Nice & the French Riviera Travel Guide 2026: Côte d'Azur Complete

The Côte d'Azur is expensive, glamorous, and genuinely beautiful. This guide separates the worth-it from the overrated and shows you how to make the most of the French Riviera.

Nice & the French Riviera Travel Guide 2026: Côte d'Azur Complete

The French Riviera has been the playground of European royalty, artists, and the wealthy since the Victorian era, and the infrastructure (excellent transport links, extraordinary restaurants, Belle Époque architecture) reflects this accumulated investment. It is also expensive in a way that surprises even experienced European travelers. But the formula for enjoying it without paying Monte Carlo prices is straightforward — base yourself in Nice, day-trip everywhere, eat like a local.

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Nice: The Best Base

Nice is the largest city on the Riviera and the best base for exploring it. Cheaper than Antibes, Cannes, or Monaco. More vibrant than smaller resorts. The Old Town (Vieux-Nice) is a genuinely characterful Italian-influenced neighborhood (Nice was part of the Kingdom of Sardinia until 1860) with great markets and good restaurants.

Promenade des Anglais: The 7km seafront promenade is one of Europe's great urban walks. The pebble beach (Plage de Nice) is not the Mediterranean's finest, but the view — Nice's Belle Époque hotels, the Baie des Anges, the Alps in the distance — is unmatched.

Cours Saleya Market: The daily flower and food market in the Old Town. The best place for socca (chickpea flour flatbread, Nice's street food signature) and pissaladière (onion and anchovy tart). Go before noon.

Musée Matisse: Matisse spent most of his later life in Nice; this museum in a 17th-century villa contains the finest collection of his work. Often less visited than it deserves.

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Monaco: The Day Trip

Monaco is 25 minutes from Nice by train and costs €4.20 return. For that price, you walk through a sovereign nation, see the Formula 1 circuit (painted lines on public roads between houses and tunnels), watch the superyachts at Port Hercule, walk through the Casino Monte Carlo gardens, and have a coffee. The casino itself charges €15 entry (jacket required after 2pm). Worth it for the interior; the slot machines are beneath you.

Practical note: Monaco itself is expensive in every meaningful way. Have your coffee, see the circuit, walk through. No need to eat or stay.

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Cannes and Antibes

Cannes: Best known for its film festival (May) but a genuinely attractive town. The Vieux-Port promenade, the Marché Forville market, and the day trip to Île Sainte-Marguerite (where the Man in the Iron Mask was imprisoned) are the highlights. Cannes beach clubs are expensive; the public beach east of the Palais is free.

Antibes: Arguably the most livable Riviera town. The 17th-century Vauban fortifications, Cap d'Antibes (where wealthy families live behind electric gates), the extraordinary Picasso Museum (Picasso worked in the Château Grimaldi in 1946 — the resulting collection is here), and a genuine provençal market make this a better day trip than Cannes for most travelers.

Èze: A fortified village perched 429m above the sea, accessible by car or the Chemin de Nietzsche footpath from the coastal road. Touristy but unavoidably beautiful. The panoramic views from the Jardin Exotique over the coast are among the best on the entire Riviera.

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Food

Socca: Nice's own chickpea flatbread. Eat at Chez René Socca, which has been making it the same way since 1943.

Salade Niçoise: This dish has specific rules — fresh tuna (not canned), anchovies, hard-boiled eggs, green beans, tomatoes, black olives, and no lettuce. Everything else is an interpretation.

Bouillabaisse: The Provençal fish stew is technically from Marseille (45 minutes west) but available in good versions throughout the Riviera. Expect to pay €45–65 for a proper version.

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Getting Around

The regional rail line (TER) connects Nice to Monaco, Menton, Antibes, and Cannes with trains every 30 minutes and very reasonable prices (€4–12 for most day-trip destinations). The easiest and cheapest way to experience the Riviera.

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