THE FRENCH RIVIERA IN 5 DAYS

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This trip to the Cote d'Azur in 5 days took us by car from our city to an area of France that we still did not know.
We headed from Lloret to Arles which was our first stop on the route and the place where we stayed the first night.
On the second day of the trip we went to know some of the most beautiful cities in the area such as Avignon, Les Baux en Provence and Aux en Provence, where we enjoy some of the most special places of the trip.

From here we begin to enter the French Riviera, visiting St. Tropez where we spend an afternoon of luxury, then go to Cannes where we had dinner and stayed this second day.
On the third day of the trip we continue on the Côte d'Azur and enjoy places like Mougins, San Paul in Vence and Nice, where we end the day.
On the fourth day of the trip to the Côte d'Azur in 5 days we will visit Villafranche, famous place to stop most of the cruises on the Mediterranean and Monaco, one of the best known cities in this area.
On the fifth and last day of our trip, we leave the French Riviera behind and go to visit Grasse and the Verdon Gorges before returning home.

Travel guide to the French Riviera in 5 days

Dates: From September 10, 2009 to September 14, 2009

Day 1: LLORET DE MAR - ARLES

Day 2: ARLES - AVIGNON - LES BAUX DE PROVENCE - AUX EN PROVENCE - ST. TROPEZ - CANNES

Day 3: CANNES - MOUGINS - SANT PAUL DE VENCE - NICE

Day 4: NICE - MONACO - VILLAFRANCHE - NICE

Day 5: NICE - GRASSE - GARDANTAS DE VERDON - LLORET DE MAR

Hotels in the French Riviera

Best Western Atrium

Hotel in Arles. Very good breakfast Very clean and spacious rooms. Located in an area where parking is easy.
Make your reservation here: Best Western Atrium

Oxford hotel

Hotel in Cannes. Very complete breakfast Free parking Kind of casitas / bungalows with built-in kitchen. Quite correct. Away from the resort.
Make your reservation here: Oxford Hotel Cannes

All Seasons Nice Vieux Port Hotel

Hotel in Nice. Good location, very close to the old port. The parking is small and cannot be reserved. Very comfortable and clean. Correct breakfast.
Make your reservation here: ibis Styles Nice Vieux Port

LOOK FOR THE BEST HOTEL OFFERS

Do you want to organize this trip to the Côte d'Azur for free?
Get it here:
The best offers of Flights to France here
The best hotels at the best prices on the Cote d'Azur here
Get € 35 for your reservation with AirBnb here
Book the best tours and excursions in the French Riviera in Spanish here
10 essential tips for traveling to the French Riviera
10 must-see places in Nice
10 essential tips for traveling to France
Rent your car in France at the best price here
Book your travel insurance with a 5% discount here
The best guides of the French Riviera:
Provence and the French Riviera 2 (Lonely Planet City Guides)
Costa Azul, Monaco and Provence Escapada Azul (Escapada Azul (gaesa))
COSTA AZUL VISUAL GUIDES 2012
Traveling literature on the Côte d'Azur:
THE BLUE COAST.
NOVELAS DE LA COSTA AZUL (Annotated edition, with hyperlinks to selected websites). (Essential Collection Vicente Blasco Ibáñez nº 5)
Costa Azul novel (Blasco Ibáñez Library)

Filed in: France

Tagged as: Arles, Aux en Provence, Avignon, Cannes, car, French Riviera, Travel guide, Monaco, Mougins, Nice, Sant Paul en Vence, St, transport, Tropez, Villafranche

