French Riviera: 4-day itinerary between Nice and Cannes

In May 2023, I received an offer I couldn’t refuse: a press tour organized by A Tout France during which I and a small number of other influencers would visit the French Riviera. From the moment I received the offer, my goal was clear: to use the tour to create a series of articles for you about all the places on the Riviera we would visit and of course an itinerary that you could use.

Our plane landed in Nice in early July and by evening we had already arrived in Cannes where the breeze cooled the air. There began a journey of pleasures lasting several days among the most beautiful and fun places on the French Riviera. This article will help you experience these places, just as I experienced them, and also provide you with important information that will help you plan your upcoming trip there.

So, before we set off and visit the French Riviera, let's talk about what you'll find in this article. I'll start with an overview of the nine main destinations on the Riviera, from west to east, and move on to practical information: how to get there, what to take between cities, what to book in advance, and when is the best time to come. Then the four days of the itinerary, day by day, according to what I actually did. Below, I suggest some ways to extend the trip if you have more than four days, a chapter on accommodation in each of the cities, and finally answers to questions I get a lot about this area.

What to see on the French Riviera: 9 main destinations

The French Riviera, or in its French name the Côte d'Azur (Azure Coast), is the coastal strip of southeastern France, from Saint-Tropez in the west to Menton and the Italian border in the east. Here are the nine destinations I return to, in geographical order from west to east:

1. Saint-Tropez – The western end of the Riviera. A fishing village that became a symbol of glamour in the 60s, and to this day maintains an ancient port and a market in the Place de la Chine. Far from other destinations – about a two-hour drive from Nice – and therefore requires a full day.
2. Grasse – The perfume capital of the world, in the hills above Cannes. Three historic perfume houses are open to visitors, alongside the International Perfume Museum. An excellent destination for half a day, especially on a rainy day.
3. Cannes – La Croisette, the Festival Hall and the Pourville market in the old town. The city where I started my career. Cannes: attractions and restaurants, Itinerary in Cannes
4. Saint-Paul-de-Vence – A walled artists’ village, ten minutes from the beach and a completely different world. Chagall lived and was buried there, and nearby is the Maggett Foundation. Riviera Artists' Village
5. Antibes – An ancient walled city with the Picasso Museum at Château Grimaldi, and next to it Cap d'Antibes with the beautiful coastal path in the area. The complete guide to Antibes, Route in Antibes and Cap d'Antibes
6. Nice – The unofficial capital of the Riviera and the gateway for most travelers from Israel. The Promenade des Anglais, the old city and the view from Castle Hill. The complete guide to Nice, Nice Restaurants
7. Èze – A village perched on a cliff, about 430 meters above the sea, on the road from Nice to Monaco. The exotic garden at the top offers one of the most famous views on the Riviera.
8. Monaco – An independent principality within the Riviera, the second largest of the smallest in the world. Monte Carlo and the casino, the Princes' Palace and the municipal Formula 1 track. Fifteen minutes by train from Nice.
9. Menton – The easternmost destination, adjacent to the Italian border and with a completely Italian atmosphere. The lemon city of France, with the lemon festival in February and subtropical gardens.

Practical information for a trip to the French Riviera

How to get to the French Riviera

The gateway is Nice Airport (Aéroport Nice Côte d'Azur), located right on the coastline at the western edge of the city. From there, tram line 2 leads to the center of Nice, and the central Nice-Ville train station is a short distance away. I wrote in detail about everything related to direct flights, terminals, and ways to leave the airport in my article on flights to Nice and the airport.

If you plan to start in Cannes like I did, it's worth knowing that Cannes is west of the airport, so the drive from the airport to Cannes is shorter than the drive to Old Nice. Hence the advice I'm glad I discovered: it's better to start the route at the western end and crawl east, rather than the other way around.

Train, bus or rental car between Nice and Cannes

Four of the five stations on the route are on the same train line, the Marseille-Ventimiglia line, on which the Région Sud TER trains operate a busy service throughout the day. The sequence is Cannes, Juan-les-Pins, Antibes, Cagnes-sur-Mer and Nice, and the journeys between stations take just a few minutes. Trains pass through these stations from 5 am to 1 am, so even a late dinner in another city is not a problem. Tickets are easy to book in advance via Omio , which centralizes the train operators on one screen and saves you the hassle of dealing with the French website.

