In recent months, I have seen all the hype with people raving about how beautiful the French Riviera is. This led me to wonder if it really would be as great as everyone is saying, or if it would be a little overrated. After spending a few days in the area, I can say with 100% certainty that it is that popular for a reason, it is absolutely stunning.
For my trip to this region, I was based in Nice and it was the perfect central city to stay in. There were a range of shops and restaurants, along with a beautiful (but rocky) beach. Each day I was able to do short trips to nearby towns and beach’s, all which were less than half an hour away by train. This was the best part of staying in Nice, the easy accessibility to see so many of the regions sights.
In Nice itself, the old town was great, lots of shops and restaurants to be explored. I enjoyed getting a cheap takeaway pizza (only 8€) from Pili’s Pizza and taking it down to the beach along with a beer to watch the sunset! One morning, I got up at 6am and headed to the beach with a friend to go for a sunrise swim. This was really peaceful and beautiful, the colour of the water as the sun rises was so insanely blue, giving an ethereal vibe. Definitely worth the early wake up call.
Cannes, Antibes, and Billionaire’s Bay
My first day started by visiting the town of Cannes with a friend from the hostel. It’s a super cute town with a SANDY beach! After a couple of hours sunbathing on the beach, we climbed many stairs to a viewpoint that overlooked the town and coast. It was fantastic. We then spent some more time wandering the cute, aesthetic streets and got some gelato. Upon recommendation from the lady at the gelato store, we took the train to Antibes with the intention of walking some of the Cap D’Antibes hiking trail. What we didn’t realise was that to get to the start of the trail from the train station, that alone would be at least an hours walk, so we took a taxi. I’ve since found out that there is actually a bus that runs this route. Instead of dropping us near the start of the trail, the taxi dropped us near Billionaire’s Bay (which was one of our main destinations anyway). The bay was beautiful with crystal clear, sparkling water, that was so refreshing but not cold! It wasn’t too busy either, there were a lot of private boats anchored further out in the bay, and I can definitely understand why. From here we hiked the trail back towards Antibes township, and it was well worth the walk.
Monaco
As an F1 fan I was so excited to visit Monaco – the home town of my fav Charles Leclerc. It really was just as expensive and fancy as everyone says. I certainly felt out of place. It was cool to walk parts of the track, and see the start/finish line along with the grid. Overall though, on a budget there wasn’t a whole heap to do here, besides wander the city and climb up to the viewpoint. However, steak and shake was the perfect, affordable place for lunch! I had had many recommendations to go there from my cheap, backpacker friends and it was great. We ended up staying in Monaco for about half a day before heading back to Nice to spend the afternoon at the beach.
Eze
The final must visit place on my list in the French Riviera was Eze village and gardens. Following my research, I discovered that it was much better to take the bus rather than the train as the village of Eze is situated 2,000m above sea level, and the bus will take you right to the village, whereas the train drops you at the station at sea level and you are left to (quite literally) climb all the way up. So we took an early bus to the village, which only consists of a few smaller shops and streets, as well as famous cacti gardens that overlook the coast. It was not too busy when we arrived which was great, but proceeded to get busier and busier as the day went on. The views were definitely impressive, and the town was lovely. This was when we made the questionable decision to hike down and take the train back. Even though we were going downhill, it was steep, and the track was uneven and incredibly rocky. Unless you are a fitness beast, and very determined, I absolutely would not recommend hiking up. Downhill was manageable but, be warned, it wasn’t easy.
The French Riviera is an incredible travel destination, and I would love to go back. There is so much more to explore in the region, especially some of the slightly less touristy attractions. It’s also just a great place to relax and enjoy the beach. It’s not the cheapest area, but if you plan ahead, and make smart budgeting decisions, it’s definitely still an affordable destination.
~ Nikita’s Nomadic Notes
Nikita’s Nomadic Notes 