Comments

Rosa M. says
4 February, 2020 at 17:12
Hi, I'm Rosy from Costa Rica, I appreciate your recommendations to visit the Costa Azul and other places within the same route. I ask?
1- What would be the most beneficial route to take leaving Costa Rica, such as flying to Barcelona, Madrid, France?
2- April is a good time? since I hit my vacations with the Easter holidays.
3- Suggested places to visit according to the destination you recommend?
Any other additional information I appreciate it.
Pure life from Costa Rica and if you need any recommendations to visit my country with pleasure.
Reply
- Vane and Roger says
  4 February, 2020 at 20:36
  Hi Rosa Maria,
  The best option would be to fly to Barcelona and from there take a car and go to this area of France or fly to a French city, such as Cannes or Nice and from there make the route.
  About the time, Holy Week is a good time, although the weather is unpredictable and in those days there can be more people.
  Regarding the route, we leave you the post Tips for traveling to the Costa Azul in which we propose a route.
  regards
  Reply
Adriana Accinelli says
January 21, 2020 at 20:08
Hello! I'm Adriana Accinelli from Argentina
We are assembling with my husband Bony We read a trip for September: Côte d'Azur / Corsica / Sardinia… Leaving from Madrid
Basically we like the beaches, charming town and some attraction of every unmissable place
We have 16 days for everything ...
Could you help us distribute days by place and shape this idea?
I arrange with hotels and transfers because I manage enough internet ...
Many thanks
Greetings from Argentina!
Reply
- Vane and Roger says
  January 22, 2020 at 09:46
  Hello Adriana,
  We are sorry that we cannot help you with the organization, since we are not an agency, we do not perform this type of services. In the blog Street Travelers you can find the guide of La Costa Azul, which is where you are commenting and that of Sardinia, where you can see the route we take, tips, recommendations ... etc.
  To distribute the days, if you manage with the Internet as you comment, you can use Google Maps to see the transfer times ... etc
  regards
  Reply
Acela Loga says
May 14, 2018 at 01:13
Hi Vane and Roger, we loved your 5-day plan,
my family and I want to visit the French Riviera, and your trip seems fantastic
If you have a city where we can stay a full day, we would love to know, since we have 2 more days.
Greetings from Mexico.
Thanks for your blog
Reply
- Vane and Roger says
  May 14, 2018 at 07:23
  Hi Acela,
  First of all, thank you very much for reading!
  Having a couple more days, we would take the opportunity to extend the stay in Les Baux de Provence and Aix en Provence (Provence) and in St. Tropez, which are the points we liked the most to spend more time.
  regards
  Reply
Eneko says
February 28, 2018 at 3:43 p.m.
Hi!!
This next August we intend to visit the French Riviera by car for 6 days. We would not like to be packing and unpacking the days we are going to be, since we go with two children so we plan to stay in Cannes and move to other places there. Do you think it's a good option, or are the distances enough and is it better to take two or three different places? Thank you.
Reply
- Vane and Roger says
  March 1, 2018 at 06:58
  Hi Eneko,
  The distances between the main tourist attractions is not much, so it is totally feasible to base in Cannes and move daily.
  We recommend using a Google Maps type application, where you can put the different points that you are going to visit, to see the distances and thus see if they fit you with the times that fit your needs.
  regards
  Reply
  - Eneko says
    1 March, 2018 at 21:43
    Thank you and continue with your projects that are very helpful for people like us.
    Reply
    - Vane and Roger says
      March 2, 2018 at 08:10
      Hi Eneko,
      Thank you so much for reading!
      regards
      Reply
Roberto says
May 16, 2017 at 01:02
Thanks to you, I don't think I'm going to miss anything on the French Riviera, that I will go there in a couple of months 🙂 Thanks for all the info
Reply
- Vane and Roger says
  May 16, 2017 at 08:38
  Hello Roberto,
  We are sure you will love this area of France. If we can help you with anything, here we are. Regards!!
  Reply
Arnold says
March 27, 2017 at 01:41
