Places/Towns on the Riviera, Nice

On our way to Cannes by train we stopped for some hours at ANTIBES. It is located 11 km away from CANNES and it’s also a resort town. To be honest, I think that Antibes has more character than Cannes. It was early in the morning and this busy town seemed beautiful to me, especially in the old town where we could stay in some of the sidewalk cafes.

There are also some nice museums like Picasso’s museum in a castle house, the Peynet’s museum, the Naval Museum of Napoleon (in a 17th century stone fort) and the Archaeology museum. What’s more we walked a lot with no plan (we didnt have any map anyway) so getting lost in some small alleys was just ideal for us. You can also go down to a beautiful port with countless sailboats.

Don’t miss the Juan-les-Pins, in ourdays part of Antibes that usually the tourists go for clubbing and swimming.

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We arrived in Nice, (well, actually, Villefranche) by cruise ship and only had about 6 good hours to spend in this area. We decided to forgo the trip to Monaco and spend the day in Eze. We walked from the ship to the bus station, paid about 2 Euros for tickets, and arrived at the gate of Eze in about 15 minutes.
We walked around the village of Eze for a few hors just looking at the architecture. When you're there, it feels like you're in an old medieval town. It seemed as though people lived there, but we didn't see any natives. However, there were lots and lots of tourists. I think there must be a ship shore excursion that drops people off there. We followed a few groups around for a little bit to hear about the town and then we decided to head back down to the port.
As we were walked back towards the gate to catch the bus, we noticed a sign that said "le sentier de Nietzsche," which looked like a hiking trail. We didn't know where it went but we since we had plenty of time before we had to be back on ship, we decided to follow it down the mountain. The trail had the most amazing views and there were less than 5 other people on the entire trail. It was good work out too, our calf muscles were sore the next day from the steep descent. The trail dumped us out, i think, in Eze-sur mer where we caught the bus back down to the port. It was a great day spent away from the crowds.

The only thing here that is even slightly worth a visit is the stars hand prints outside the Conference center, but not actually that many you have heard of - majority are French actors/actresses famous only in France.

10 Euros for the Train style tour - nothing to actually see - most of tyhe time is spent telling of one night someone famous had a drink in a bar.

Really not worth it.

From Nice it is a short bus or train ride to Beaulieu sans-su-mer. This charming, beautiful coastal town abuts the more famous Cap Ferratt, in fact you cant really tell when you are leaving one and entering the other. Beaulieu is a quiet and peaceful walking town and it is one of the prettiest little towns around. It has two very nice sandy beaches, public tennis courts and a wonderful walk along the shore to Monico in one direction or Ville Franche in the other direction and even to Cap Ferratt village in another direction. It will be a day of beautiful walks without traffic and that includes motorscooters!

sr.vagabond

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CANNES, 33km away from Nice, is a resort for some rich & famous people of the world.

It's famous of course, for its festivals and has some expensive hotels but its nice to walk along blvd de la Croisette or climb up to the hill Le Suquet to have a panoramic view of the city.

Stroll around the port and admire some really huge yachts or go to Rue d'Antibes for the high-class boutiques. I got bored after a while but in Cannes we saw some nice/strange city scenes. Take a look at my pics

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The village of ST PAUL DE VENCE, 18km away from Nice, is an absolutely charming coble stoned place.

There are dozens of art galleries, ateliers and gift shops and from what I know in July/August the tourists are thousands. It was almost empty when I went in October and it was beautiful. You can also enjoy drinking your coffee or having a meal in one of the small cafes of the village.

ps.10 minutes walk uphill is the Modern Art Museum.

We took a local bus from Nice for a day trip to Grasse - the Parfum capital of the world. We enjoyed it immensely and it gave us a chance to see some of the beautiful outlying areas from Nice. Take a jacket even in warmer weather (Grasse is quite high altitude). The surrounding scenery is stunning.

nice is an excellent spot from which to visit monaco! Takes short period of time to get there and is very cheap!on a trip around france i used nice as a base from which to visit other towns and villages along the riviera....very handy!!!