Seven Days in Nice: Home-base to See the Whole Riviera
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Our upcoming trip to France was planned with help from Wingbuddy. We will fly into Nice from Paris and spend exactly a week in the South of France. Every second day involves trips to surrounding cities, each with it's own reputation and charm. And since Wingbuddy determined this part of the itinerary, there wasn't much left to plan for our own free days. This post gives an overview of what our entire week has in store.
Wingbuddy's Paris and the French Riviera includes several day trips once you get to your homebase of Nice. On day 2, you travel to Antibes and Cannes. Day 4 sees you going to Eze and Monaco. Finally, Day 6 involves a trip to Port Grimaud and St. Tropez. Because of their itinerary, you're set to see 7 cities in the French Riviera. You can even book this trip through TourRadar at no markup. |
The Day We Arrive
We're arriving early, like 9am, on September 13th. We're staying at So'Co Hotel, which is right across from the train station. I've reached out asking for an early check-in and hopefully they can accommodate, because the first thing we're going to want to do is unpack to settle into our homebase for the next week.
Late that afternoon, I've made reservations at Le Plongeoir, a popular ocean front restaurant known for its sunset views. I guess that explains why it was already booked up at dinner time 6 weeks in advance for the whole week we're there. It's alright though, because I have the sunset covered. I've booked a catamaran cruise to see Villefranche sur Mer from the water, while sipping Planter's punch and watching the sun go down. It's the perfect first night to dissolve in South of France vibrations.
44th Birthday Plans
Our second day in Nice is my 44th birthday. Two years ago, I wouldn't have believed that I was going to live this long, nor be healthy enough to travel on my birthday, so it's cause for celebration. It's going to be a long day. Wingbuddy has a daytrip to Antibes and Cannes planned that day. When we get back, we'll go eat a hearty dinner before going out on a pub crawl. This activity plans to see me drinking 5 shots and enjoying drink discounts at 4 different establishments.
I don't know how I'm going to rest up for the late night out other than to sleep on the bus on our way back from Cannes. It feels pretty ambitious, but the following day I've left as a blank slate recovery day. A few GetYourGuide activities are saved on my wishlist as possibilities should we have enough energy to see more of the Riviera that day:
Eze and Monaco
When we wake up on September 16th, we'll need our phones fully charged because that day promises to be one for lots of photos. First, we're traveling to the medieval hilltop village of Eze. I love the look of this town in videos on YouTube. After we visit a perfumer there, we're heading to Monaco where we're set to see the Circuit where the Grand Prix happens. Then, we get time in Monte Carlo, so I will probably put some money on black and play some roulette. At least, that's what I envision for that day.
Scuba Diving
Dean deserves an opportunity to use his scuba diving certificate while we're in the Mediterranean. Apparently the reefs in Cote d'Azur are unparalleled and there's some of the most beautiful diving spots in the world there. While he goes 30m below the surface of the ocean, I plan to ride on the boat and soak in some mid-morning sunshine. The rest of our day has been left un-booked, so we'll either hit a museum or a beach, maybe do a little shopping.
St. Tropez and Port Grimaud
Day 6 involves a longer day trip, 2 hours away to St. Tropez. I don't have many expectations for this day, but figure it will be more glamour and yachts. I'm not sure that we'll go on this trip for sure, even though it's included. We might just prefer to spend time at the beach or doing some other activity. Have you been to St. Tropez? Is it worth the journey?
Our Last Day and Mala Cave
Our last full day in Nice has been planned to go easy. We can do pretty much anything we want that morning because I've booked our activity for the afternoon. We'll be out on the water one final time because we're going on a snorkeling trip to Mala cave. That evening, we'll share a bottle of champagne or rose and pack our things, because our flight is very early to come back to Kelowna.
Strategy for Planning
I've left our itinerary very loose on most days that are free days. This is because I definitely want us to come back from this trip feeling refreshed. 7 days doesn't feel like a long time with a day trip every second day. The great thing about the way this trip has been planned is that we'll definitely get to see a lot of the Riviera. We definitely won't feel like we missed out on any of it. Ultimately, it depends on how much we like Nice, our homebase, because we don't have to do everything Wingbuddy has planned for us.
As always, I'll close with an invitation to comment below if you have any advice or tips or tricks for us to get the most out of this vacation. We'd love to have your input!