The only destination on the route that doesn’t have a train station is Saint-Paul-de-Vence, and that’s exactly where a rental car makes a difference. Getting there by public transport involves two steps: a train to Cagnes-sur-Mer station, and from there, ZOU! bus line 655, which departs from the train station square and goes to Vence via Saint-Paul. The service operates during the day, and the updated timetable is published on the village’s tourist office website. Those who prefer to book in advance on the on-demand lines can call ZOU! customer service at 04 13 94 30 50, which is open every day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

I myself did the route by car, and that’s what I recommend for those who have two or more days. The Riviera is built on coastal roads that cling to the sea and on the A8 toll road that runs parallel inland, and when you have a car you can choose anew every morning between the view and the speed. It’s worth booking the car from Israel through Auto Shay , which has a special booking page for “anonymous Francophile” surfers. I wrote about the rental stations at the airport, what you should check before receiving the keys, and the parking lots in the area in an article about renting a car in Nice.

Tickets and attractions that should be booked in advance

The Riviera in summer is busy, and the places where the queues are really annoying are the cruise to the Leran Islands off Cann, the Picasso Museum in Antibes in the afternoon, and the guided tours of the old town of Nice. These are worth booking before you go. I've compiled here what I've ordered or would order again:

When to come to the French Riviera, and how much time to allocate

Four days is the minimum to see the four destinations without running, and five or six days allows you to add Èze, Monaco, and Grasse without changing hotels. I was there in early July, and this is the season when the Riviera is at its peak in every way: the sea is at a pleasant temperature, the villages are open until the evening, and the tourists are there in full force. The recommended months if you want the same light without the same crowds are May, June, September, and October.

Two schedule pitfalls to be aware of. First, the Cannes Film Festival takes place in May, and during those two weeks Cannes is expensive and crowded in a way that makes a leisurely visit impossible. Second, municipal museums in the area are closed on Mondays, and the Chagall Museum in Nice is closed on Tuesdays. Monday is therefore the best day to devote to the markets, promenades, and the Cap d'Antibes walking trail.

Day 1 on the French Riviera: From Nice to Cannes

My first day was a landing day, so I didn't try to cram any museums into it. We landed in Nice, drove west to Cannes, and all that was left of the day was the afternoon and evening. It turned out to be a good start, because Cannes is a city that looks better in the low light.

The first step was La Croisette, the coastal avenue that stretches for about two kilometers in front of the Bay of Cannes. On the sea side are the private beaches of the big hotels, and on the opposite side are the brand stores and hotels that look like 19th-century wedding cakes. At the eastern end is the Porte Canto garden, and at the western end you reach the Palais des Festivals.

The Palais des Festivals et des Congrès is the first surprise, and not for the better. The building itself is modern and heavy, and most visitors come for one thing: the steps on which the red carpet is rolled out every May. Even without a carpet, you will find a line of people taking pictures there, and the rings of movie stars are embedded in the pavement of the avenue around it. You can read the story of the festival, which was founded for purely political reasons, not artistic ones, in the article on the history of Cannes.

From the palace we went up to Le Suquet, the hill on which the original Cannes was built before tourism arrived. The streets there are narrow and steep, the houses are painted in ochre and pink, and at the top of the hill stands the 16th-century Notre-Dame d'Espérance church and a medieval watchtower next to it. The view from there of the bay and the islands is the real reason to go up, especially in the quarter hour before sunset.

For dinner, I recommend staying in La Souk or the streets below it, rather than on the Croisette itself. I listed the restaurants I liked in Cannes, including Le Relais des Semailles and Aux Bons Enfants, in my guide to Cannes: attractions, restaurants and hotels , and the detailed walking route in the city in my article on what to do in Cannes.

Day 2 on the French Riviera: Cannes in the morning, Saint-Paul-de-Vence in the afternoon

Day two is the day that justifies the entire itinerary. In the morning we finished Cannes, and in the afternoon we drove 35 minutes inland, to a fortified village on a hilltop that feels like another continent.

Morning in Cannes: Forville Market and Antibes Street

Marché Forville is where Cannes stops pretending. It’s a covered market, a short walk from the port, and it’s open every morning except Monday, when it becomes a flea market. What I found there was the Provençal side of the region, not the glamorous side: vegetable stalls, goat cheeses, olives of every hue, and fish caught that morning. I buy bread, cheese, and fruit at markets like these, and eat them in the hotel in the evening instead of a third restaurant meal.

From the market, you can cut to Rue d'Antibes, the city's main shopping street, which runs parallel to the Croisette two blocks away and offers the same brands at more humane prices. Incidentally, this is where Napoleon camped on the night of March 1, 1815, on his way from Elba to Grenoble, and this is the point from which the Napoleon Route begins. Erez Levanon wrote about this full route in an article on the Napoleon Route.

