I was so excited when my sister gifted me a joint trip to the South of France as a thank you for my help with her wedding. It was time to let the planning commence! We booked our hotel in Nice for 2 nights and then our flight got moved to the day after which ended up being a blessing in disguise as we booked a 3rd night and got to see so much more of what France had to offer!
Day 1
We arrived in Nice late morning, got to the hotel, unpacked and headed straight out to explore. Of course this meant picking a nice restaurant to get some good food and a glass of Rose. We found a lovely place on the beach front called Di Piu that had a great atmosphere and Rose wine really does taste so much better in France! After this we carried out walking to get our bearings and see what else Nice had to offer before heading to our perfume workshop. I was so excited for this and couldn't wait to get stuck in. I booked the Molinard perfume shop through my own booking systems and it was roughly £73pp for the full package or £43pp for the classic package. We did the classic package and it was more than enough. You got to take away your own perfume with a code so you can recreate it to order another bottle at a later date. It was really interesting to do as they talked you through the entire process and then left you to it to make your own. Smelling through numerous different scents, picking out the ones you like the most and mixing them all together to make your unique scent. Would really recommend doing this when you visit!
You can book the perfume workshop here -
Day 2
The sun was shining so we got up early and got pastries and a coffee from a local bakery to eat on the go. We headed down to Cote D'Azur to see the local market which had a huge selection of fruit, veg and flowers and then walked down onto the promenade where we happened to stumble across a carnival parade that we didn't know was happening. This was super fun as we got to see some of the locals dancing and in some amazing outfits. Once this finished we started the steep climb up to the top of castle hill. It looks worse than it is and it didn't take that long to get to the top. The views are incredible and there are some beautiful waterfalls on the way up. You can also get a nice glass of Rose from the cafe at top which makes the climb all worth it. There is a large grass park area at the top as well so it would be a cute idea to take a little picnic. After this we had arranged to do wine tasting at the Chateau de Bellet. We got an uber up there which didn't cost much and it was up into the hills so again the views where incredible. We started off with a tour around the vineyard grounds and into the production room which was really interesting in itself as it dates back to the 18th Century! At the end we had the tasting underneath the chapel and you have the opportunity to buy some bottles to take home with you.
Day 3 -
One of the reasons I loved Nice was because of how easy it is to get to other places to explore. On Day 3 we hopped on a train to Monaco which was only £9 return! The station is a little further up the hills so we started our walk down to see the Monte Carlo Casino and took some time to admire all the nice cards driving up and parked outside. There is a cute little cafe just outside which is ideal for people watching. We decided not to go in yet and come back later in the day as it was still early. So we headed down the harbour to look at some of the boats and joined onto the racing track which you can walk along out of season. There's quite a few restaurants on here so we stopped for a bite to eat and a cocktail before our next climb. On the opposite side from the Monte Carlo there is the Princes Palace of Monaco and its another steep climb but worth it for the views. There is actually a marina museum/aquarium at the top with some penguins which is meant to have an amazing viewing point but we didn't actually go in. Its a really cute little village when you get to the top with narrow path ways dotted with little shops and cafes before you get to the palace at the other side. We got to the Palace and took some time reading about the Palace itself and taking the scenery. If you time it right you can see the changing of the guard. We stopped for coffee and cake in one of the courtyards before our decent back down across to the Monte Carlo, this time going inside. You can actually go inside for free. The main hallway was decorated with Inflating Jelly Fish above you which was really impressive and you can go into the front of casino for free and play on the slot machines. If you want to play the big games then you have to pay to enter. When we'd lost all our money we got the train back to Nice.
Day 4 -
Another exploring day with a train across to Cannes for only £15 return! We headed to the beach first while it was quiet and had a walk down some of the posh shops on the front. Stopped for a coffee at a cafe on the corner so we could do some more people watching. Then heading back to the harbour to look at the fancy boats that where docked. I really loved Cannes, everything just seemed bright, clean and colourful. There are loads of food and drink restaurants in the middle for you to choose from and most have outdoor seating. I definitely got my exercise in this holiday as we started another climb up to the Castle which you can actually go inside but we just walked round the outskirts and admired the view. The CANNES sign is also at the top of this hill so great for a photo opp. We climbed back down and stopped at one of the restaurants for Pizza and an Aperol to finish off an amazing trip before heading back to Nice for our flight home.
Overall I would highly recommend doing this for a city break weekend and having at least 3 nights if not more. There are more local towns and cities within the area that you can catch the train to very easily and there is a lot more to do in all of these towns if you wanted to.
