French Riviera : Split the stay or stay in Nice?

Posted by Neel on 03/03/24 12:37 AM

We are family of 4 with 2 kids (15 and 10 years old). Looking to spend 10 days in the French Riviera in June. Nice seems to have amazing connectivity and initially thinking of making that the base for the 10 days. I am wondering if we should split 5 days in Nice and 5 days somewhere else? It's our very first time, so the thought was to explore Nice and then do day trips to towns like Menton, Eze, Antibes, Cannes, Monaco. We love good food/cafes but not Michelin star multi-course meals with kids in tow. We also enjoy visiting sites, gardens, famers markets, museums.

We dont plan on having a car and would prefer using trains/bus/uber wherever possible. One possibility is to stay in Nice for 5 days and explore the east towns and then move to Cannes and explore the west. Would love to hear your thoughts. We prefer being near the ocean and having pool/beach access is a plus given we will be there with our kids.

Posted by Bon voyage!

West Coast

03/03/24 01:08 AM

75 posts

What an incredible family adventure!
It's been more than 15 years, but my daughter, then a teen, and I based in Villefranche, with it's own little beach. We used the bus or train to get around (both stop there) and a couple of ViaTour options- my lifelong dream was to see the lavender fields, if that coincides with your dates it was amazing.
At the time, Villefranche had a small very French village feel Nice did not. There were lots of outdoor cafes and restaurants and cute shops. We went to Nice one day, staying overnight before the flight back to the US. Walking on the beach promenade and people watching was fun for about an hour, but the beach itself is very rocky.
One day we walked to Monaco, a highlight.
The distances in the area really are very short, so in my opinion it's more the kind of environment your family will enjoy. Please do get some more up-to- date info for my suggestion, though! Another caveat were cruise ships, you might check the port schedules.
I e morning we woke up to see an enormous Disney ship anchored with the tenders starting to make their treks- then it could feel much more crowded on the public transportation, walking around, etc.
Have a wonderful trip!

Posted by Dick

Olympia, WA, USA

03/03/24 01:41 AM

6510 posts

Villefranche feels very different from Nice, with a much nicer beach (though small) and walkable downtown. Seems more kid-friendly, not that Nice wouldn't be good for kids too. It's about ten minutes by train from Nice and also a short train ride to Eze, Monaco, and Menton. I don't know the cities west of Nice, but one of them could be a second base if you want.

You might want to rent a car for part of this visit, not to get back and forth along the coast but for some of the higher-elevation towns and perhaps a day trip to a place like Aix or Cassis. Aix in particular would be an interesting contrast to the Riviera. It's about 2 hours from Nice and 1.5 from Cannes on the autoroute.

Posted by acraven

Washington DC

03/03/24 02:18 AM

27122 posts

A lot of folks with 10 days available would split the time between the Riviera (Nice is convenient) and Provence (Arles or Avignon perhaps, if you don't have a car; St-Remy with a rental car). You will not run out of things to do along the Riviera via public transportation in 10 days, but Provence is quite different. However, it would take some to get over there from Nice, because there's not a TGV line linking Nice to Marseille, etc.

Posted by FrenchRiviera

Cavalaire-Sur-Mer

03/03/24 10:09 AM

8 posts

You should split it as:

6 Days eastern/central riviera
Cannes, Antibes, Eze, SpdeVence, Monaco, Menton, etc

4 Days western riviera

Saint Tropez, Port Grimaud, Beaches and Coastal paths of La Croix-Valmer, Gassin, Grietc.
Apart from Gassin, Saint Tropez is very well connected with local buses running to Grimaud, Port Grimaud, and La Croix Valmer, especially in summer. This area is beautiful and also worth a visit, and is a more relaxing antidote to the touristy and bustling Eastern Riviera, with MUCH better beaches (with soft white sand!), and much less overdeveloped, with many communes in the Port-Cros National Park.