good night my name is Arnoldo and together with my wife we want to travel to the blue coast we have in February 2018 for 16 days vacations and I need to tell me how I can take advantage of this time and if there is something close that it would be good to know thanks
Reply
- Vane and Roger says
  March 27, 2017 at 09:40
  Hi Arnold,
  Having those days, we would recommend that you take advantage to know the area of Provence, which is also spectacular. Regards!
  Reply
Ale says
October 9, 2016 at 18:12
Good morning. Our idea is to go 6 days from Barcelona, I have two questions:
1) Never rent a car, can you rent from Barcelona? Is there a website to know costs?
2) If you go by public transport, what place would you recommend as a base (at the cost and charm level of the place) to go through the different places?
Thank you so much!
Reply
- Vane and Roger says
  October 10, 2016 at 11:20
  Hello Ale,
  We always reserve through Rentalcars that it is a search engine, so it makes comparisons between rental companies and acts as an "intermediary", booking through them, but then the rent is made directly at the company's office. You can rent from any city 😉
  About public transport, the truth is that we cannot advise you since we made the whole route by car and we don't know the subject.
  Regards!
  Reply
  - ornella says
    April 10, 2017 at 6:25 p.m.
    Hello good morning in August I will do the blue coast in 5 days from montpellier to monaco, I needed to know how much is the difference compared to the train compared to tolls and gasoline for the car
    Reply
    - Vane and Roger says
      April 11, 2017 at 12:02
      Hi Ornella,
      We are sorry to not be able to help you since we did not do that itinerary and we did it by car.
      Regards!
      Reply
Mercedes says
July 7, 2016 at 5:35 p.m.
Hello! September is a suitable month to get into the sea? Is there any beach I can't miss on the blue coast?
thanks!
Mercedes
Reply
- Vane and Roger says
  July 10, 2016 at 9:30 p.m.
  Hello Mercedes,
  We imagine that it depends on the weather, although in principle in September you should not have any problem to bathe. About beaches we can't help you since we didn't take a trip where we visited any beach, so we can't advise you first hand. regards
  Reply
Edison says
May 22, 2016 at 9:48 pm
Hi Vane and Roger:
We are an Ecuadorian family that taking advantage of our study stay in Madrid, we are excited to know the beautiful Costa Azul. We are 3 adults, 1 child, 1 teenager, and an older adult.
Queries:
1.- Since we do not have prior knowledge, the trip they describe passes through the main towns of the Côte d'Azur? That is, as an initiatory trip, if not unique, is there any locality that is "inevitable" that we can add with a couple more days, which would suggest we visit without getting too far from the main route?
2.- The idea is to travel the route by car enjoying the beauty of the places and the places where it is crossed, and sleeping where it best suits according to the route. If so, what budget do you estimate per traveler for the entire trip?
Thanks for the information.
Edison
Reply
- Vane and Roger says
  May 23, 2016 at 11:19
  Hello Edison,
  This itinerary is the one we chose, since it is not organized, if not free, but it does pass through the main locations of the Côte d'Azur.
  Having a couple more days, we would take the opportunity to know a little more about the Aux en Provence, San Paul en Vence area… etc, it is a very worthwhile area.
  Regarding the budget, it depends a lot on the time in which you travel, the type of accommodation, the type of rental car ... etc. We recommend that once you have more or less the itinerary, look at Booking the accommodations that are available for those dates and so you can see more or less prices. With the car rental, you can do the same with Rentalcars and so you will have more or less the approximate budget.
  Regarding meals, you can count about 20 euros per person / meal and day, if you eat in average restaurants, menus of the day. regards
  Reply
Tina says
May 8, 2016 at 20:37
Hi
My name is Tina and in August I would like to know the blue coast but because of the language and that I am not very loose with the car, I do not dare to go on my own
I have thought about going by plane and choosing a hotel in some city, but then I would like to look for a company where they make excursions to get to know the area
Could you help me
Thank you
Reply
- Vane and Roger says
  May 9, 2016 at 11:54
  Good morning Tina,
