5 Days in the French Riviera

Villafranche-Sur-Mer

Welcome to another travel blog! In this one I’m going to give you our 5 day itinerary including where we stayed, restaurants we loved, and what we did. I’ll also share a few other hotel suggestions and things to do that we ran out of time for and you might find more exciting!

When you think about the French Riviera what comes to mind? For me its elegance, colorful architecture, and gorgeous seaside views. Well friends, she really held up that standard for me!

In high school my family and I went on a cruise through the Mediterranean where we stopped at two ports in the French Riviera - Monaco and Eze. Both of these destinations I remembered as some of the highlights of that trip for me. I’ve wanted to do this trip since living here in Italy purely because I wanted to go to these destinations with my husband. As we began our drive to the French Riviera I worried that it wouldn’t hold up to the expectation I remember it as. Oh my lanta was I wrong, it was just as good as we remember!

Welp, now that I’ve given you enough anticipation, let’s get to the details!

Where Is The French Riviera?

The French Riviera (also known as Cote d’Azur) is the Southeast coastal area of France, set on the Mediterranean Sea. Beginning in Menton on the far east side and extending down to St. Tropez on the far west side.

Where To Stay

View from our room at the Riviera Marriott in Monaco

The most worthwhile cities to visit are all very close to each other.Though the entire SE side of coastal France may sound large and expansive, it’s relatively easy to get from one city to another. You may opt to stay in one city near the east side and another on the west during your trip, but we decided to base out of Monaco (on the east side) and it worked out perfectly.

We stayed at the Riviera Marriott Hotel La Porte de Monaco on the west side of Monte Carlo. For trips like this when we aren’t in the hotel much, using the pool, or taking in what the hotel has to offer I don’t mind chain hotels. Especially to try and get more points, or use them to make the trip more budget friendly. If you’ve been around for a while, finding adorable hotels is sort of my love language! But stick around for some upcoming travel guides for trips catered to that style.

Villefranche Sure Mer is centrally located and a great option as well. I was considering the Welcome Hotel (which we saw and it looked adorable) located right on the water in Villefranche. Nice is also a great option for its location and variety of options, however, the traffic in Nice could get a bit hectic. There are plenty of charming Chateaus located around Biot, a small town on the hillside near Nice with beautiful options that are also budget friendly.

Some of the other hotels and chateaus I liked the looks of are:

Chateau Le Cagnard - beautiful clean and elegant rooms with a terrace restaurant and sea views.
La Bastide de Biot - another charming B&B feel with a great price.
Chateau Eza - a beautiful Chateau on the top of the ancient city of Eze (one of my favorite places of the trip). Pricey but perfect if you’re looking for a relaxing stay in a special and unique environment.

Our Itinerary:

Day 1 - Drive to Monaco

Monte Carlo Casino

Originally we’d planned on leaving the night before and finding an Airbnb last minute about halfway to Monaco, but the good old Air Force had other plans for us!! We ended up leaving at the break of dawn to arrive in Monaco early-mid afternoon and spending the rest of the day exploring Monaco.

A couple things to say about Monaco logistically. If you’re driving, your google maps will get VERY confused due to a myriad of tunnels and roundabouts...hehe! But once you do it a couple of times you get used to it and it isn’t hard at all. Secondly, if you live overseas and use TIM for your phone, Monaco is not included in out EU plan. Be sure to turn off roaming and only use wi-fi while in Monaco. We took one for the team on that one ;).

After arriving we dropped off our bags and headed out the door to explore. Monaco is quite small with it’s main attractions centered around the area of the Monte Carlo Casino. So only having a half day turned out to be okay!

We first wandered the old town streets where the locals hang out with plenty of shops and cafes. We admired the Prince’s Palace and many yachts sitting in the marinas before heading up the hill to Monte Carlo.

If you find yourself in Monte Carlo I highly recommend paying the 17 euro to go into the casino. It is GORGEOUS! The 17 euro entry fee just gets credited to either gambling chips (is that what they’re called?!) or you can use them for a drink at the bar. We opted to use them for a drink at the bar while we watch people play black jack! Given the affluence of the area, watching the gambling can be pretty fun!

The casino does not allow shorts or sandals for men after 7pm, so plan accordingly. There are also a couple of nice restaurants in the casino if you really want to take it all in, one even has a beautiful terrace with a view of the sea.

After checking out the casino we wandered the streets with beautiful shops from Zara, to Louis Vuitton, and everything in between. The area itself is gorgeous to walk around whether you’re shopping or not. It even has a welcoming sitting area/park in the center with a drink-truck. I find the atmosphere of Monte Carlo so fun to be around. You might see some really cool and well-kept fiats from the old Italian days, or even an entirely black swarovski crystal lamborghini. If you have a car-infatuated loved one they’ll probably love this area!

This area can be on the more expensive side in terms of food and drink, but I’ll let you know which we thought were worth it! There are plenty of really good restaurants just down the hill from Monte Carlo near the middle marina (the old town I was talking about earlier) with beautiful atmospheres for a fraction of the price.

