Côte d’Azur, France

Côte d’Azur: where the coast looks casual, but it knows exactly what it’s doing

Here’s the thing: you don’t plan a trip to the Côte d’Azur the way you plan a regular holiday. You sort of circle around it for a while, drop it into conversations (“maybe we should just go to France?”), then one morning you wake up and you’re in a train, somewhere between Marseille and Monaco, wondering if your sunscreen made it into the bag.

That’s the Côte d’Azur for you. It doesn’t ask much. Just that you show up, and maybe let go of the idea that you’re in control.

Towns that don’t need an introduction, but here we go anyway

Nice

There’s a promenade where rollerbladers dodge tourists and locals argue gently about the best place for socca. If you end up walking in circles through Vieux Nice, you’re not lost - you’re just learning the rhythm. Promenade des Anglais? You’ll walk it. Twice. Probably with a dripping cone in one hand.

Cannes

Famous for its film festival. But in between the flashbulbs, there’s rosé. A lot of it. And a market that smells like olives, cheese, and one-too-many kinds of cured meat. Somehow, still not enough.

Antibes

It has a Picasso museum, a port full of yachts, and a trail where the sea shows off (again). There’s also a guy near Plage de la Gravette who sells fruit from a bike. He might be part of the tourism board. Unconfirmed.

Menton

Italy’s close enough to smell the espresso. Fête du Citron? Yep, they throw a festival for lemons. And they mean it.

Things to do in Côte d’Azur (besides sit and stare at the sea)

• Wander the markets in Nice or Antibes, then forget what you were supposed to buy.
• Walk the Sentier du Littoral at Cap d’Antibes and pretend you’re in a French film.
• Watch jazz by the sea in Juan-les-Pins and clap at the wrong time (it happens).
• Visit the Marc Chagall museum in Nice or Eileen Gray’s villa in Roquebrune, if you like art and furniture that makes you rethink your couch.

Looking for things to do in Côte d’Azur with kids, or maybe “where to swim without stepping on sea urchins”? You’ll find both. Not on a brochure, but they’re here.

Where to stay: between splurge and stumble-upon

There’s Hotel Negresco in Nice, where the ceilings do fancy things and breakfast lasts longer than planned. Or you go small - a boutique hotel in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, where the manager might offer you a glass of wine before you’ve even checked in. Accident? Maybe.

Booking hotels in Côte d’Azur is easy. Leaving them? Bit harder.

Don’t forget to eat. And then eat again.

Lunch becomes dinner if you do it right. The seafood in Villefranche-sur-Mer whispers things you don’t tell your dietician. In Nice, they fry chickpea flour into golden disks called socca - and you eat it standing, while trying not to drop anchovies on your shirt.

Searches like best food in Côte d’Azur, local dishes in Nice, or top restaurants in Antibes? Sure, go ahead. But following your nose works better.

One last thing

You might not notice it at first, but the Côte d’Azur changes your pace. Not in a big “I found myself” kind of way - more like you stop checking your watch. You laugh more. You miss your train and don’t care. You forget which town you’re in, and realize it doesn’t really matter.

And that, honestly, might be the whole point.

Hotels at the Côte d’Azur