Cote d’Azur, France Vacation Itinerary
Experience a Cote d’Azur France Vacation featuring the authentic side of the glitzy and historic French Riviera with this insider’s tour of Cannes, Nice, Antibes and Grasse.
Check out the red carpet in Cannes and feast on French cheese in nearby markets, learn about Picasso in Antibes, drive a classic car to fragrant Grasse, take on Nice by bicycle and ski the French Alps during the winter. This itinerary will show you great adventures and experiences along the Cote d’Azur and can be customized to fit your needs.
Day 1: Arrive to Nice in the Cote d’Azur
Welcome to Nice! Drive a short distance away in charming Antibes. Mixing luxury and authenticity, Antibes is the perfect destination to begin your journey. Located between Cannes and Nice, Antibes has a sophisticated, yet ancient feel with its cobblestone streets and charming homes. A draw for artists and writers throughout the century, including Pablo Picasso and F. Scott Fitzgerald, today, Antibes still attracts the rich and famous, in particular during the Cannes Film Festival. Walk amid pricey yachts or quaint cafes and locally owned shops. Breathe in the fresh Mediterranean air and relax.
Designed by architect Gérard Vollenweider and built in 2011, your boutique hotel has an apt nautical theme. Embellished with themes of a sailing ship, this modern and contemporary property is complete with sea views and steps away form the sea. Rooms have quality Italian furniture and a nautical theme–– a nod to the yachts of the famous Billionaires Wharf. With an onsite restaurant and spa, fitness center and access to a small, private beach.
Enjoy the rest of the afternoon on your own. Stretch your legs with a walk outside to get over any jet lag and enjoy a glass of wine in a local cafe or your hotel bar.
Darley biking through the streets of Nice
Day 2: Antibes
Antibes Market & Tour
After breakfast, head to Antibes city center. Tucked away behind the ramparts is Vieux Antibes (Old Antibes), lies a honey-colored quarter of winding cobbled lanes, splashed with flowers and over flowing with shops, restaurants and bars. Visit the bustling morning market in the cours Masséna, and the craft market in the afternoon.
The Cours Massena market offers an infinite diversity of fresh regional produce, meats and cheeses from the mountains, specialities, spices and bouquets of cut or dried flowers. Enjoy the sights and flavors of the regulars who work and shop here from 6am to 1pm every day.
After lunch, take a tour of Antibes and choose your theme. Antibes is known for its history, but it is also famous for the renown painters who lived there.
History: On a historic tour of Antibes, discover the fascinating history of a city created by the Greeks and developed by the Romans, ravaged by the Barbarians, then fortified under the reign of Henri IV and Louis XIV. Enjoy the beauty of its medieval town, its ramparts walls along the seafront, the Provencal market, the famous Port Vauban and the flowery Safranier neighbordhood.
Art: Love Antibes through the eyes of the different artists who lived or stayed here and painted the town and its landscapes. Thanks to panels set up on the very spots where the originals were painted, you can follow in the footsteps of those artists and understand how they became fascinated by the extraordinary light and magical colours of the French Riviera, including one of its most famous, Picasso. Visit the Picasso Museum, housed in an old castle that used to belong to the family Grimaldi, and where Picasso lived in 1946, leaving the city 23 paintings and 44 drawings.
We recommend dining tonight at Chez Mamo. Being so close to Italy, many area restaurants serve up a mix of French and Italian cuisine, including Chez Mamo, where homemade pasta mixes with fresh cheeses and seafood amid a plethora of celebrity photos. Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, Steven Spielburg, Rhianna, Sting, and on and on have visited and they’ve all snapped photos with Mamo. Ask your waiter or waitress if Mamo is around and try to snap a photo, too.
Day 3: Perfume, Gardens & Gardens
After breakfast, drive for 13 miles through quaint French villages en route to Grasse, where many of the world’s top perfumes are produced and have been since the Middle Ages.
Flowers have given Grasse, the World Perfume Capital, its aristocratic title. There once was a time when the city was graced with the breathtaking sight and heady perfume of gardens and flower fields filled with jasmine, rose and tuberose, the three queens of the flower kingdom so essential to the perfume industry. Today, some twenty farmers cultivate such flower fields, and certain gardens are conceived so as to preserve this heritage by composing a rich bouquet of the fragrances of Provence.
Explore the heart of Grasse’s historic downtown by train. Next, discover the main historical sites of Grasse on foot, including Old Town, Place aux Aires, Place de l’Evêché square and the Cathedral.
Next, enjoy diving into the world of perfume at the Fragonard Perfume Factory. Fragonard is one of the oldest perfume factories in Grasse and one of a few offering travelers the chance to create their own scent. Take a special workshop and craft your own perfume!
This fantastic olfactive experience is focuses on the composition and personalisation of an Eau de Cologne. You’ll be led by a teacher and create a 100ml bottle to take home with you, along with your own perfume diploma and Fragonard apron.
The villa Fort France garden in Grasse is an Artist’s garden. The harmony of shapes and colors as well as diversity of species makes it unique. Built by Lady Fortescue, a British author who wrote the bestselling book “Perfume from Provence” there, is totally organic and focuses on biodiversity. Explore the garden during a private visit and discover the artist’s paintings showcasing the famous garden.