Tonight we decided on Buddha Bar for dinner which ended up being SUCH a good find!

The atmosphere is so fun, the drinks are DELISH, and the food is unreal. I highly recommend the sweet spicy drink, the chicken gyoza, and the wok fried beef with thai basil. This restaurant was the priciest of the trip, but so worth it in our opinion.

Pro-tip: never get drinks (at least cocktails or spritzes) or food in restaurants RIGHT in the center. They aren’t very good and you generally pay for the view.

Some other restaurants in Monaco I thought looked promising:

COYA

Avenue 31

Song Qi

Day Two - La Petite Plage Beach Club - Juan Les Pins

Our dinner restaurant of choice!

I mean, you can’t go to the French Riviera and not go to a beach club, am I right? Originally I planned on going to a beach club in the infamous St. Tropez. St. Tropez is known for its glitz and glam and high appeal to the rich and famous. And you know what? I like nice things. I can’t help it, sue me, haha! I mean you can’t go to the French Riviera and not go to St. Tropez, you just can’t! Or so I thought!

After a little research I decided that St. Tropez was a little unjustifiably pricey (*sigh*) and actually quite far in relation to the other cities we wanted to visit (about two hours from Monaco). Enter: Juan Les Pins. The equally beautiful, beach club filled, fun atmosphere beach town with much better prices and only an hour from Monaco! I found La Petite Plage (meaning the little beach front) on Instagram and as you can imagine I fell in love.

What’s even better? It lived up to my expectations in real life! The food and drinks were SO good. I had my first real salad with a real dressing as opposed to olive oil and vinegar since moving to Italy and I about keeled over from joy. Ha! Also highly recommend the spicy margarita (I think it was called Carlo’s something??). Can you tell I like spicy tequila drinks? Anyway, if you’re looking for a beach club in the French Riviera Juan Les Pins has plenty that are beautiful and so reasonably priced. If you decide on La Petite Plage I just messaged them on Instagram to book chairs and make a reservation for lunch.

With it not quite being dinner time yet in Juans Les Pins we decided to head back to Monaco to change and head to dinner. Tonight we decided on Restaurant La Cambuse right across the marina from our hotel.

Day 3 - Old Town Nice and Eze

Day three was quite possibly my favorite day. We almost didn’t even go to Nice because, in my experience, the big cities just aren’t worth the hype, it’s more the small-town charm that we love. But after looking at Old Town Nice I decided we might as well make the stop since we’re right there, and I am so glad we did!

We parked at Interparking Sulzer which is a really easy spot if you’re driving right on the far west side of Old Town, and began the day with a cappuccino and few pastries from Boulangerie Jeannot. Oh. My. Lanta. Italian pastries have nothing on these ones, my goodness. We ordered a cheese filled one (accidentally I might add), some fruit, and a last minute almond braided pastry stick situation. My descriptions are just flawless aren’t they? Anyway. They were amazing, definitely give them a try if you can figure out which one I mean! You can sit outside along the sidewalk and people watch while listening to the opera singers next door.

Afterward we strolled the streets of old town. We were there on a Friday which ended up being their market day. I think if the market wasn’t going on I might not have loved it as much as I did. I’d still go if you can’t make it on a Friday, but try to time your trip so you can be here on market day! Try not to get sucked in to all the handmade “Herbs de Provence,” lavender honey, homemade lavender soaps, and so much more. Or, just have my husband walk around with you and he’ll be quick to tell you you don’t need another handsoap ;)

After strolling down the main street head up into the winding streets of boutique shops, cafes, and restaurants that were actually way less touristy than I anticipated. My hunch is that the rest of Nice takes care of the touristy factor.

Some places I loved you should definitely make a pit-stop at:

Angea Macaron Shop

A L’Olivier - dijon mustards, fruit essence vinegars, and specialty herbs and olive oils

For the life of me I cannot find the cutest women’s linen clothing boutique. You have to take my word for it and go there. It’s on the north end of old town, on a corner with linen dresses displayed out on the sidewalk. I got the cutest handmade linen midi button up dress you will definitely see me wearing 24/7.

After strolling through the boutiques and cafes head to the seaside to walk along the water and take in the stunning Cote D’Azur. If you’re choosing to stay in Nice I’d try and find one of the little hotels along the seaside in this area.

We opted not to go to any of the other sites in Nice purely because I’m jaded and thought we could better spend our time elsewhere. But, there is SO much to do in Nice you could easily spend an entire day (heck trip) here!

After spending the morning in Nice it was finally off to the destination I’d been so excited to experience with T: the ancient city of Eze.

Eze is one of the places I remember admiring most on our family trip too many years ago. Picture cobblestone streets, stone buildings with flowers growing alongside them, and delightful restaurants all on a magnificent hilltop overlooking the entire French Riviera. Yep, that’s Eze.

We began our Eze experience with lunch at Le Nid d’Aigle. Try and sit outside in the courtyard under the vines if you can. T got the spinach and salmon stuffed puff pastry and I got an omelette (which are actually SO popular for lunch in the French Riviera which I love!). Wowza. It was truly delicious and I highly recommend it. They also have big beautiful salads, escargot, and really any typical French food you could want.

