St. Stropez, Cannes, Monaco, Marseilles, Nice, and more drool worthy destinations that are going to make up this list of the best French Riviera road trip stops. AND you can do it on a somewhat budget!
I always dreamt of going to the French Riviera, but unfortunatley by the time my dream came into fruition, I was no longer solo, and my bf did not agree with my glamorous ideas of hotel hopping in some of the most expensive places in the world. OH! And it was 2020, when my travel blogging career was at an all time low, so I didn’t have much money to do it either.
Luckily I’m a professional at “Fake it till you Make it”, and easily figured out how to not just see, but experience the fanciest destinations in France, on a budget!
My secret was using a campervan! Not only does it cover your transportation and accommodation, but you can also cook in it, which will save you a TON on not eating out as much! Click here to learn how to rent and use a campervan and for a discount!
Here’s my list of the 10 best French Riviera stops and tips! Note: This is the order that I did them in, not my ranking of favorites!
One of the many lesser-known places that many people mentioned (see what I did there). Anyway, it actually wasn’t on my to-go list, but a faulty GPS instruction led us there. To be honest, it had one of the cutest campgrounds, and easiest access to the main town. It was also super cute!
We parked the camper under olive trees atop a hill (swoon), then took the campground’s staircase down ten minutes to the main town. In the main area there are colorful buildings, a cute yellow church, a picturesque beach promenade, and of course, many places to eat.
Definitely go east of the main area for that token photo area, which can best be seen from the beach walk even farther east.
Monaco is one of the smallest countries in the world. I literally walked the entire length of it in one day. That being said, I’d like to first say that A. Parking is limited. And B. Unless you’re a baller, you really only need 1-2 days there.
Start your day in the Old Town, where you can get the grand view of the city, I mean, country, by going up to the Prince’s Palace. Don’t worry, it’s an easier climb than it looks like. Then have a bite to eat at one of the many cute restaurants in the sorbet-colored Old Town.
Then walk your way along the port, past the Yacht Club that you can’t get into, and up towards the Monte Carlo Casino. If you want to feel like you’re in a movie, go inside and play a quick game or two!
Monte Carlo Casino has a free “first room” where anyone can go play at the slot machines. To play at one of the gambling tables, it starts at $17, and you can use ten of those dollars to gamble, or get a drink! Just be sure to remember to bring your ID!
Not to be confused with the word “nice” but the word does describe this city in the French Riviera! Nice (pronounced “Niece”) is actually one of the first European cities I ever traveled to back in college!
I remembered big pebbles on the beach instead of sand, and it’s pretty much the same ten years later. Lining the pebble beaches are beach clubs where you can eat and drink or rent a day bed. Or you can head to one of the many free public beaches!
Nice is a really big city compared to most of the others on this list, so try not to get overwhelmed! If you’re planning on staying longer in the French Riviera though, this is a great base!
Another place that almost everyone recommended was Villefranche Sur Mar! It’s a very tiny former fishing village in between Nice and Antibes. People also recommended Eze right next to it, but I didn’t have time to go there.
To be completely honest, and personal, I wasn’t as impressed as the hype got me to be. Everyone said it was the cutest place ever and a must-see, but it looks very similar to the other colorful-building sea front towns except a lot smaller. Perhaps that’s the appeal?
Anyway, head down to the small port area where the token colorful building facades are. Grab a drink or a bite, and then perhaps walk ten minutes or more to the beaches nearby! You can also wander along the tiered cobblestone alleyways that lead down to the water!
There’s a lot of cute restaurants with tables set up on the steps that looks super cute!
You’ve probably heard of the Cannes Film Festival, which is why many people go to Cannes. But in my opinion, the city itself was more noteworthy than the red-carpet event! (Well, coming from someone who lived in Hollywood for several years).
The main streets of Cannes are so chic (albeit expensive) and there’s this overall vibe of elegance there. Wander the many shopping streets, even if it’s just to window shop, then head towards the beach!
There are two main ways to experience the beach in Cannes; the first is to go to the free public beach, the second is to go to a beach club!
The free public beaches definitely get crowded, but the perk of course, is that they’re free!
