Nice, St. Tropez, Monte Carlo! All of these places are ones that have been at the top of my bucket list forever. Finally, I got the chance to visit them all! Now, the French Riviera is huge, so it is important to figure out where exactly you want to go before you head down. After lots of research, we decided to stay in Nice and do day trips from there to each place. Luckily, a lot of places are accessible by cheap and quick trains from Nice. We got a cheap Airbnb with some other friends from Rome and Barcelona in Old Town Nice, which proved to be a great home base during our wonderful stay in the South of France.
Day #1- Arrival in Nice
Immediately after our last day of school at ESCP, my roommates and I were off to Nice! Luckily from Paris, the flight is only about an hour. We got to Nice, checked into our Airbnb, and were immediately off to the beach which was only a 5-minute walk! It was absolutely beautiful. It was a bright, sunny day as well, so tons of people were out walking along the beach. The beach had rocks instead of sand, but it was still nice to be near. As we were walking we saw a lot of restaurants on the beach. So, we stopped at one before our dinner reservations. It was very relaxing being right on the beach and getting a quick snack. I would definitely recommend stopping here as you walk along the beach. From there, we went to dinner at Cote Lounge where I had delicious truffle pasta and caesar salad. It was a perfect way to end the day and prepare for the next!
Day #2- Day trip to Monte Carlo
Nice was a very central place in the South of France and we were able to take a lot of quick trains from their Nice Ville station. We walked about 20 min to the train station where we caught a 30 min train to Monte Carlo, Monaco for only 3 euros! There are trains every half hour, so it was pretty easy to catch one once we got there. You can buy tickets online or at the train station. As the train pulled up everyone rushed to get on since there are not a lot of seats, so I would recommend doing the same and trying to get a window seat. The train ride was absolutely beautiful, for you could see the oceanside along the way! After a quick 30 min, we were there! Monte Carlo is a small town and very easy to walk. So, we first walked to the famous Hotel de Paris which has been featured in many movies and is also right across from the famous Monte Carlo Casino. Now, we didn't go in any but it was great seeing these famous buildings and the luxurious cars that pulled up to each. We then walked along the coast through some Japanese Gardens and headed to lunch at La Note Bleue which is right on the beach, Plage du Larvotto. It was such a nice hot day, after lunch we ended up going into the water! We dried off and walked around some more to do some shopping and more sightseeing, such as heading to the port with all the yachts. Monte Carlo is very small and doable within a day, so we headed back for a lovely dinner at Bocca to end another perfect day.
Day #3- Day trip and Stay in St. Tropez
The next day, we decided to head to another famous beach town, St. Tropez! Now, there is, unfortunately, no direct train from Nice here. You can take a train and bus to save on costs and in a small group. But, we decided to use a car service called Daytrip which was pretty cheap when split amongst a big group. They picked us up and all our luggage from the Airbnb to take us straight to the small boutique hotel, Le Mouillage in St. Tropez. It was about a 2 hr ride with a quick stop for food along the way. We got to the hotel, dropped off our bags, and headed to the town. We got there just in time for the Saturday market. They had jewelry, bags, food, and basically everything you could look for (a great place to find gifts and souvenirs). After an hour of exploring the market and the town, we headed to lunch on the other side of the coast at Le Club 55. Now, one thing to note is that there are no public transportation options in St. Tropez or many Uber/taxis available. So, we had to call a cab service which we easily found online. The lunch was great and right by the beach which we went to for a bit afterward. From there, we went back to the hotel to go lay by the pool until dinner at Senequier. The dinner was delicious and we got some amazing burgers and fries to finish off another fantastic day.
Day #4- Back to Nice
Our friends were flying out of Nice that day, so after some nice pool time in the St. Tropez hotel, we decided to call the same car service to take us back. However, we stopped at this small food market we found on our morning walk, right by the port and VIP room club. They had lots of amazing food trucks with burgers, fries, kebabs, poke bowls, and more. I got the poke bowl which had the best fresh salmon. I would definitely recommend stopping here for delicious and reasonably priced food! We then got into an hour and a half car service to head back to Nice. Since it was just going to be me and my two roommates we got a hotel room at Hotel Vendome which I would recommend since it is in a centrally located area, very clean, and reasonably priced! We then went to the beach to sit in some of the blue chairs they have set up for everyone to eat some snacks and people watch (my favorite activity) before dinner. Now, we didn’t make any reservations but Old Town Nice has a street full of lively restaurants that take people without reservations. We got a very delicious Italian dinner before our friends flew back and we headed back to our hotel to rest. Another amazing day!
Day #5- Day trip to Cap-d’Ail
Now, this was my favorite day of the entire trip. We weren’t planning on going here but saw it as a stop on our way to Monte Carlo. Cap-d’Ail is a very small seaside area with beautiful houses and an even more magnificent view of the ocean. We took the same train to Monte Carlo but got off a few stops earlier at Cap-d’Ail. Immediately getting off we saw the beautiful Mediterranean Sea with beautiful white/gray cliffs. We walked a little further and found a small and empty beach, called Plage de la Mala. It had great views as well and even a couple of beach-side restaurants. We brought our speaker, some towels, snacks, and spent the day there relaxing, tanning, and soaking in the great sun! It was the best day ever. There were kids playing, people paddle boarding, and a few boats driving by. Overall, it was my favorite place in the South of France by far and I would definitely recommend going there if you can! The views are breathtaking and some I will never forget! We went back to Nice at the end of the day to eat at Indian Lounge, a very delicious Indian restaurant to finish off the best day!
Day #6- Day trip to Cannes and Antibes
Now, this was our last day. The weather wasn’t exactly on our side but we still made the most of it. First, we grabbed a quick breakfast at Emile and the Cool Kids. They had delicious bagels, coffee, and smoothies. Then we got on another quick train to Cannes where the famous Cannes film festival takes place every year. We headed to the area where the film festivities usually take place and saw the red carpet along with the handprints of many famous actors and actresses on the sidewalks. From there we saw the port of Cannes where the annual Yacht festival usually takes place. There were some of the most amazing yachts I had ever seen! Then we decided to walk along the promenade where many designer stores have lined up right across from the beach. We decided to take a walking break at a beach-side restaurant called Miramar Plage for a quick bite along the beach, very relaxing. From there, we walked around Old Town and headed back towards Nice. However, along the way, we decided to stop at another small coastal town called Antibes. We stopped here and caught another bus for only 1 euro to Eden Rock, a beautiful coastal area with great ocean views! We could not get enough of the amazing Mediterranean. After this, we finally headed back to Nice for the last time and went to an amazing Thai restaurant called Le Bahn Thai for our final meal.
There is so much to do in the South of France and so much to see. I would definitely recommend going during the summer when it's much warmer, but it was still one of my favorite places no doubt. It was great to see there is so much more to France than just Paris! If you are to study abroad in Paris, making a trip to the French Riviera should be at the top of your list for sure! The next day, I headed back to Paris for my final days there :(
Until next time, Au Revoir!