Our lunch restaurant of choice!

After lunch we walked a few steps next door to visit the vast garden and it’s beautiful views. It has a minimal entry fee which I also highly recommend.

Following our garden stroll we wandered every inch of this charming village, popping in and out of boutiques. Personally I could have an entire vacation up here. If you’re up for it, check out some of the Chateau hotels up here and spend a night. I bet the sunset and sunrise would be unforgettable.

Day 4 - Villafranche-Sur-Mer, Villa Ephrussi, Grasse, and Antibes

Lou Bantry

By the looks of the title of day four you’re probably saying something like, “goodness Di, couldn’t you have better planned this trip and spread out the sites a little?” But trust me, this worked out perfectly. All of these villages are quite small and close to each other and this was a perfect day.

Beginning with breakfast alongside the sea in Villefranche-Sur-Mer (p.s. Park at “parking wilson” if you’re driving) at Lou Bantry. We actually stumbled across this place by a serendipitous accident. We first looked at having breakfast at the Welcome Hotel just down the street where we were looking at possibly staying. If you’re staying there, it has a beautiful view! But the buffet didn’t seem worth the price for us (which is included and wonderful if you stay there). So we kept walking until we found a family eating omelettes, crepes, and pastries right next to the water. Say no more. My overseas living friends will know what I mean when I say that in Europe if you see eggs for breakfast you stop. The servers were so friendly, the atmosphere couldn’t have been more peaceful, and the food was delicious nonetheless.

After a yummy breakfast we walked up into the colorful alleys and streets. This area is quite small, so it wasn’t long after that we got back in the car to head to Villa Ephrussi.

At first glance you might say, how cool can an old villa really be? But, my friends, it is so fun!

Not only is the interior stunning, but the gardens are truly magnificent. Maybe even some of the most beautiful gardens we’ve seen thus far. They have a fountain set to music, a rose garden, Japanese garden, a cafe set outside under the flower filled trees, and so many more beautiful gardens. You can even have a picnic out in one of the gardens if you reserve it in advance! My only advice would be to get there early. We arrived around 10:30am and the parking lot was almost already full.

After Villa Ephrussi we drove about an hour north to Grasse. This was a sort of on the whim decision. But my husband found this really charming street with pink umbrellas flying all along the tops of the buildings and we decided we had to go!

You can find these umbrellas on Dominique Conte Street. It was in this square we finally got around to trying a real French Crepe. We just went to the creperie in the center which (like I said above) I was sort of thinking would be absolutely terrible and a tourist trap. BUT, it actually wasn’t! It was SO yum! We meant to order one savory crepe to split but our waitress misunderstood and brought two. Well friends, we devoured both. You have to try! Like all the other towns there are some beautiful shops, especially perfumeries here to check out. After walking through all of the little umbrella lines streets we were off to our last destination for the day, Antibes.

After all of my research on the French Riviera I was really looking forward to Antibes. It’s another charming city along the coast with plenty of boutiques, beaches, cafes, and restaurants.

We went down every street popping in and out of boutiques all of the entire old town. We happened to catch the end of an antique market in the square too! Antibes is quite a bit bigger than any of the previous towns, so it is quite a bit more touristy than I expected. But if you stay in the smaller boutique area or by the square with plenty of restaurants to people watch it is still quite charming! We even stumbled upon a 5 man classic instrument band singing classic French music while stopping for a mid-afternoon ice cream pick me up! How cute is that? One thing I do regret is not getting one of the vintage looking prints. They have a different print for each town of the French Riviera that looks like a vintage sort of cartoon painting. They were everywhere and i wish we’d gotten one!

After a long and beautiful day it was time to head back to the hotel.

Day 5 - Menton and Drive Home

Such a cool walking/running pathway along the eastern coast of Monaco

Our very last day was pretty much just reserved for driving back home.

One of the towns that is well-praised is Menton, just a short drive east of Monaco. We decided to stop here for breakfast on the way back and take in one last city. Once again, we were lucky enough to be there on Market day! We stopped at Vanilla Bakery Menton for a yummy omelette start to the day, a few croissants (duh), and a vegan raisin and regular old chocolate chip cookie for the car ride home. Who put those there!? It must have been a popular pick because by 10:30am the outdoor seating was full! You guessed it, another wander through the streets before hopping in the car to drive back home.

This was such a wonderful trip and I hope you get to make it someday soon. If you do, my absolute favorites and must do’s were:

Monte Carlo Monaco
Eze
Old Town Nice
Villefranche and Villa Ephrussi

And that’s it folks. I hope you enjoyed yet another travel blog. As always, I actually have a“travel hacks” highlight where I explain how to use google maps to save places that you want to visit in the future, whether you have a trip planned or not! Click here to view that, go through these places and be sure to save your favorites! I’d love to hear which ones you end up going to! Never hesitate to DM me on Instagram or shoot me an email here, I love hearing from you!

Until next time, XO,

Di