If you have an extra half day in Cannes, you should dedicate it to the Îles de Lérins. Ferries leave from the port, and the journey to Sainte-Marguerite Island takes about fifteen minutes. On the island, you'll find a pine forest, swimming bays, and Fort Royal, where the prisoner known as the Man in the Iron Mask was held in the 17th century. On the other island, Saint-Honorat, there's still a Cistercian monastery where the monks make wine.

Afternoon in Saint-Paul-de-Vence

Saint-Paul-de-Vence is a fortified village on a hillside, a short drive from the coast, its walls built by order of François I (king from 1515–1547) to protect the border with the Principality of Savoy. In fact, the village is known today for what happened there in the 20th century: painters who lived there, galleries that took over one street, and a small cemetery where Marc Chagall (1887–1985) is buried.

The village itself is small, and you can walk from one end to the other in ten minutes. Things I wouldn't miss:

• Rue Grande: The main street, which runs from the north gate to the south gate, is where the galleries and workshops are concentrated.
• The Great Fountain Square (Place de la Grande Fontaine): A 19th-century pear-shaped fountain and a vaulted wash basin next to it. The most photographed square in the village.
• The Collegiate Church: It was built from the 14th century onwards, and its treasury contains a statuette of the Virgin Mary from the 13th century.
• Cemetery: Located outside the walls at the southern end, it contains Chagall's remarkably simple tomb.
• The ball game square: Right after the main gate, where you will find a group of locals playing petanque every afternoon.
• The Bastion of the Dauphin (Le Bastion du Dauphin): The southern corner of the wall, with a view of the Var Valley and the sea.

The real reason to come here, in my opinion, lies outside the walls. Fondation Maeght was built in 1964 by art dealer Aimé Maeght (1906–1981) and his wife Marguerite, after their young son died of an illness, and they decided to establish an institution for modern art in the place where the boy used to play. Catalan architect Josep Lluís Sert (1902–1983) designed the building, and in the gardens around it, Joan Miró (1893–1983), Alberto Giacometti (1901–1966), Marc Chagall and Georges Braque (1882–1963) created works on site and in the place. Miro's Labyrinth is a sculpture garden that you can enter, not just look at.

Practical information for Fondation Mag, as it appears on the official website as of August 2026: Open every day of the year from 10:00 to 18:00, and in July and August until 19:00. Adult ticket 18 euros, reduced ticket 14 euros for pupils and students aged 16 to 18, and free entry for children under 16. No advance booking is required. Backpacks are not allowed in the exhibition halls and there is a cloakroom at the entrance, and dogs are not allowed. Parking is free. Within the complex is the Sous les Pins restaurant, run by the chefs of Les Agitateurs from Nice, and the furniture was designed by Diego Giacometti (1902–1985).

Before you leave, it's worth taking a peek inside La Colombe d'Or, the inn where painters stayed in the 1920s and 1930s and paid for meals with paintings. The resulting collection now hangs on the walls of the dining room, and can only be seen if you're eating or staying there. I wrote all the details about the village, its churches and its restaurants in a separate article about Saint-Paul-de-Vence, the artists' village of the Riviera.

Day 3 on the French Riviera: Antibes and Cap d'Antibes

Antibes was the destination that surprised me the most on this trip, and that's because I didn't expect anything from it. In fact, it's the only one of the four destinations on the route that is also an ancient walled city, a huge yacht harbor, a Picasso museum, and a walking path on cliffs above the sea. All of this in a city that you can cross on foot.

I started at Port Vauban, the largest yacht port in the area, and the Boulevard d'Aiguillon that leads from it into the city. At the end of the port is the dock that the locals call the billionaires' dock, where the really big yachts are moored. From the port, you enter the old city through the walls, and this is where the good part begins.

The Provençal Market (Marché provençal) is the heart of old Antibes. It sits under an iron roof on Avenue Massena, open in the mornings, and its produce is truly local: courgette flowers, socca, panisse, local olives and lavender. One of the moments I remember from there is a fish stall that was arranged like a jewellery showcase, and next to it a restaurant that served an entire absinthe cellar with dozens of bottles. Antibes takes its food with a seriousness that I didn’t find in Cannes.

What I wouldn't miss in Antibes:

• National Square (Place Nationale): A square surrounded by plane trees and cafes, with a stone column in its center. The place for a coffee break in the Old City.
• Safranier District (Quartier du Safranier): A tiny neighborhood that declared itself a “free commune” in the 1960s, with private courtyards full of vegetation and streets without cars.
• Picasso Museum (Musée Picasso): Located in the Château Grimaldi, it holds the works Picasso left in the city.
• Antibes Cathedral: Adjacent to the museum, with a Baroque facade and a church body resting on Roman foundations.
• The walls from the sea side: The walk on the back of the wall above the sea is the part I would go back to, and there is no ticket for it.
• Cap d'Antibes: The southern peninsula, with the Tire-poil trail running along the cliffs, and the Garoupe plateau with the lighthouse and observation deck.

