3 days in the Riviera

Look at Villa Franche-sul-mare. Beautiful little harbor town makes a nice relaxing day trip. About a 10-15 minute drive from Nice.

Since you indicate that you " enjoy scenic drives and are outdoorsy and active." have you considered seeing or kayaking the Calanques or driving through the Camargue?

Gerri, thank you. I should have said we would stop by Villefranche (possibly on our way to Menton), but there doesn't appear to be anything to DO there aside from eat or lounge on the beach. We are thinking of biking there from Nice.

Kaye, yes, that's exactly where we will be driving into Nice from. I am so excited to bike in the Camargue and kayak the calanques in Cassis!!

Consider a stop in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin. You might enjoy exploring the old part of this village, which is on a hilltop - not the newer part, near the sea. The views from Place des Deux Freres are just as spectacular as from Èze, but with far fewer tourists. The village is a compact maze of narrow pedestrian lanes, stairways, arches, and picturesque stone buildings. At the peak of the hill there is a small château. It's one of the most charming little villages that I've seen in France, and mostly unknown to US visitors (I hope this note does not change that). This gallery has a few of my photos from there (shots 76 to 91).

Julian, thank you. Roquebrune-Cap-Martin looks idyllic and I wouldn't have considered it until now (because I had never heard of it :)

A local told me Tourrettes-sur-Loup is comparatively untouristy. It has limited bus service, I believe, and is enough of a slog from Nice that not too many people without cars go there. I didn't manage to see it myself.

Vence was quiet and basically devoid of tourists the day I visited in 2017; it was midafternoon. It has a good-sized medieval center ideal for wandering around. The much smaller St-Paul-de-Vence was overrun that same day.

Menton has at least two nice gardens.

It's Roquebrune village that you want. Follow the signs up if coming from the middle corniche or down if from the autoroute or high corniche. Julian's very wonderful photos capture both the view onto Monaco and the view onto Italy, as well as the village. And don't confuse this Roquebrune with the one closer to Cassis. This one is 3k from Italy. It has started to get some tourist restaurants and shops only in the last twenty years and is still pretty local and traditional. Part of my family lives on the hillside between RB on the mountain and CM at sea level, so we hike up there at least once a year.

Cap Martin, a wealthy area, has a public walking path at water level all the way around the Cap--in fact, there's a path along all the coast
As long as you are up the mountain in Roquebrune, you should go to the top to see the amazing Roman Trophée des Alpes.
A good place for lunch in Menton is the restaurant in the Casino, if it has reopened. They have a terrace near the beach with glass to protect from the wind. Parking in Menton is a bear, but you can use an underground lot or an above ground one with meters. Follow the signs.
Bon voyage and bon appetit.

If you drive to the Gorge du loup, Vence has a nice old town but is surrounded by a larger more modern town. Many will stop in St. Paul de Vence instead. However, you should continue on to Tourettes Sur Loup instead, and then up to Gourdon (Gordes is in the Luberon).

There is a walk around Cap Ferrat. There is also a walk/hike from Villefrance-sur-Mer to the top of Mont Alban, with nice views down onto the Cap and VSM. (Elton's house is here but trails wind around the estate) The path can continue on roads and trails to Mont Boron and down into Nice port.

La Turbie is past Eze, you drive past and take a spur road up to the town. From the Trophee des Alpes you can look down on Monaco, however. Continuing on you can loop over to tiny Peillon and larger Peille (the former is nicer).

Another active adventure is to take the train des merveilles or drive up to the Mercantour National Park. There are ancient stone carvings, although check to see if the road, trail and services are fully restored. But there are a lot of accessible trails up there.

Another alternative adventure is to the Cannes ferry to St. Honorat with a large monestary) or Ste Marguerite (more of a remote experience -- I think there is also a ferry from Antibes and boat tours from Nice).

I spent a week in the area in mid-March, based in Nice w/o a car, then 3 nights in St Paul de Vence. I enjoy wandering through the old streets and alleys of towns and there were lots - every town/village in the area. I didn't find the drives especially scenic, but scenery was a lower priority for me. It was easy to get around the coastal towns by train from Nice. Parking was not plentiful anywhere (in low season). St Paul is lovely but I was there only in the early mornings and the evenings. I saw hordes leaving around sunset as I arrived back each day. St Paul is a small hilltop walled town, quite challenging to drive in/out of (and cars only permitted for residents and overnight guests). Because of that, visiting means a steep walk up from parking a block or two away, and the being part of the tourist crowd.

I'm not a Riviera-lover either (too urban), and if you want to visit Gorges du Verdon, since you have a car, you can! Just spend a night in a village in the area (Comps sur Artuby or Trigance are convenient for travel to Nice the next day and have a handful of good hotels between them), taking it from the Nice nights.
Or a day trip from Nice is feasible, if a bit long.
If you do end up going, try to make some time to visit Bargême, a nearly-abandonded hilltop village, now refurbished.

We are neither beach or museum people but find there is more than enough to keep us busy in and around Nice. You can totally visit
Gorges du Verdun for a ay trip.

Thanks for all the great ideas. I am busily reading up on them. Looking like we are going to steal 2 days from Provence and ADD them onto the Riviera to do the Gorges du Verdon at a leisurely pace, wander around Roquebrune village and Cap-Martin, visit the Trophée des Alpes and la Turbie, take a boat cruise from Cannes to le corniche d’or and spend a day in Menton.

This place is the best!

Good idea, pity you have to raid the nights previously wisely given to Provence.

Here's a thought - what you really need to do is add a week of vacation... oh well...