I visited the French Riviera back in the Summer of 2017 while on a Mediterranean cruise with my family. Our cruise ship docked at the Bay of Cannes and and we tendered over to Le Vieux Port. I was stoked to explore the whole day in the South of France!
You can see the sites for the Cannes Film Festival and the famous red carpet stairs of Palais des Festivals. Cannes has many streets to shop, the most well known are La Croisette and Rue d’ Antibes. Along with shopping and sight-seeing, Cannes also has beautiful beaches where you can soak up the sun. Most of the private beaches (from hotels, etc.) require you to pay, however, there are plenty of public beaches as well.
We spent most of the day exploring the streets and then made our way over to the town of Èze – just a little under an hour drive from Cannes. Èze is actually more accessible to get to from Nice or Monaco, so if you are traveling from there it is an even shorter ride. Note, the parking for Èze is minimal, so plan accordingly.
This medieval town will make you feel like you are in a fairytale!
Èze is an old fortress perched on a steep mountain that will certainly make your calves sore the next day. But, it did not disappoint! Walking up the cobblestone streets and narrow paths, I immediately fell in love. Not to mention, from different lookout points you can get a fantastic view of the coastline and Mediterranean Sea. The best view in the entire town can be found at Jardin Exotique d’Èze, the exotic gardens. It simply cannot be beat.
After walking around the town and exploring the cute little shops, we stopped for a lunch at La Taverne. The atmosphere was wonderful and it was a perfect spot to relax after all the walking we just did! The food was exquisite with an Italian twist and the french wine was incredibly refreshing.
Next time I return to the French Riviera, I’d love to explore more of Nice, Monaco, Saint-Tropez and Antibes.