Day 4: Cannes & Nice
After breakfast, drive a short distance (15min) to Cannes. Cannes’ roots date back to ancient times. Once a simple fishing village, today, the old mixes with the ultra new and while things seem quite alive even in the off season, Cannes simply buzzes with action during its film festival each May.
A few steps from La Croisette boardwalk and at the foot of the ancient neighborhood of Le Suquet, Cannes’ large covered market, Marché Forville, is ready to meet your shopping needs. Located along one of the Côte d’Azur’s best gourmand streets, Forville Market is the place for foodies. Visitors enjoy varied eating and shopping experiences among its produce and flower stalls.
In operation since the 1930’s, fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses, seafood, eggs and more abound, but if you’re new to Cannes, you must try the Socca.
Buy some cheese and wine from the market to take a taste of Cannes with you. The colorful selection of flowers you’ll see is grown locally outside Antibes, and it is one of the best spots in the market for taking great pictures.
Tips: If you are visiting on a Monday, be aware that the food stalls are replaced by an all-day flea market, or brocante in French. No foodie tour that day.
After checking in, follow Darley’s *e-biking tour in Old Nice. This is a great way to explore Nice, because it’s a hilly city, so taking on those hills is easier with the e-bike. It also gives you a chance to wind around smaller more intimate areas. On this tour, you’ll also experience the landmarks.
The famous Promenade des Anglais and icnoic Hotel Negresco
The Italian Place Garibaldi and Place Massena
The Colline (Nice’s old Chateau) overlooking Nice Bay
The Port with its traditional fishing boats beighboring luxury yachts
Plus hidden churches, walks, gardens, fountains, giant sculptures, tips for the best bars and restaurants, and plenty of photo stops.
Darley biking through the streets of Nice
A bike tour through Nice with Darley
Your hotel is located in the heart of the city, steps away from the beach and the Promenade des Anglais, and the famous Place Masséna. It celebrates the history of Nice. Throughout your stay, discover the collection of black and white photos, a nod to the history of the first seaside resorts of which the city is the emblem.
Darley with her local guide in the Cannes cheese market
Day 5: Nice
Spend the morning at leisure on your own exploring Nice. There is much to enjoy in the seventh most populated city in France. Wander Old Nice, go shopping, visit Nice museums or hit the beach.
Afternoon: The prestigious Villas or tour Monaco. Choose to explore the French Riviera prestigious villas and gardens-–Villa and gardens Ephrussi de Rothschild , Villa Kerylos, or private house of Jean Cocteau––continue to Eze village, a beautiful hill-top medieval village overlooking the sea from 1300 feet high.
Or leave Nice and stop in Eze, then spend the afternoon discovering the legendary Principality of Monaco.
Day 6: Nice Culinary Adventures
Nice is known for its food specialties, and a fusion cuisine of Italian flavors, north Africa ones, and Provence traditional specialties.
Today, you will taste and learn more about all these influences which have built through time Nice foodie reputation. We have a few options for you today.
FIRST option: Market Tour, History and cooking class. Foods you must try in the Cote d’Azur.
You will walk Old Nice district, formerly the Italian part of the city, with its pastel colors and narrow streets, dipping in and out of local retailers, tasting about a dozen specialties. Food Nice is rarely found elsewhere in France. It is very unique, a mix of Provence, mountain (Alpes), and Italy flavors.
Discover the colorful open air market and the beautiful new gardens along the Promenade des Arts. Your tour will finish next to the opera for a final sweet treat at the Auer candy factory shop.
In order to appreciate all of the tastings, it will be best to only have a light breakfast before the tour to throughly enjoy all the mouthwatering delicacies your guide will introduce to you.
After the market tour, learn hands-on how to cook a typical Nice meal, and be ready to replicate the recipes back home!
SECOND Option: short tour and cooking class
France is famous for its pastries, buns, breads and quiches. The cuisine the south of France (Provence and French Riviera) is particularly outstanding due to its local fresh fruits and vegetables, healthy olive oil and seeds, and wonderful artisan cheeses.
Meet your chef at an authentic family home in central Nice and face the biggest challenge of the day: Choosing the three dishes you would like to prepare. Do you prefer sweet or savory? Why not pick both!
Make yourself at home as your chef serves you coffee, tea and fresh juice. She will explain all about the local ingredients, then roll up your sleeves and get cooking and baking. Your chef will help you as you create your very own mouthwatering provençal dish.
Sample menu :
Salade Niçoise traditionnelle avec légumes frais du marché–traditional Nicoise salad with fresh vegetables from the open air market
Petits pains à l’huile d’olive and Parmesan–rolls with olive oil, pumpkin seeds and Parmesan cheese
Tartelettes pomme-rose–apple and rose tarts
Thé au jasmin et ses madeleines à la fleur d’oranger–jasmine tea and orange blossom madeleine
And, maybe, 1 or 2 surprises
Day 7: Homeward Bound
Safe travels.
