le côte d’azur
France will always have a special place in my heart, but especially southern France. The culture is so rich, the sea air is so life-giving, the seafood is so fresh, the magical cobblestone streets, ah! Our journey through the French Riviera began with a few nights in Nice, France. I had been before, on a trip my senior year of high school, and I was so excited to be back. Nice is an old, bustling little city - you could wander through the skinny streets forever. From Nice, we went up to the more secluded hills of Grasse. I will never tire of talking about France!
Anyway - let’s get to it.
STAY
Since we were splitting our time between Nice and Grasse while in France, we opted for a great little studio apartment that was in Viuex Nice. It was a great location for both some beach time and city time - only a couple blocks from the bustling daily open-air market. We had a great rooftop view and we could even hear music and church bells from the main square when we had the windows open. What we didn’t know, though, was that it was a full 93 steps up (somehow I missed this in the Airbnb reviews) to the apartment! But it was so worth it. Our host was great and left us with prime restaurant recommendations (I’ll get to those below) and check in was flawless.
For our time in Grasse, I found the most idyllic spot up in the hills (don’t forget about that “pool” toggle when searching for your Airbnbs!) that I still daydream about. We had rented a car to drive up to our host Marie’s house and got lost along the windy roads. Thankfully, we found our way thanks to nice strangers and my high school level French. However, when we got there, Marie was nowhere to be found (a timing miscommunication!) so we were fed ice cold sparkling water from the most rural, French old man I’ve ever seen (he lived on the upper level of Marie’s house) and sat by the pool while we waited. She arrived soon after and proved to be an Airbnb host we will never forget, even with the incredible language barrier. Our first night we caught a firework show from her patio that was happening off in the distance, on the beaches of Cannes - a memory I never want to forget. We spent most of our time at Marie’s just soaking up the sun by the pool, swimming, letting Marie pour us more rosé, eating fresh olives, and watching the bees fly from flower to flower. *sigh*
EAT
Di Più (Nice) - This spot was right across the street from the beaches and we had our eyes on seafood! Get there right when they open because they fill up fast. We got a black squid ink pasta with calamari and a bottle of rosé, of course. So delicious!
Pizza Pili (Nice) - A literal ‘hole in the wall’ spot! Another recommended spot by our host, this pizza window was just that - a window along one of the windy, Nice streets, with lots of people waiting for their fresh pizza to come out of the oven. We ordered a pizza and two Fantas and had a little picnic on the beach during sunset. The best.
Gelateria Azzurro (Nice) - This was a spot we went during my high school trip. We all posed in front of the sign and imitated the little girl in the photo, holding our gelato! So, I had to find it again and get the toblerone flavor. They’ve got other funky flavors like lavender and rosé, too!
La Chèvre d’Or (Cabris) - We pretty much only left Marie’s house to eat lunch and dinner (she served us breakfast every morning!) so we wanted to make the most of our meals out. Marie recommended we check out the neighboring village, Cabris, for dinner and it was absolutely magical! The town itself is tucked up in the hills with sweeping views of the French Riviera and more quiet, windy roads we roamed after we ate. We sat on the patio at La Chevre d’Or and had duck and a veggie risotto...and more rosé. Heavenly!
L’Auberge du Vieux Château (Cabris) - Of course, we went back to Cabris for another dinner the next night at another recommended place by Marie - seriously, we love Marie. We made sure to get there right as they opened for dinner service and even waited with a few other groups before being seated. Their dining room opened up to a large patio and was just the most quaint little corner of the town ahead of you. Views everywhere. We always talk about how we’d go back to just explore Cabris. We ate here our last night and then watched the sun set from a lookout. We love you, Cabris!
TO DO
While in Nice:
Climb up (or take the elevator) to explore Castle Hill and get misted by the waterfall
Book a beach chair ahead at one of the many private beaches
Explore the open-air market
Pack a picnic (or grab stuff from the market!) and beach towels for an afternoon at one of the many public beaches - we liked Ponchettes!
Walk along the Promenade des Anglais
Take advantage of Airbnb excursions! We bought a snorkel + boat ride excursion prior to our trip and it was so fun and affordable, just make sure to read reviews!
Day trips from Grasse:
St-paul-de-vence - Another favorite from my previous trip to France, it’s a *very* old, walled-in artist colony with lots of galleries and shops. You can also walk pretty much the entire perimeter wall. Great views!
Cannes - I was initially excited to see Cannes because of the Cannes Film Festival but was a bit underwhelmed once we were there. After so much poolside relaxing at Marie’s, it was difficult to enjoy the bustling city with lots of fancy cars and upscale shopping. We did do some beach time and got gelato, though!
Mougins - A small village we went to for lunch that had a lot of artist studios, sculptures, and great patios. Really pretty town!
Cabris - I won’t gush too much more but I was so pleasantly surprised by the charm and simplicity of Cabris. Southern France as a whole has a very Italian feel, sort of stuck in time in a way. So many great look out points and hidden walks. *chefs kiss*
Villefranche-sur-mer - We actually went here from Nice via bus. It was our FAVORITE beach we went to. It’s tucked into a little cove with a bunch of huge mansions tucked all up along the cliffside. It was so dreamy just floating in the salty sea, gazing up at the houses. Lots of colorful little buildings in the town, too!
Grasse, itself! - Basically, Southern France is just filled with quaint, perfect little towns to explore and Grasse is no exception! The main street in town has all the pink umbrellas hanging upside down overhead which was magic. We enjoyed walking around town, eating ham sandwiches, and bought some fresh olives from the market. They also have the historic perfume factory you can tour!
This trip was a great example of how bumpy traveling can be sometimes but when you end up in these perfect places, it’s all worth it. And now more photos because I’ve run out of different ways to say “magical”…
I will leave you with Cabris at sunset. Happy travels!
xo, lily
*All photos by me*
