The Côte d'Azur Postcards

the long awaited guide to one of my favorite places in the world (& where I called home for 2 years)

Took a brief hiatus from this Substack, but I finally got it together and pulled my favorite recs for the most requested edition dedicated to the South of France — and really, the place that started it all. Of course, I am biased and think Menton is the best town on the Riviera, given that I lived there for my first two years of college, but the entire coast is gorgeous and worth visiting. Not only is it incredibly picturesque, but there are SO many things to do/places to see.

In my opinion, the best way to maximize your trip is to pick a home base and take short day trips to other towns. Nice would be my base of choice — it’s not the prettiest town on the Riviera, but the easiest to access other towns and central to the airport/nightlife/major shopping/etc. There are also plenty of beaches and beach clubs to take a day (or five) off to relax!

The train (although a bit crowded in the summer) is the easiest way to get around, and everywhere can be visited within an hour. Use the SNCF app to skip the lines for the ticket stations. These towns are super walkable and perfect for roaming the old streets + exploring. If you want some specific recs to start with, I compiled my favorites below and on this Google Maps list.

Recs by Town

• Nice

  • Vieux Nice

  • Cours Saleya Market (open air market)

  • La Fraperie (thrift/vintage store)

  • Caprice Vintage

  • La Belle Epoque Vintage

  • Musée Matisse

  • Brocante Pawn Shop Saleya

  • Read the Room Bookstore

    • English bookstore run by such a sweet duo! Great if you need to pick up a beach read (+ it has a cafe inside!)

  • Castle Hill (park with 360 views of the city, ocean, and port)

    • If you’re going in the summer, definitely do this hike early in the day before it gets too hot, or right at sunset. You enter the stairs next to Castel Plage and go to the top to the park (there will be a couple platforms to stop and admire the view along the way).

• Menton

  • Basilica St. Michel

    • A stunning church in the middle of the old part of the city. All the streets at the top are so pretty! Definitely walk around/get lost in them

  • Cemetery of the Old Chateau + Cimetière du Trabuquet

    • Two cemeteries — I know this sounds like a weird rec but the views are so so worth the trek!

  • Marché des Halles

    • AMAZING market - perfect to grab fruit etc. for a picnic

  • Boutique Maylee

    • great boutique for beach cover ups and sundresses

• Monaco/Monte Carlo

  • Everything is inevitably so expensive here but fun to window shop at all the designer stores - it’s really small so you don’t need more than a day/half a day to explore

  • Casino (you need your passport if you want to go inside!)

  • Palace

• Èze

  • You can either take a bus from Nice or take the train to Eze-sur-Mer, then hike up the Nietzsche Path or take another bus to the village — lowkey the bus is not for the faint of heart (or stomach) with all the twists and turns + crowds so it’s often just easier to suck it up and hike.

• Villefranche-sur-Mer

• Saint Jean Cap Ferrat

  • Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild

• Cannes

  • Everywhere is nice but definitely explore Le Suquet

• Antibes

  • Picasso Museum

    • Highly recommend walking along the coast on Promenade Admiral de Grasse to get there!

  • Place Nationale (flea market open Thursdays + Saturdays)

• Saint Paul de Vence

  • Really pretty medieval village nestled in the mountains that’s also an art hub so lots of galleries - accessible by bus or car

• Sainte-Agnès

  • Another stunning medieval village with views over the

    hills

• Île Saint Marguerite

  • Great place to swim — take the ferry from Nice or Cannes (Cannes is closest)

If you have a car, definitely try to go to Gorges du Verdon + the lavender fields in Provence which are further up and away from the coast!

Beaches/Tanning spots

• Plage Paloma (Saint Jean Cap Ferrat)

  • You can also find swimming holes by walking along Sentier du Littoral/along the coast

• Plage Marinières (Villefranche sur Mer)

• Plage des Sablettes (Menton)

• CoCo Beach (Nice)

• Plage Mala (Cap D’ail)

  • Can also cliff jump - best way to get there is the train because it’s a beautiful walk (called Sentier du Littoral) from the station

• Billionaires Bay (Antibes)

• Sentier du Corbusier (Monaco/Roqueburne Cap-Martin)

  • a path that goes between Monaco & Roquebrune Cap-Martin - it’s super long but I just pick a random place to go to the rocks off the path since there’s a ton of little spots to tan + swim

Beach Clubs

You don’t really need to go to a beach club since there are so many public beaches, but if you want to treat yourself for the day there are plenty of options, but these are some tried and true picks.

• Ruhl Plage (Nice)

• Marinieres Plage (Nice)

• Cap d’Antibes Hotel Beach Club (Antibes)

Food

Most restaurants are on the pricier side, especially during peak tourist season in the summer. However, there are a lot of grocery stores and boulangeries that have cheaper food that you can cook yourself or grab for a quick picnic/snack if you want to save while you’re traveling!

• Clay (Nice)

• Harlem (Nice)

  • If you need a good smash burger, this is the spot

• Bocca Nissa (Nice)

  • Food is kind of mid but the views on the rooftop are really pretty

• Le Montalbano (Nice)

• Paper Plane (Nice)

  • If you’re sick of Italian/French food

• Le Bar des Oiseaux (Nice)

• Mirazur (Michelin starred, technically in Menton but right at the border with Italy)

• Fleur de Sel (Menton)

• Leone (Menton)

• Sushi Ryori (Menton)

  • Not groundbreaking sushi by any means but fun to eat by the water and pretty cheap

• Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc (Antibes)

• Le Comptoir de la Tourraque (Antibes)

• Chateau de la Chévre D’or (Éze)

• Café du Jardin (Éze)

• La Colombe d'Or (Saint Paul de Vence)

• La Pinède (Cap D'Ail)

• La Môme (Monaco)

Coffee Shops/Bakeries

• Vanilla Bakery (Menton)

• Mitron Bakery (Menton)

• Noailles (Menton)

• Edwidge (Menton)

  • Best gluten free brownies!

• O’ Petit Corner (Menton)

  • Coffee + spritzes/other drinks

• Le Retro

  • Bar/cafe - great for a midday coffee break or an apero moment. It’s run by Anto (actually our bestie - pls tell him I sent you) and central to 90% of my best memories in Menton

• Charlie’s & Co (Nice)

• Le Country Store (Nice)

• Café Fino (Nice)

• Mellow Factory (Antibes)

• Amour (Nice)

  • gluten free + vegan bakery

• Mama Baker (Nice)

  • lovely bakery w great gluten free bread but kind of weird hours + usually a long line

Clubs/Going Out

The best nightlife is in Monaco and Nice, as most of the other towns shut down at night. If you’re staying at a hostel in Nice, most have bar crawls which are fun to join!

CRITICAL NOTE: There are no Ubers/Bolt allowed in Monaco! You must take the morning train, call a taxi, or walk to the French border. Dress code is also often strictly enforced in the summer, and most clubs require heels — the easiest way to confirm is to check the club's website or social media beforehand.

• Nice

  • Waka Bar (usually best to start here since it closes earlier)

  • Wayne’s Bar (American-style bar that often has live music)

  • High Club

  • Opera (this was always super hit or miss for me — some people love it tho, kind of cave vibes)

• Monaco

  • MK (imo easiest to get into + near a strip of beach clubs that turn into night clubs)

  • Buddha Bar

  • Jimmyz

  • Twiga

  • Sass Cafe