hollywood Riviera region of Los Angeles, known for its coastal location where Hollywood elite would retreat to in the 1920’s.
Asia
- Bengali Riviera, coastal region in Cox's Bazar and St. Martin's Island in Bangladesh
- Chinese Riviera, coastal region in Zhuhai, China
- Philippine Riviera, often used to refer to northern coasts of Nasugbu, near Manila, including Punta Fuego and Hamilo Coast.[7]
- Thai Riviera, stretching from Phetchaburi to Chumphon[8]
- Turkish Riviera, also known as the Turquoise Coast
Europe
Western
- English Riviera, Torbay[9]
- Thames Riviera, an area of London, United Kingdom that includes Tagg's Island
- French Riviera, also known as the Côte d'Azur
- Italian Riviera, also known as the Riviera ligure
- Portuguese Riviera, also known as the Costa do Estoril
- Spanish Riviera, also known as Costa del Sol
- Swiss Riviera, on Lake Geneva, also known as Riviera vaudoise
Eastern
- Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, also known as the Bulgarian Riviera, formerly part of the Red Riviera.[10]
- Caucasian Riviera, of Russia and Georgia
- Jurmala near Riga in Latvia, once known as the Baltic Riviera
Southern
- Albanian Riviera
- Athens Riviera, the Saronic Gulf coastline of Athens
- Budva Riviera, in Montenegro
- Makarska Riviera, in Croatia
- Slovene Riviera
Former
- Austrian Riviera, former term used for the coastline of the defunct Austrian Empire