  Well, the truth is that we don't know of any company that tours the area. We are sorry we cannot help you with this issue. What we can tell you is that driving through the area is not difficult or you can even consider making base in one of the cities and moving with public transport. Regards!
  Reply
Silvia Marcela says
April 18, 2016 at 7:19 PM
Hello, my name is Silvia and in September I travel to Barcelona, I would like to visit something of the blue coast. As it is my first experience in that place, I would like to give me some advice. The idea is to spend as little as possible. I travel with three friends, we are adults ... fifty ... but with a young soul ... Thank you very much.
Reply
- Vane and Roger says
  April 18, 2016 at 7:48 PM
  Hello Silvia,
  On this same page you can find the links to each of the days of the trip, where you will find itinerary, places we visited ... etc
  We keep in touch for any questions you have. Regards!
  Reply
ana says
April 9, 2016 at 06:27
Hello, we are a marriage of Argentines who are going to travel to Wurzburg at the end of May and from there we will drive to Lugano and Lake Como from there to
to Cinque Terre.
from there we will go Costa Azul and Provena
You can recommend which places to visit because I see that Provence is wide ...
And stay in charming inns?
Thank you,
Ana
Reply
- Vane and Roger says
  April 11, 2016 at 13:02
  Good morning Ana,
  In this travel diary, of the Côte d'Azur, you can see the places in which we focus as more "interesting" for the tour. They are divided by days and in each of them you can see our experience in each of them.
  You can see the theme of the accommodations at the end of this page. regards
  Reply
Alicia Perez says
January 25, 2016 at 03:10
Hi Vane and Roger
I have a perfect 5 days on the blue coast.
I need if you can, advise me ...
Our trip leaves Argentina, on 04/20/16 we arrived in Paris and from there directly to travel the route of the loire castles, although I think we will only do 3 or 4, but the days will not reach us.
For the loire we may rent a car, but for the blue coast, I think we will do it by train, there begins my request for advice….
After the blue coast, the idea is vienna, budapest, prague, if there is another place, you will tell me, I imagine it will also be a good idea to do by train….
And last Berlin and from there return to Argentina on 05/17
We have 25 full days (I know it's not much, but we want to go as far as we can)
I would thank you infinitely for any advice you can give us, you will be welcome
Thanks and regards !!
Reply
- Vane and Roger says
  January 25, 2016 at 07:00
  Good morning Alice,
  From Paris, to know the Loire Castles, we recommend that you rent a car and spend about 4 days to get to know the area well. Then for the area of the Cote d'Azur, we believe that it is best to continue with a rental car, for the freedom of schedules that will give you, especially if you have so few days. Regarding the other capitals that you want to know, it depends a lot on what you have in mind, since each and every one of them are very different. We would spend 3 days in Vienna, 4 in Budapest and another 4 in Budapest. With this you would have more or less 4-5 days (discounting transfers), in which you could add some other capital or area near the cities you are going to visit. regards
  Reply
Cesar says
12 November, 2015 at 19:25
I plan to tour the area in June / 16, good the info they put in, I did not decide whether to do it Moto home or car that I recommend seeing the costs if someone experienced doing it, well the forum, greetings from Campana Argentina
Reply
- Vane and Roger says
  November 13, 2015 at 10:28
  Good morning Cesar, the truth is that we cannot help you too much with the budget to make this route with a transport that is not a car, since we did it that way.
  If you opt for a car, the price to add will be that of accommodation, which if you look at it with time, is not excessively expensive, especially when you move away from the most central places of the city. Regards!
  Reply
Maria says
March 18, 2015 at 09:53
A magnificent post that sums up the essence of the Cote d'Azur very well!
Thanks Vane and Roger for making a little more known about this region in southern France.
When they come to visit us next time, they cannot miss the coastal town of Antibes, with its walls, its old town and the Picasso Museum; the hanging town of Èze, between Nice and Monaco, with stunning views over the Cap Ferrat and, why not reach the Italian border and discover Menton, the city of citrus. 😀
