The beautiful South of France!
The South of France is on a lot of peoples bucket list and for good reason. It has picture perfect beaches, charming towns and great food. Our main hub was the town of Nice, but we got to spend time in a few other small towns during the week we were there.
This trip was taken March 2024.
Check out our full vlog here:
Our itinerary was:
- Day 1: Arrive, explore Nice
- Day 2: Hiking Cap Ferrat
- Day 3: Day trips to Antibes, Monaco and Menton
- Day 4: The medieval village of Eze
It was a short trip – but we made the most of it and loved every second!
Day 1: Nice
This was another trip that we picked our destination based on amazing flight deals! This was a trip with just the adults and we loved France!
We arrived around lunchtime after a long, overnight flight. There was rain in the forecast though, so we quickly took off exploring the city to make the most of the day before the storms. We visited one of the most iconic viewpoints in the city, Castle Hill. The original castle was built in the 11th century, but after being under siege for centuries, was eventually dismantled. Now, it’s a viewpoint and public gardens with sweeping views of the Mediterranean and the town of Nice. We visited on a cloudy day, so the water wasn’t quite as bright as you sometimes see in pictures, but still made for great views nonetheless. We spent the rest of the evening strolling the streets of old town before grabbing a nice dinner, some gelato, and heading back to our hotel
Day 2: Cap Ferrat
The following morning, there was rain in the forecast all day. Not very good luck for a place that experiences something like 300 days of sun a year! We decided to head out for a quick breakfast and coffee run before enjoying an impromptu massage at our hotels spa. Perfect way to spend a rainy morning! Our hotel was the Westminster Hotel and Spa, right on the promenade and was gorgeous with a balcony overlooking the ocean. We got this for 3 nights free with credit card points – even better!
After a relaxing morning, we grabbed some crepes for lunch at a great place called Creperie Suzette, and then headed out for the hike we wanted to do at Cap Ferrat.
Cap Ferrat is a beautiful peninsula just a few minutes east of Nice by train. It offers hiking trails all along the coastline. We walked along the coast for about 4 hours, seeing harbors, beautiful houses, villages and amazing coastal views. The views when it’s sunny looks incredible. But – since it was raining on and off all afternoon, we had a lot of time on the hike when we were the only ones there. The homes along the coast are amazing.
After a long, and a little bit wet hike, we headed back to Nice for another wonderful, relaxing dinner at La Pizza Cresci – which has been in Nice for almost 60 years!
Day 3: Antibes, Monaco and Menton
The rain finally cleared and we had a beautiful, sunny day. We spent the day exploring various towns along the French Riviera.
We started with Antibes. The main attraction we wanted to see here was the Fort Carre. It’s a 16th century fort, and although it was in use for 3 centuries, it only was attacked twice. During the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte was imprisoned here. Eventually, in 1906, the site was deemed a historical monument. Today – you can tour the fort for a small fee and get amazing views on the walls. On a clear day you can see all along the coast, as well as the island of Corsica in the distance.
Next up – we took the train to Monaco, our 20th country! We didn’t spend a ton of time here, just checked out the casino, harbor and the race track. It’s not very charming, but was interesting to see. See more on our Monaco page!
For our last stop of the day, we headed back to France to visit the town of Menton. This town has been a part of Italy, Monaco and eventually France, and is less then 4 kilometers from the border with Italy. It’s known for its colorful seaside buildings and its charming shops. We enjoyed walking along the waterfront and checking out some of the stores that sold lavender and lemon souvenirs. It was super charming and we would have liked to spend more time here.
Finally, we headed back to old town nice for some dinner and macaroons for dessert.
Day 4: Eze, France
On our last full day in France, we spent the morning getting coffee and strolling along the Promenade des Anglaise. We grabbed lunch from The Original Foca and gelato from Fenocchino – which has been serving gelato for the past 100 years. The day was warm and sunny and the views of the water were incredible. We sat for a while on the benches by the ocean just taking it all in.
After lunch, we took our much anticipated drive up to the medieval town of Eze. This town and its windy, cobblestone streets, sits perched 1400 feet above the sea and has incredible views of the Mediterranean. We couldn’t get over this town. Just walking through these amazing streets was like nothing we had ever seen before.
When we arrived, we checked into our hotel, a boutique, 5 star hotel called Chateau Eza. While we waited for our room, the escorted us to the balcony for a welcome drink while we soaked in the views. We’ve honestly never experienced such a luxurious hotel before and it quickly became our favorite hotel experience we’ve ever had.
Just check out our room…. so beautiful and luxurious. Also – free with credit card points. And, that view?! Wait till you see sunset.
In the afternoon, we explored the Exotic Gardens, which was created after World War II on a chateaus ruins. It has beautiful plants and succulents from around the Mediterranean region, and even more amazing views.
In the evening, we walked down the mountain to get some dinner at a restaurant with nice views and great ambiance. We didn’t realize that in March, many of the restaurants in Eze aren’t open for dinner. Looks like they open during the more touristy seasons. The restaurant at our hotel was open, which is a Michelin star restaurant, but it was a bit too fancy (i.e. expensive) for us. But, we were happy where we ended up. The risotto was to die for. We enjoyed our last dinner in France before walking back (up a literal mountain!) to our hotel to enjoy an amazing sunset.
After about 6pm, most of the stores and restaurants were closing down, meaning everyone except for the residents of Eze and the guests in the 14 rooms of this hotel were gone. After dark, we wandered the streets of this 14th century village where we didn’t see a soul, and enjoyed a peaceful, almost eerie walk. Eze is incredibly special and we’ve never quite experienced anything like it.
The next morning, we reluctantly checked out of our hotel and headed for the airport to head home. An unfortunately cancelled flight in London left us stranded for an extra night, but we were grateful for the trip we had and can’t wait to plan where we are heading next!
