A guide by @bebaconrad
Antibes on foot. Cannes from the water. A medieval village perched above the sea. And the most beautiful dinner of the summer.
@bebaconrad · linktr.ee/beba.conrad
The Road East
The A8 east from Aix-en-Provence is one of the great drives in the south of France. The landscape shifts and then suddenly the signs read Cannes, Antibes, Nice — and the Mediterranean appears below you, blue in a way that doesn't look real until you're standing next to it.
We based ourselves in the Sophia Antipolis area — practical and well-placed. Fifteen minutes to Cannes, twenty to Nice. Rent a car. You'll need it. The best things here are not on the bus route.
This guide covers four days and five stops. It is not a beach holiday. It is a Riviera trip done properly.
Day One
Antibes — Walk the Coast
Start in Antibes. Not the beach. The coastal path.
The Sentier du Littoral is a 2.5-kilometre trail that runs along the rocky shoreline from Plage de la Gravette toward Cap d'Antibes. It is free. It is wild. It is not in most guidebooks. Aleppo pines grow sideways out of the cliffs, the path dips to within a metre of the water, and the colour of the sea in the coves is the kind of turquoise that makes you check your phone settings.
Start at Plage de la Gravette near the old town. Follow the rocks. There are no bad views.
After the walk, explore the old town — Vieil Antibes is small enough to cover on foot in an hour but good enough to spend three. The covered market on Cours Masséna is worth stopping for. So are the ramparts above the sea.
Practical
Wear proper shoes on the coastal path — it is rocky in places. Start early in summer to avoid heat. The path can be slippery after rain. Bring water.
Dinner at the Port
Where to eat — Day 1
The port at Antibes has a long row of restaurants along the quay. Nothing fancy required — sit outside, order the local fish, and watch the boats. The Vieux Port is exactly what you want it to be on a warm evening in the south of France.
"No filter. That is the actual colour of the water."
— Antibes, Côte d'Azur
Day Two
Cannes — Rent a Boat
Do not spend your day in Cannes walking La Croisette. That is for the film festival crowds. Rent a small boat from the port area and spend the day at sea — or book dinner at La Guérite on Île Sainte-Marguerite and take their free shuttle from Port Pierre Canto.
Half-day boat rentals start from around €80. No licence required for small RIBs. Head fifteen minutes offshore to the Lérins Islands — two small islands that feel completely removed from everything on the mainland.
Île Sainte-Marguerite
Lérins Islands
The larger of the two islands and the one with the story. Fort Royal is where the Man in the Iron Mask was imprisoned in the 17th century — the same mysterious prisoner who inspired Alexandre Dumas. The fort is still standing, still atmospheric, and open to visit. Walk the eucalyptus forest trails and swim in the coves on the far side.
Île Saint-Honorat
Lérins Islands
The smaller island, home to a working Cistercian monastery that has been here since the 5th century. The monks make wine and liqueur (you can buy it). The beaches on the southern side are calm, clear, and genuinely beautiful. This is not a tourist trap — it feels like a different century.
La Guérite
Dinner — Île Sainte-Marguerite
The restaurant that made the island famous. La Guérite sits right on the water and offers a free shuttle boat from Port Pierre Canto in Cannes — no need to rent your own boat to get there. Book well in advance (weeks ahead in summer). The food is excellent, the setting is extraordinary — dining on an island where the Man in the Iron Mask was imprisoned, with the lights of Cannes glittering across the bay. This is the dinner to remember from the whole trip.
Getting to La Guérite
Take the free water taxi from Port Pierre Canto, Cannes (on the Croisette side of the bay). The shuttle runs on reservation — book your dinner first and they'll arrange the crossing. The boat ride is about 15 minutes each way and is part of the experience. Book the restaurant weeks ahead in peak season.
Day Three
Èze · Cap Ferrat · Villefranche
This is the best day. Start high, end at the water.
Morning: Èze village. Take the Grande Corniche road — the high coastal road — and stop at Èze. This is a medieval village perched 400 metres above the sea, its stone streets unchanged for centuries. It should not exist in the way it does. Every turn reveals either a view of the Mediterranean or a lane so narrow you walk single file.