I take and leave the link of Costa Azul Digital, the first magazine of the Costa Azul in Spanish, with reports, interviews of resident Spaniards and current events in the region.
See you soon on the Côte d'Azur!
Reply
- Vane and Roger says
  March 18, 2015 at 10:10
  Hello Maria,
  Thank you very much for writing to us! The truth is that we lacked many places to meet in that getaway, but it is in our plans to return and finish knowing everything that was pending. Write down your recommendations to not forget them when we go 🙂
  Regards!!
  Reply
- Tere says
  April 27, 2015 at 00:43
  Hello, we would like to visit the blue coast this summer. We are 4 adults and two children. What would be the most economical area to find an apartment, house, chalet ...
  We do not want to stay in a hotel. Thank you
  Reply
  - Vane and Roger says
    April 27, 2015 at 17:57
    Hi Tere,
    The Côte d'Azur area is not especially economical. We recommend that you look in a search engine like the one we link on this page //bit.ly/1vzCDjt so that you can see the cheapest areas for the type of accommodation you want.
    Regards!
    Reply
Calliope Travel and Experience says
2 February, 2015 at 12:26
Interesting the getaway, although the southern ones come further, but fortunately there are cheap flights to the area, I'm going to think very much go there, it looks good.
Reply
- Vane and Roger says
  2 February, 2015 at 17:05
  Calliope Travel and Experiences, is one of the "less known" areas of France and the truth is that it is worth taking into account to spend a few days.
  The day you go there, if we can help you with anything, here we are
  Reply
Dew says
July 13, 2014 at 11:29
In the next week of August we are going to make a trip along the French blue coast but I am allergic to gluten and if someone who has knowledge could inform us of the gastronomy in this area I thank you.
Reply
- Vane and Roger says
  July 13, 2014 at 12:40
  Hello Rocio,
  In principle you should not have a problem, since in that area of France you will have places to choose. That said, we will comment on some of the dishes we saw or tried when we were in the area.
  On the Costa Azul, olive oil, garlic, olives are used a lot ...
  It is very typical ratatouille, a ratatouille of garlic, eggplant, zucchini, onion, pepper, tomato and olive oil.
  In Nice, pissaladière is typical, a puff pastry pizza with anchovies, crushed tomatoes, onions, eggs and olives and also gnocchi and ravioli, claimed as their own by Nice and inherited from its Italian past.
  Fish in this area of France also occupies a very important place in gastronomy.
  We hope we have helped a little with these gastronomic brushstrokes 🙂
  Regards!
  Reply
Vane and Roger says
April 5, 2011 at 11:05
Hi Fanny,
We will go to Carcassonne this weekend, so we cannot advise you about that area, but as far as we know, we believe it is a good place for a child.
The rest of the route along the Côte d'Azur, we see it great to go with a child, yes, as you go in beach time, you can go "scales" in the coves and fantastic beaches that you will find.
Surely you will have a great time !! If we can help you with something, do not hesitate to write to us.
Regards!!
Reply
Fany says
April 5, 2011 at 10:05
I would like to make a route along the Côte d'Azur making a first stop in Carcassonne this July, but I have a child of almost three years, do you recommend the trip or do you not see it suitable to go with children?
Reply
Vane and Roger says
1 August, 2010 at 16:01
Hello Jose,
We hope you have a great day.
We will be waiting for your return, so you can tell us how it went ...
Regards,
Vane and Roger
Reply
Jose says
July 30, 2010 at 15:30
Good,
I'm going to the Côte d'Azur next August 6 until 19. The truth that discovering your blog has helped me to get an idea of how to start the trip. On the way back I'll tell you.
Greetings and thanks for all the information.
Reply
Vane and Roger says
June 10, 2010 at 15:10
Hi!!
Thank you so much for the comments.
Undoubtedly, you will spend some incredible days ... especially in the villages that are "splashing" the landscapes.
Regards!
Reply
Marcos says
June 9, 2010 at 18:09
Thank you for telling us your 5 days. This year I want to do this route and it has given me enough ideas. Thanks and regards.
Reply