🇫🇷 Trip Essentials:

Best months: May–June or September–October. Avoid July and August to skip huge crowds and high prices.
- If you visit in the off-season, most hotels and restaurants stay open, but seaside restaurants may be closed.
How to get to your hotel in Nice:
- From the airport: 🚕 Uber - it’s the best way, especially with luggage. Lower cost than taxis.
- Public Transport: Tram Line 2 runs directly from the airport. It connects the airport to the city center (Jean Médecin),
  the Old Town (Vieux Nice), and the Port (Port Lympia). Duration: 30 minutes.
- Car Rental - great for hopping town to town, but parking can be a problem and expensive during peak season.
🧑‍🍳 Most restaurants are open for lunch from noon to 2 pm and dinner starting at 7:30 pm.
Travel Adaptor: Type C and Type E.
Currency: Euro.
📖 Travel Guides: Lonely Planet Pocket Nice and Monaco and Rough Guides Nice.
Sign up for great travel stories and ideas on National Geographic online!
In France and Western Europe, 112 is the emergency number like 911 in the USA.

DAY 1 and 2

Arrive at Nice airport and transfer to your hotel.
You can also arrive by train. Nice's station is Gare De Nice-Ville, located on Avenue Thiers and serves major French cities.
🚆 i.e., The train from Paris to Nice takes ~ 6 hours.
Nice is an ancient city with a beautiful beach. You will find great food, good wine, historic sites, museums, lovely parks, and upscale hotels and casinos.
Highlights:
Wander along the famous beachfront Promenade des Anglais.
- The Promenade is lined with large, lovely hotels. One of the most expensive hotels is the Le Negresco Hotel, popular
  with celebrities. The Promenade des Anglais is a great place to stay.
- The Promenade des Anglais is where many events are organized, including the famous Nice Carnival, as well as sporting events, exhibitions, and meetings.
- Pedestrians, joggers, inline skaters, and skateboarders populate the 5 km promenade at any time of the day.
- Casino Barrière Nice Le Ruhl is the clear “go-to” for fun on the famous Promenade des Anglais.
Explore the winding streets of the old town, called Vieux Nice (Old Town). Read more 🔗
- Vieux Nice is the city’s vibrant old town, with narrow cobblestone streets and pastel-hued buildings where shops sell Niçoise soaps and Provençal textiles, plus meats and cheeses.
Visit the Chapelle du Rosaire, A church by famed artist Henri Matisse in nearby Vence. Plain on the outside, but its interior holds Matisse’s artwork and stained-glass windows. Address 🔗
Relax at one of Nice’s many private beaches for lunch and sunbathing. Nice has public beaches and private ones where you
can rent a chair and have food and drinks brought to you.
- Relaxing at the beach in Nice is a “must-do” if you’re visiting the Riviera in the summer.
- Beach water temperature - data on the water temperature and sea conditions in a location.
If you’re active, stroll the pleasant coastal pathway of Cape Ferrat. The trail is 12 km.
- Learn more 🔗
- Walking trails 🔗
- How to get there 🔗
- A top attraction is walking the Villa & Jardins Ephrussi de Rothschild. <Watch video>
Overnight: Nice, (6 nights)
- Where to stay, we recommend the Promenade des Anglais area.

DAY 3

Visit Monaco - the playground of the rich and famous.
- Its mild climate, scenery, luxury casinos, lavish wealth & glamorous events such as the Monaco Yacht Show and
  the Monaco Grand Prix have made it “the destination” for the wealthy.
- City map.
  - Monaco is an area half the size of Central Park in Manhattan, New York.
  - Explore the sights with a self-guided walking tour 🔗. It takes 1.5 to 2 hours to visit the main sites.
Best things to do.
Capture the highlights and charm by walking the narrow streets of Old Monaco. The Old Town of Monaco is very picturesque and home to a number of historical buildings, monuments, and alleyways.
Monte Carlo is a district in Monaco, where you can find the Place du Casino. - a famous square boasting the Hotel de Paris,
Café de Paris and the legendary Monte Carlo Casino. These known buildings often show up in Hollywood movies and TV shows.
- There are breathtaking sea views from the terrace of Place du Casino.
Watch the Changing of the Guards in front of the Prince's Palace.
- Performed daily at 11:55 AM at the royal entrance on the Palace Square.
Visit the Musée Oceanographique — the aquariums contain rare fish and marine life in vivid shapes and colors.
There are three(3) aquariums: Tropical Aquarium, Mediterranean Aquarium, and Shark Lagoon. About 100 tanks
recreate natural habitats like coral reefs.
One of Monaco's most popular beaches, Larvotto is a free-to-the-public beach located just a short walk from Monte-Carlo.
Purchase the Monaco Travel Guide PDF eBook.
How to get from Nice to Monaco?
- The train from Nice to Monaco runs continuously from the main train station (Gare de Nice-Ville, Gare Thiers).
  Duration: 20 minutes. Route 🔗
- The No. 607 bus from Nice to Monaco departs from Port Lympia (Old Port of Nice - behind the church).
  Duration: 40 min.
Overnight: Nice
Driving time: Nice —> Monaco, 50 minutes.