Le Troubadour
Lunch in Èze Village
The most beloved restaurant in the village. Provençal cuisine, a stone terrace, and exactly what you want after walking the medieval streets. Book in advance in summer — it fills up. The daube de boeuf and the lamb are the things to order.
Afternoon: Paloma Beach, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. Drive down from Èze to the Cap Ferrat peninsula. Take the coastal road around the cape. Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat is one of the most exclusive addresses in Europe and Paloma Beach is its best secret.
Reserve a sunbed in advance — they are gone by early morning in summer. Have lunch on the terrace or arrive mid-afternoon. The water is calm, the view is extraordinary, and the food is genuinely excellent.
Reserve Ahead
Paloma Beach: book via their website at least 2–3 days ahead in July and August. Day beds and lunch tables both go fast. The beach is pebbly — water shoes are useful.
Worth the detour
Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat, A Four Seasons Hotel
One of the most legendary hotels in the world, sitting at the tip of the Cap Ferrat peninsula. You do not need to be staying here to experience it. Have a drink at the terrace bar or at Club Dauphin — their extraordinary seawater pool built into the rocks above the sea. The grounds alone are worth the visit. Dress well, order champagne, and sit with it for as long as you possibly can.
Evening: Villefranche-sur-Mer. Drive the ten minutes from Cap Ferrat to Villefranche. This is one of the most beautiful villages on the entire Côte d'Azur and one of the most underposted. The bay is deep and impossibly blue. The harbour front is lined with restaurants in painted buildings — yellow, orange, red — stacked above the water.
Dinner here. Table outside, facing the bay. The light at this hour in summer does something to this town that is very difficult to describe.
"We kept saying we'd leave. We never did."
— Villefranche-sur-Mer
Day Four
Nice or Monaco — Your Call
The last day is yours to shape depending on what you want from it.
Nice
Option A — The City
The old town (Vieux-Nice) is one of the best in the south of France. The Cours Saleya market in the morning is the right way to start. Walk up to the Colline du Château for the view over the Baie des Anges. The Promenade des Anglais is beautiful early and insufferable by midday — time it accordingly. Lunch at the market. Socca from a street stall. Rosé.
Monaco
Option B — The Spectacle
Thirty minutes by train from Nice (or twenty by car from Cap Ferrat). It is absurd and magnificent. The casino square, the harbour full of yachts, the palace on the rock. Walk the old town, stand at the palace square and look out over the Mediterranean, have a coffee at the Café de Paris. You only need half a day.
If you can only do one
Nice if you want to walk, eat well, and feel like you are in France. Monaco if you want to see something you cannot quite believe exists.
Before You Go
Sophia Antipolis or Antibes itself. You are 15 minutes from Cannes, 20 from Nice, and 10 from the Cap Ferrat peninsula. Avoid basing in Nice if you want to cover the western Riviera — the traffic east-west is brutal in summer.
Rent a car. The coastal roads — Grande Corniche, Moyenne Corniche, Bord de Mer — are what make this trip. Public transport exists but will cost you the best moments. Budget around €60–80/day for a small car.
June and September are the sweet spots. Warm enough for the water, manageable crowds, easier reservations. July and August are peak season — beautiful but busy. Book everything (boats, beach clubs, restaurants) well in advance if you go in summer.
Three parallel roads run east-west along the Riviera above Monaco. The Grande Corniche (highest) has the views. The Moyenne Corniche passes Èze. The Basse Corniche (Bord de Mer) hugs the water. Drive all three if you have time.
Boat rental (half day): €80–120 · Paloma Beach sunbed: €30–50 · Four Seasons terrace drinks: €25–40 per person · La Guérite dinner: €60–100 per person (water taxi included free) · Dinner in Villefranche: €40–70 per person · Èze lunch: €30–50 per person.
La Guérite on Île Sainte-Marguerite (weeks ahead in July/August — free water taxi from Port Pierre Canto included) · Paloma Beach (2–3 days minimum, 1 week in August) · Le Troubadour in Èze · Four Seasons terrace (walk-in usually fine, call ahead in peak season).
More stops, more restaurant recommendations, and everything you need to plan this exact trip — follow along for the updates.
@bebaconrad
linktr.ee/beba.conrad · All itineraries live here.