The French Riviera: The Perfect Relaxing Vacation Spot

This post will be short and sweet because we spent most of our time relaxing on the beach while in Southern France. Which was AMAZING! I actually asked Chad if he wanted to cancel our next few places and just stay here. Of course, we aren’t doing that, but it’s a place you could stay for a long time!

We stayed in Montpellier for a few nights, which was a cute town, but very expensive and not a lot going on. If you are planning a trip to France I would recommend skipping Montpellier and Marseille. I would head right for any town in between Saint-Tropez and Menton.

Nice

We stayed for majority of our time in Nice. It is right in the middle of the French Riviera with easy access almost anywhere on the coast. Nice is the perfect mix of restaurants, shopping, beach, and mountains.

Here were our favorite things and top recommendations for Nice:

1. Go to Chez Moi for a dinner. AND MAKE SURE YOU ORDER THE LEMON TART! We have been on a budget during our trip but worked hard to find a reasonable restaurant to get some good French food. And we found the perfect spot! This is a family owned restaurant with the father as the chef and son as the waiter. For 22€ we got an appetizer, dinner, and dessert. And this lemon tart is our new favorite dessert!

2. Take the train tour. We have figured out that sometimes paying a little bit can go a long way to helping see more (and saving our legs!) The train tour in Nice is 1 hour and takes you all around town with audio to let you know what you are seeing. It takes you all the way to the top of the mountain to take in some amazing views of the city. We also learned why they have a cannon shot every day at noon. Apparently somewhere in history there was a wealthy husband whose wife was always late for lunch. So he got permission to have a cannon shot every day at noon to remind her it was lunch time. And the tradition carries on today.

3. Take a run/walk/bike down the waterfront path. This has been my favorite running path by far on our trip. It is flat, beautiful views, and tons of room. Take a stroll while you’re here for some great views. If you go in the morning there are also tons of people swimming along the coast.

4. Have a boozy shake at Movidas. There is nothing better after a long day of swimming and hanging on the beach than grabbing a boozy shake at this hotspot right on the waterfront. Chad opted for the Cookie Monster shake while I went for some French wine.

5. Take some time to walk around Old Town. The town is full of great shopping, restaurants, and cafes. A wonderful way to spend a morning or afternoon.

The train system in the French Riviera was very convenient. We took full advantage and took a few day trips while we were here.

Cagnes-Sur-Mer

We took a day trip to Cagnes-sur-Mer to meet up with Lisa’s friend, Florian, from University of Dayton who lives here. He played soccer while Lisa ran track and field. During the day we got crepes on the waterfront and checked out an upscale outdoor mall. We got to meet his beautiful family and he made us dinner at their house that had amazing views of the ocean on one side and mountains with a castle on the other side.

Cannes

We also took a day trip to Cannes, which of course is best know for the International Film Festival. The festival had just taken place a few weeks before hand so they were in the process of taking things down. The streets were filled with large posters, collages, paintings, and life size cutouts of characters and celebrities all over.

Cannes also has sandy beaches which is unlike many of the other other beaches in the French Riviera which are rocks or pebbles.

Chad clearly loved playing in the waves! He has been sore for 2 days after the hours he spent in here.

Now on to Monaco!