NICE · CÔTE D’AZUR
One blue bay, and the whole Riviera from it.
Monaco and Eze along the Corniche, boat days on the Baie des Anges, the Grasse perfume ateliers, the lanes of Vieux Nice and the lavender country inland. Every good day in Nice, and every road, rail and sea route out of it.
Only here
Three days you can only have on this coast.
Beaches and boat trips line every Mediterranean shore. Crossing into Monaco for the afternoon, blending your own bottle in Grasse and hanging over the rail at Eze above the Corniche belong to the Riviera alone.
A country in an afternoon
Monaco & Monte-Carlo
Half an hour east along the coast, a sovereign half-square-mile of palace, superyachts and the most famous casino on earth. Watch the changing of the guard above the harbour, walk the Grand Prix circuit through the streets, then lose a token at the tables under the gilt ceilings of Monte-Carlo. There is nowhere else quite like it.
- 1 From Nice: Eze, Monaco, & Monte-Carlo Half-Day Trip
- 2 Monaco, Monte-Carlo and Eze Village Small Group Half-Day Tour
- 3 Monaco, Monte Carlo, Eze, La Turbie 7H Shared Tour from Nice
The world’s perfume capital
Grasse & Its Perfume Ateliers
In the hills above Cannes, the town that has supplied the great Paris houses for three centuries. The jasmine and may-rose for the famous scents still grow on its terraces, and in the old parfumeries a “nose” sits you at the organ of essences to blend a bottle that is yours alone. You can do this here and almost nowhere else.
- 1 Monaco & Eze Small-Group Day Trip with Perfumery Visit from Nice
- 2 Fragonard Eze: Perfume Making Class and Factory Tour
- 3 Nice: Discovery Perfume Workshop
The greatest coast road in Europe
Eze & the Three Corniches
Three roads stack up the cliff between Nice and Monaco — the low one through the seaside towns, the middle one to the eagle’s-nest village of Eze, the high Grande Corniche that Grace Kelly drove with the sea 500 metres below. Hang over the rail at Eze, then drop down to Villefranche for lunch. One short coast, three different views of it.
- 1 From Nice: French Riviera in One Day
- 2 From Nice: The Best of the French Riviera Full Day Tour
- 3 The Best of the French Riviera Small group Guided Tour from Nice
Start here
The half-day everyone books first.
More Riviera trips are built around this run to Eze and Monaco than anything else on the coast.
Where most people start
The Riviera’s Most Popular Days Out
Monaco and Eze, the Verdon Gorge, a bay cruise to Villefranche and a walk through Old Nice. The days most travellers come to the Cote d’Azur for.
Where to begin
The days a Riviera week is built around.
Monaco and Monte-Carlo, the coast road to Eze, Cannes and Antibes, the lanes of Vieux Nice, the Grasse perfume houses and a day on the water. The handful of trips most weeks are planned around, and the best way to do each.
The big day trip
How to do Monaco & the Corniche.
Monaco is barely twenty minutes east, so the how matters as much as the if. Three ways to take in Eze, the cliff roads and the principality, depending on the time you have.
Eat Nicois
Niçois cooking is its own country.
Nice spent centuries looking to Italy, and it shows on the plate: socca sizzling on a copper tray, pan bagnat dripping at the market, salade niçoise as the locals actually make it, a chilled glass of hillside Bellet. Graze the Cours Saleya stalls, then follow a guide into the back-lane kitchens of Vieux Nice.
Read the guide: the best food & wine tours in Nice →When the light turns gold
The Riviera is at its best after six.
The coast slows down and shows off in the evening. Apéro on a Cours Saleya terrace, a sunset sail out across the Baie des Anges, the lit-up harbour and casino square at Monaco, and a long Mediterranean dinner with the sea going dark beyond the rail.
See the evening experiences →On the water
The coast was built to be seen from the sea.
From the deck the Riviera reads the way it was meant to: the pastel front of Nice curving round the Baie des Anges, the deep clear water off Villefranche, the millionaires’ coves of Cap Ferrat and the cliffs falling sheer to little pebble beaches. Take a sightseeing cruise, a sunset sail or a small boat into the calanques, and snorkel where the road can’t reach.
Boat trips & cruises →Into the hills
Stone villages hung above the sea.
Behind the glamour of the coast the land climbs fast into a maze of medieval villages perché — Eze on its pinnacle, the ramparts and galleries of Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Gourdon teetering over the Loup gorge. Cobbled lanes, a single fountained square, and the whole Riviera laid out far below. A day inland is the Cote d’Azur’s quiet half.
- 1 Nice: Countryside Tour with Grasse
- 2 Provence Countryside Small Group Day Trip with Grasse Perfumery Visit from Nice
- 3 Nice: Provence Village Tour with Wine and Produce Tasting
Plan by distance
Pick how far you want to go today.
Nice is the perfect base. Spend the day in the Old Town, hop along the coast to Eze and Monaco, or commit a full day to Grasse, Saint-Tropez or the Verdon Gorge inland.
In Nice
Stay in town.The Baroque lanes of Vieux Nice, the Cours Saleya flower market, a socca and a glass of Bellet rose, then the climb up Castle Hill for the whole bay. Days you never leave the city.
Along the coast
Ride the coast.Eze on its crag, Villefranche’s deep-water bay, Cap Ferrat’s villas and Monaco at the end of the line. Twenty minutes by train or a slow loop of the Corniche, back by evening.
A full day out
Head inland.The perched stone villages above the coast, the Grasse perfume houses, Saint-Tropez by sea or the turquoise Verdon Gorge and the lavender plateaus. The big days that need an early start.
Top down
The Corniche was made for an open top.
This is the coast where Grace Kelly drove a convertible along the cliffs and the Monaco Grand Prix runs through the streets. Take the wheel of a vintage Citroën or a little Vespa, drop the roof, and string Eze, La Turbie and the high Corniche together with the Mediterranean glittering 500 metres below — a guide ahead and nothing but bends and blue.
See all 17 classic-car & scooter tours →By place
Nice, and the coast either side of it.
Vieux Nice for the Old Town and the market. Monaco for the casino and the palace. Cannes and Antibes for the glamour and Picasso. Saint-Tropez by boat. The Provence villages for stone and quiet. Verdon for the turquoise gorge and the lavender.
By activity
Pick what kind of day you want.
A guided run along the coast if you want the highlights. A boat if you want the sea. A food tour if you want to eat Nicois. A perfume workshop if you want to take the Riviera home in a bottle. The Old Town on foot, or the Corniche with the roof down.
Plan it
Three days that cover the essentials.
First time on the Cote d’Azur? Here is how three days plays out without a wasted hour.
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