Germany's Buchinger health resort will bring nil-by-mouth luxe to the French Riviera in 2029, along with a medical centre, a biodynamic farm and a sculpture park. Olivia Palamountain reports

The Buchinger family is set opening their third medically supervised fasting resort in the hills above the Côte d'Azur, bringing more than a century of therapeutic fasting expertise to the French Riviera.

The new Buchinger health resort will open in 2029 in Roquefort-les-Pins, 20km from Nice Airport, marking the family business's expansion into France after establishing clinics at Lake Constance, Germany in 1953 and Marbella, Spain in 1973.

Founded in 1920 by Dr Otto Buchinger, the company specialises in medically supervised fasting programmes combined with comprehensive medical and nutritional therapies, diagnostics, yoga and meditation. The method originated when Dr Buchinger, then a young naval officer, turned to fasting to treat crippling rheumatoid polyarthritis after conventional medicine failed to provide relief.    The Côte d'Azur resort will feature spaces that embody health, sustainability and longevity principles, including a medical centre with eight doctors, four pools, 3,400 sqm of spa facilities and a biodynamic farm to supply the kitchens.

Additional facilities include four private villas, an art and sculpture park, a concert hall and art atelier, positioning the resort as a cultural destination alongside its medical offerings.

The facility is the first project of its kind in France to receive the BDM Gold Standard sustainability certificate and will feature further green features such as photovoltaic panels, climate wells and a car-free zone. The resort has also received Ecrains certification for outstanding air quality.Typical stays last 10-21 nights and combine physical, mental and spiritual regeneration under supervision from multidisciplinary teams including medical doctors, nutritionists, psychologists, therapists and coaches. The programmes focus on weight management, metabolic health, longevity and what the company terms "systemic reset" through structured fasting protocols.Leonard Wilhelmi, great-grandson of Dr Otto Buchinger and chief executive of Buchinger Wilhelmi, Lake Constance, says: "We are proud to bring the Buchinger Method to the Côte d'Azur, a place which reflects the Buchinger spirit - beautiful natural surroundings, the Mediterranean Sea, cultural offerings in art and music, and bio dynamic agriculture. The French culture and language has long been engrained into our family. French is one of the most spoken languages in our Lake Constance and Marbella clinics, so we feel a deep affinity with the French people, and are proud of our ongoing collaborations with French universities and research institutions."Current Buchinger clinics welcome guests from more than 70 countries with a repeat rate exceeding 70%. The centres function as research facilities, working with universities including Milan, Strasbourg, Charité Berlin and King's College London through a full-time team of four research specialists who conduct studies on the safety and efficacy of the Buchinger Method.