DAY 4 - 6

Relax, enjoy the beach, sit in a café or bar, and take in the beautiful scenery and fun scene.
- Best beaches 🔗 along the coast.
Enjoy the French lifestyle, cuisine, delicious produce, and wine, shop in the local markets, and live the village lifestyle.
Or take in some of the magnificent walks.
Take day trips to various small towns:
Explore charming Eze—a hilltop village, about 30 minutes by car from Nice. Be sure to wander the old cobblestone streets.
Discover Villefranche-sur-Mer- a small, charming village worth a stop between Nice and Eze.
Visit Cannes, famous for its international film festival!
Wander through the city and enjoy some pastries and coffee.
- Top attractions 🔗
- Guided tours 🔗
Discover Antibes - stroll through narrow, winding cobblestone streets lined with shops, food stores, cafés, and restaurants.
- Top attractions 🔗
- Where to stay 🔗
Overnight: Nice or Antibes.
Driving time:
- Nice —> Eze, 25 minutes.
- Nice —> Vallefranche-sur-Mer, 22 minutes.
- Nice —> Cannes, 40 minutes.
<Riviera Planning Strategy: East, West, and Monaco Solo>
To maximize your time on the Riviera, the best strategy is to group your excursions by geographic direction.
Spend a day on the East Coast: see the hilltop views at Èze and enjoy the seaside charm of Villefranche-sur-Mer.
Add one or two days on the West Coast by pairing the charming markets of Antibes with the glitz and glamour of Cannes.
By giving Monaco a full day to itself, you ensure enough time to explore the best of Monaco as discussed earlier.
🛑 This "zone" approach cuts time in traffic and lets you enjoy each place more calmly and genuinely.

DAY 7 and 8

Discover Aix-en-Provence, a charming Provençal town full of cozy cafés and busy markets. With a famous university, it feels young and cosmopolitan.
- The nearby countryside has pleasant walks and cultural sights. Outdoor activities 🔗
Nightlife—Aix-en-Provence offers a sophisticated nightlife scene. The renowned Grand Théâtre de Provence hosts classical music shows that attract many fans. Narrow, charming cobblestone streets fill with live jazz from cozy venues.
Where to eat 🔗
Visit Old Aix - for its gorgeous architecture, charming markets, and unexpected historical flourishes.
- Take a stroll on the Cours Mirabeau. This wide avenue looks like a tunnel of plane trees, with fountains and cafés, terraces and elegant private mansions with wrought-iron balconies.
If you’re visiting in July, the Festival International d'Art Lyrique d'Aix-en-Provence is an annual international summer music festival, mainly focused on opera but also featuring orchestral, vocal, and solo instrumental concerts.
Named "Best Festival of the Year" by the International Opera Awards.
Overnight: Aix-en-Provence (2 nights) accommodations 🔗
Driving time:
- Nice —> Aix-en-Provence, 2 hrs.

DAY 9

Depart from Marseille airport to another European destination or return home. Au revoir!
Driving time: Aix-en-Provence —> Marseille airport, 30 minutes.

🌤️ Climate

Historical Weather data 🔗
During the months of May, June, September, and October, you will experience good weather with temperatures between 20° Celsius (68°F) and 25° Celsius (77°F).
October through March have a higher chance of precipitation.
The warmest months are July and August, with average highs around 27°C (80°F).
The coldest months are December to February, with average highs around 13°C (55°F).
Sunrise/ Sunset times 🔗
Beach water temperature 🔗