Côte d'Azur, France

Nimes

Our first stop in France was in Nimes. I have been here once before, so even though we were only here for half a day, it was a good visit! We saw the Jardins de la Fontaine which were a little bare. There were beautiful swans in the pond and of course an abundance of pigeons. It looks very Roman because it was a Roman settlement for about 600 years. It was originally Celtic settlement, founded in 6th century BC.

Marseille

We rented a car from here and I drove us into Marseille to see the national park. Unforeseeably, our car gave up on us on an uphill into the park. By some stroke of luck French firefighters drove past us five minutes later and helped us talk with the car company and get it moving again. We made it safely to the Marseille company to get a new car, the old car breaking down again the moment we entered the parking spot. After this, we had just enough time to drive the Route des Cretes, a scenic road just outside Calanques National Park.

Nice

We finally made it to Nice, one of my favorite cities in the world. Everything was so vibrant and the brightest blue. We used Nice as our home base, doing day trips around the French Riviera and coming back at night for dinner. We had some delicious Tunisian food, which was quite similar to Moroccan. Besides that meal, my favorite dish was the cauliflower steak with avocado and chimichurri salsa!

Nice was founded by the Greek but for most of history, bounced between Italian and French hands. It only became part of France as a gift for helping Italy in a war of independence.

Eze

This little village perched up high on the Mediterranean coast line was nothing like I was expecting. We got off of the train from Nice and immediately were met with stunning and vacant pebble beaches. To get to the actual village of Eze, we had to do about a 1.5 hour hike at a pretty steep incline. I would have worn different shoes if we had known it was a real hike!

In the small village it was almost medieval. Eze has been home to different settlements and people from Italians, Turks, Spaniards, etc. since around 2000 BC. Although it was so cute, there wasn’t much to do after a couple hours so we got an aperol spritz and enjoyed the vantage point view.

Antibes

This slightly bigger town was perhaps my favorite of the Côte d'Azur. It had a delicious market with yummy cheese, breads, and the most juicy strawberries in the world. We spend this day primarily taking in French culture, wandering the streets, and eating all the fresh foods. There were even some more swans at the boat dock.

The Picasso museum in Antibes rivals the one in Barcelona. He spent a good amount of his life in France and Antibes specifically, producing many works of art in this small city.

After the museum we stepped into a small English book shop and I found copies of Tintin.

If it wasn’t for the powerful, tornado-like wind, it would have the perfect day trip!

Saint-Paul de Vence

This small town was my least favorite, but was not at all bad. It had more visual charm and less actual things to do and experience. I found that my favorite part was the stunning hilltop cemetery and the kindest man in a fancy perfume store.

This town, to me, is the quintessential French Riviera life. As we walked back to the bus station in midday, we saw a group of older men playing a traditional french game called Pétanque.

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Even though not a part of France, Monaco resembles much French culture and is the second to smallest country in the world! It has been ruled by the royal Grimaldi family since the 13th century and is known for its luxurious cars, people, and lifestyle. We decided to spend the second half of our Saint-Paul de Vence day in Monaco, so that we did not have to buy lunch or anything in this expensive city-state!

The Monte Carlo Casino is very famous and was the set to many scenes in James Bond. Everything in Monaco was so fancy it was very curious to see the switch into advanced luxury after a mere 40 minute train ride from Nice.

It is also home to the Monte Carlo Prix (F1 racecars), known for being F1s most luxurious event. The photo of the Porsche is on the tightest hairpin turn of the course.

Monaco was incredible to experience, but I would not come back to stay more than a day trip because of how luxurious and expensive it was! It was definitely worth seeing and experiencing.

Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat

This is a well-known small fishing penninsula right next to Nice. We came here because we wanted to go on a walk before spending the day at the beach. On the walk, right away, we were stunned by the views. The water was perfectly blue and at every point there were places to walk down to the water or jump in in the warmer months.

It is popular for people to have picnics here, and some celebrities even use it as a quiet retreat.

Menton

This town lies between Monaco and Italy as a French gem. It is referred to as the “pearl of France.” Originally, like most other settlements in the area, it was Roman. But, it was taken over by the Grimaldi family from Monaco in the 14th century. From then on, it became a super popular destination for people to have sunshine and experience Italy and France, culturally and geographically.

While we were sitting at the beach I could hear French kids yelling at each other in the beach and Italian kids playing soccer behind us. The blend of cultures was so beautiful, as was their appreciation from lemons!

I had delicious food here as well, but that is unique to France itself. The crème brûlée was immaculate and the quiche incredible.

The beautiful stairway in front of the Basilica de Michael Archangel was built in the Baroque still in the 17th century. The orange color did not soley remain on the stairs: the entire city was painted in sunkisses!