Picasso Museum in Antibes: What you should know before visiting

The museum is housed in the Château Grimaldi, a building built on what was the acropolis of Greek Antipolis, then a fortified Roman camp, and then a bishop's seat. The Grimaldi family owned it until 1608, and the municipality of Antibes bought it in 1925. In 1946, the curator Romuald Dor de la Souchère suggested that Picasso set up a studio there, and Picasso, then living in Golfe-Juan with Françoise Gilot (1921–2023), worked there from mid-September to mid-November of that year. When he returned to Paris, he left 23 paintings and 44 drawings in the château on deposit, including the work "The Keys of Antibes" (Les Clés d'Antibes), which covers an entire wall. On December 27, 1966, the castle officially became the Picasso Museum.

What came later expanded the collection beyond that deposit: 78 ceramic works created between 1947 and 1948 in the Madoura workshop in Vallauris, purchases and donations from 1952 to the present, and the deposit made by Jacqueline Picasso in 1991. Another wing displays works by Nicolas de Staël (1914–1955), who stayed in Antibes from September 1954 to March 1955, and since 2001 the museum has also had two galleries dedicated to Hans Hartung (1904–1989) and Anna-Eva Bergman (1909–1987). On the museum's balcony, above the sea, stand statues by Germaine Richier (1902–1959) and Joan Miró (1893–1983).

Practical information, according to the Antibes Jean Le Pen Tourist Office as of August 2026: From June 15 to September 15, the museum is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00 continuously. The rest of the year, it is open on the same days from 10:00 to 13:00 and from 14:00 to 18:00, with a one-hour lunch break. The museum is closed on Mondays, as well as on January 1, May 1, November 1 and December 25. Adult ticket 12 euros, reduced ticket 8 euros, and free entry up to the age of 18. A combined ticket for all the municipal museums of Antibes costs 15 euros and is valid for seven consecutive days. The address is Place Mariejol, and tickets can be booked on the municipal ticketing website.

Those who have another half day should continue south to Cap d'Antibes and Juan-les-Pins, the coastal town where the Riviera summer season was born in the 1920s. You can read the full history of the city, from the Greeks to Picasso, in the article on the history of Antibes , and the detailed walking route in the article on a hiking route in Antibes and Cap d'Antibes . Organized information on the weather, how to get there, and restaurants is concentrated in the complete guide to Antibes.

Day 4 on the French Riviera: Nice and the Old Town

I left Nice for last, and it was the right decision. After three days of small cities, Nice feels like a capital: it's big, noisy, has an opera and museums and a long shopping street, and has an old town that looks and smells completely Italian. The reason for this is historical and simple. Until 1860, Nice was not French but belonged to the House of Savoy, and only after the Treaty of Turin and a local vote did it join France. I wrote this story, including the doubts about the reliability of that vote, in an article about the history of Nice.

The route I took starts at Place Massena, the red square with the checkered floor and statues on columns, and continues east into Via Nice. The stops I recommend:

• The Nice Opera: It was rebuilt in 1885 after the theater that preceded it burned down, and its facade looks like a small version of the Paris Opera.
• Cours Saleya: Nice's market street. In the mornings it is a flower market and a food market, and on Mondays it is an antique market. In the afternoon it turns into a restaurant street.
• Saint-Réparate Cathedral (Cathédrale Sainte-Réparate): A 17th-century Baroque cathedral with a dome paved with colorful tiles.
• Church of Sainte-Rita: Small on the outside and ornate to the hilt on the inside. One of the biggest surprises in the Old City.
• Palais Lascaris: A 17th-century noble palace that was turned into a museum, housing a collection of ancient musical instruments.
• Castle Hill (Colline du Château): There hasn't been a castle on it since 1706, when Louis XIV destroyed the fortress, but it does have an artificial waterfall and a view of the entire bay. You can take an elevator up from the end of Avenue des États-Unis.

After the old town, there remains the Promenade des Anglais, so called because the British winter community of Nice financed its construction in the 1820s. It is wide, long, and equipped with the famous blue chairs, and the best time to walk along it is between 7:00 PM and sunset. I wrote a full description of the walking route in the old town, street by street, in my article on a walking route in the old town of Nice.