But if you want a real Cannes experience, and if you want to feel fancy, head to one of the many beach clubs! You’ll have to pay to rent a day bed, which can be very pricey (some start at $45 for the day!), or you can simply sit at a table or couch and order food and/or a drink, and sit for free!
I had a few glasses of wine at C Beach which I liked, and next door was the super popular Hyde Beach, but definitely way more expensive!
For some reason my vision of St. Tropez was closer to what Cannes or Nice looks like. I could have sworn I saw photos and paintings of colorful buildings, yachts, and a beach. But they were pretty separated!
The main area of St. Tropez consists of two shopping areas; one that’s mostly souvenirs, and the other that’s all high end designer stores. So high-end in fact that the stores of places like Chanel and Dior, were actual small chateaus.
Once you get to the port area, it’s of course, yacht city! What I liked was that there were a few options for us common folk to take short cruises from this area, so we can almost feel like we’re yachting! Also along the port are tons of cute (expensive) restaurants that were all bustling and busy.
Again, EVERYTHING is very expensive, so if you’re on a budget, you may want to eat farther outside of the main area!
Oh! But of course if you’re in St. Tropez, you must go to La Tarte Tropezeine! We had them in LA so it was cool to see them where they’re actually from!
So now about the beach in St. Tropez! You have to drive to get to it, and it’s technically not in St. Tropez, it’s just outside of it. La Pampelonne is the most famous one. It had really nice clear water, and a couple of beach clubs. OH and dozens of yachts sprinkled off shore, with water taxis shuttling their occupants back and forth to the clubs. The most popular club is Club 55 where supposedly you can spot celebrities. (Again, living in Hollywood makes this less appealing for me).
If you’re camping, there’s a really nice beach campground nearby! If you can get a reservation or go in low season, you can even get a spot on the beach!
Marseilles is one of the bigger cities in the French Riviera, like Nice. It has one of the cutest port areas, filled with sailboats of all sizes, and lined with colorful buildings and restaurants.
Unlike Nice though, there wasn’t a beach in the main area, which as you can tell, is one of my main priorities.
It’s still a very quaint, cute French city that I’d highly recommend spending a full day or more in!
We didn’t have time to stop in Cassis, but it and Calanques were highly recommended as hidden gems! It’s another cute and colorful fishing village, that’s said to be less crowded than some of the better known cities.
It’s just east of Marseilles, so it can make a nice pit-stop before or after it!
Not necessarily on the French Riviera, but close enough to it that you could squeeze it in! Especially if you are going around May or June and want to see the famous lavender fields!
The main thing to see here is the Chateau de Provence, which are ruins of an old 12th century castle and village. I literally felt like I was at Disney World or something there. Like the Shrek ride or something except minus the ogres and dragons.
The Chateau is atop a mountain and parking is extremely limited, so get there early! You then walk through the cute, tiny, old French village which has tons of little shops selling lavender items. There’s also a shop solely dedicated to truffles that’s worth stopping in. If only just to get some free samples!
The actual castle ruins are interesting to see, especially if you have a good imagination! It costs 10 euros per person.
If you’re a wine fan, especially rose, you should definitely take a detour from the French Riviera and drive up to Esclans!
There you’ll find several wineries and chateaus, including one of my all time favorites; The Whispering Angel!
Many of the wineries are open for tastings but you may want to email ahead of time just in case, and also to make a booking! The Whispering Angel offers FREE, yes you heard me, FREEEEEE tours and tastings, so definitely go check it out!
Esclans is about 1.5 hours north of St. Tropez.
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A brilliant way to be fancy when your wallet ain't fancy. 2020 has been tough hey...anyways the French Riviera is a dream of mine and now I have a new way of approaching it...thanks for a great post (and your honesty per usual)
Haha IT SURE HAS!! But I won't let 2020 stop me!! Hope you can make it here soon! Appreciate your feedback :)
Great blog, what’s your take on the pandemic there right now? What type of precautions did you take on this trip?
Everything seems pretty normal aside from the face masks and increased distancing at restaurants/shops. There's no crowds of people huddled together really, and if it is crowded, again, everyone wears a mask -- in some places there is a fine for not wearing it! So we basically just stuck to the face mask rule, and washed hands regularly.
Thank you for sharing
Thanks for reading!