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March Cote D'azure itinerary recommendations

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My wife and I are planning to start our trip to France the first week of March by flying into Nice and exploring the Cote D'azure. Our #1 priorities are relaxing, staying in nice (affordable luxury) hotels, seeing beautiful scenery and eating great food. Sightseeing and art galleries are much lower down on the priority list for us this trip. Also want to avoid staying in big cities like Nice - prefer unique villages or smaller towns.

The one place we know we want to stay so far is Chateau Eza in Eze, but not necessarily are our first destination. The small villages and towns all along the coast look very appealing, but I need some help narrowing it down. Thinking of spending approximately 7-10 days in this region before taking the train up to Paris from Nice.

Any specific recommendations on neat places to stay in Cote D'azure? Eze looks so magical, but I'm looking for 1-2 other locales to serve as multi-night "home bases" as well. I've heard to the West of Nice (St Tropez especially) is mostly shut down for the offseason in March, so I'm not sure about that but if there are other "must see" towns, hotels or restaurants in that general area I would be very grateful for some direction on this!

Posted by
60 posts

While oozing with charm, be aware that Eze is very small and hilly. It will likely be quite dead in March. That said, your hotel choice there is marvelous with fabulous views and food, which is what you’re looking for. I suggest you consider Menton, near the Italian border, and Antibes, just west of Nice. They both have charming old towns where you can stay but are larger overall than Eze and, therefore, would be more lively choices with more open shops and restaurants. If they are too large for you then a number of the perched villages would likely meet your requirements for charm and views, though the number of restaurants will be limited.

Posted by
464 posts

A lovely hotel is Hotel Royal Riviera in St Jean Cap Ferrat. It has a private beach and an infinity pool and is near the train stop in Beaulieu sur Mer. The breakfast at Hotel Royal Riviera is also great. There is a lovely promenade behind the hotel called Maurice Rouvier with spectacular views as you walk to the town of St Jean Cap Ferrat. The Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild and gardens nearby are lovely. You can have tea or lunch on the terrace there with wonderful Mediterranean views.

We also really enjoyed the charming town of Villefranche sur Mer and stayed at the Welcome Hotel in a room with a balcony and sea view right on the waterfront in the Old Town. The shale beach in Villefranche sur Mer is nice and the train station and buses are nearby. There are some great restaurants in Villefranche also.

Juan les Pins and Antibes could be possibilities and are on the regional trainline. Be sure to see Monaco on a day trip to see the Prince's Palace and Oceanography Museum and have lunch at Cafe de Paris.

The scenery of the Cote D'Azure is stunning, and the mountains and sea are gorgeous. Wishing you a great time!

Posted by
712 posts

While Eze and the Chateau Eza are lovely, the choices for dining are somewhat limited as the town is tiny. Even in neighboring La Turbie, the famed Hostellerie de Jerome (** Michelin) does not reopen until April. Do you have a car or will you be relying on public transport?.

Antibes might be a fit, as the restaurant choice is better than directly in VSM. But if you wanted something top end, the Grand Hotel (Four Seasons) on Cap Ferrat is beautiful. But it is somewhat isolated.

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