Two museums in Nice are worth an extra half-day, and both are outside the center: the Marc Chagall Museum, which holds the “Biblical Message” cycle that the painter himself dedicated to him, and the Matisse Museum on the hill of Cimiez, which sits in a 17th-century Italian villa in an olive grove. Note that the Chagall Museum is a national museum and therefore not included in the Nice Municipal Museum Card, which covers Matisse and the city’s other museums.

If you want another perspective on the city, Yaara Gidron Margaliot wrote on the site about Nice and the ultimate vacation , with an emphasis on beaches and family activities. I summarized the restaurants I liked in the city in an article on recommended restaurants in Nice , and the broad picture of the city in the Nice Traveler's Guide.

How to extend your itinerary on the French Riviera

The four days I’ve described cover the core, but the Riviera continues east for another 30 kilometers to the Italian border, climbing inland to villages that overlook the sea from hundreds of meters above. If you have an extra day or two, here are the add-ons I would choose:

• Èze and Monaco: Ajaccio is a village perched on a cliff above the sea, about 20 minutes from Nice, and Monaco is right behind it. The two destinations in one day are a popular combination, and there are bus lines and guided tours that do just that.
• Grasse: The perfume capital of France, about 40 minutes from Cannes, and home to historic perfume houses that offer perfume-making workshops.
• Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat: A peninsula of villas, including Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild and its nine gardens.
• Napoleon's Way: If you're finishing the Riviera and want to go up to the Alps, this is the route. It starts in Cannes and climbs up to Grenoble.
• Verdon Canyon (Gorges du Verdon): About two and a half hours drive inland, with a canyon hundreds of meters deep and water of a color that is hard to believe.

All of these are within Provence in the broadest sense, and I have compiled the big picture of the region, including routes that start in Avignon and Marseille, on the Provence for Travelers page.

Accommodation on the French Riviera route

The first decision you have to make is whether to stay in one city or move. I moved, and in retrospect I would have narrowed it down: two bases of accommodation are definitely enough for four days, one in Cannes or Antibes and one in Nice. This decision saves two packages, and it is also easier, because in Cannes and Nice, midweek prices are much lower than weekend prices.

Accommodation in Cannes

In Cannes, the difference between the first and third streets from the beach is a difference of tens of percent in price, and less than a five-minute walk. If you want the classic facade, the three names that come up are Carlton Cannes, a Regent Hotel, Hôtel Barrière Le Majestic Cannes, and Five Seas Hotel Cannes. On the lower level, Hôtel Belle Plage is near La Souk and facing the sea, and Hotel Molière and Hôtel de Provence are the logical options for those who want a central location without the expense of a beach hotel. I compiled the full list, with descriptions and prices, in my article on recommended hotels in Cannes.

Accommodation in Antibes

In my opinion, Antibes is the smartest choice on this route, because it sits exactly halfway between Cannes and Nice, and the accommodation prices there are lower than both. La Place Boutique Hotel and Hôtel La Villa Port d'Antibes & Spa are within walking distance of the old town and the port, Mas Djoliba is a manor house in a garden within walking distance of the beach, and those looking for the luxury edge will find it at Cap d'Antibes Beach Hotel and Le 1932 Hotel & Spa Cap d'Antibes. Full details can be found in the article on recommended hotels in Antibes.

Accommodation in Saint-Paul-de-Vence

The village itself has very few rooms, and most accommodation is in the vineyards and manor houses around it. Domaine du Mas de Pierre is the area's upscale address, Hôtel La Grande Bastide is a small manor house with a pool and views of the village, and Les Messugues is near Fondation Mag. I have listed all three, as well as the restaurants in the village, in my article on Saint-Paul-de-Vence.

Accommodation in Nice

In Nice, I recommend choosing based on what you want to do in the morning. Those who want to wake up to the promenade will choose Hotel Le Negresco, Anantara Plaza Nice Hotel or Hyatt Regency Nice Palais de la Méditerranée. Those who want to wake up to the old town will choose Palais Saleya Boutique hôtel, which is located steps from the Saleya source. In the more reasonable categories, Hotel Le Grimaldi and Hotel Suisse are in central locations, and Nice Garden Hotel is a small hotel with an interior garden within walking distance of Place Massena. The full list, by star rating and by budget, can be found in the article on hotels in Nice for every budget.

Questions and answers about the French Riviera itinerary

Answers to questions I received from travelers planning a trip to the French Riviera.

I think of the French Riviera as a series of rooms in the same house: Cannes is the grand drawing room for guests, Antibes is the kitchen where you actually cook, Saint-Paul-de-Vence is the room where you hang the pictures, and Venice is the entrance through which everyone passes. Four days is exactly the time it takes to understand this, and to start missing it.

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