Cagnes Sur Mer lies 15 km east of Nice and is considered its largest suburb. It was the retreat and final address of the painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir, who moved there in 1907 in an attempt to improve his arthritis, and remained until his death in 1919. In the late 1920s, Cagnes-sur-Mer became a residence for many renowned American literary and art figures, such as Kay Boyle, George Antheil and Harry and Caresse Crosby. Author Georges Simenon (1903–1989), creator of the fictional detective Commissaire Jules Maigret, lived at 98, montée de la Bourgade in the 1950s with his third wife and their three children; his initial “S” may still be seen in the wrought iron on the stairs. (France Tourism Bureau)