Earlier this year when I was in the midst of my grief over my latest miscarriage, I was stressing about the due date and what I would do on the date.
As I recently said in my Refinery29 article, it’s one of the hardest dates in the calendar when you’ve gone through miscarriage.
I had a think about it and then announced I’d always wanted to do the South of France, so we started planning and dreaming of roadtripping the French Riviera. And despite some tears on the date itself, we had the best week ever and it was a brilliant way to take my mind of things, and concentrate on living life to the full and being grateful for what I have.
So, let me tell you more about how to have the most epic five-nights roadtripping the French Riviera!
We began our week-long French adventure in Paris, a city we’d wanted to visit together for over ten years, but being 8,000 miles away from one another had always made it difficult to actually plan and pin down.
After two nights in Paris we then flew down to Nice, and picked up our hire car and drove to Monte Carlo via Villefranche-sur-mer.
Monte Carlo was where we were staying for the first two nights before then continuing along the coast to Cannes.
The drive was the most stressful drive I have ever driven, and it traumatised me a little so Caitlin had to drive the rest of the way to Monte Carlo after we’d explored Villefranche, haha.
Villefranche-Sur-Mer
Villefranche-sur-mer is the perfect stop-off point between Nice and Monaco.
It’s the prettiest town I have ever seen, and is filled with colourful buildings and cobbled streets.
We ate lunch by the harbour and had the most incredible beef carpaccio and carbonara, before wandering the town and taking plenty of photos.
You only need a couple of hours here to get some food and have a wander, and there are also some adorable shops with super cute vintage poster style postcards!
We then kept going towards Monte Carlo, driving through the beautiful and upper-class town of Beaulieu-sur-mer, and through the mountains towards the principality of Monaco.
Monte Carlo, Monaco
After a swift check-in at Hotel Metropole where we spotted Thierry Henry sitting in the lobby, we were shown to our extravagant suite which would be home for the next two nights, and quickly popped open the bottle of champagne waiting for us!
Monte Carlo Casino
We drank the bottle, got dressed up, and went to Monte Carlo Casino…which was beautiful!!
Although the casino was incredible architecturally, it felt really touristy and we were slightly disappointed by it (although the drinks are cheap there!), so we decided to get a taxi and go to a bar recommended to us by the hotel concierge.
Bar-hopping in Monaco
Finding a taxi in Monaco was *hard*, there were none around so we had to go to a nearby taxi rank and call the number to ask one to pick us up.
It was a weekday so everywhere was disappointingly quiet, but alas, we had a drink at the bar, and then decided we were hungry and wanted chicken nuggets.
Somehow we managed to walk in heels – stopping off for photo opportunities at random points along the way – and find a McDonalds, where we ordered burgers, nuggets, chips, and milkshakes.
Again, somehow we then managed to carry all this whilst wearing heels, all the way up the big hill to the hotel. The doormen at the hotel looked slightly horrified when we walked in with our huge McDonalds bags, but whatevs.
We ate it all in bed and then fell asleep and it was bliss. And we did apologise to the cleaners for the rubbish and ‘day-old-maccas’ smell in the room the next day!
Breakfast at Odyssey by Karl Lagerfeld
Our one full day in Monte Carlo – which was my due date – was spent chilling out and doing everything I love.
We had a sumptuous breakfast at Odyssey, the Karl Lagerfeld designed cafe by the swimming pool, where I had my favourite avocado and poached eggs on sourdough.
Relaxing by the pool
We then spent the morning and most of the afternoon lazing by the Lagerfeld designed swimming pool drinking £36 Pina Coladas.
I really, really recommend just chilling and relaxing by a pool. I mean come on, its the whole vibe of the French Riviera, right?!
So really, you’re not actually doing the French Riviera properly unless you’re relaxing by a pool with a cocktail.
Our extravagant day of excess continued when we walked along the ocean-front, found it was all boarded up due to building work (you literally couldn’t see the ocean), found out that the marina was also closed off due to preparations for the yacht show the week after, and so went to the cafe opposite Monte Carlo Casino and ate a huge mountain of banoffee ice-cream sundae.
I really do think that being in Monaco is all about just living the high life. There isn’t a huge amount to see or do there, so you just sort of float around the hotels, bars and restaurants drinking cocktails and eating great food!
Drinks & Snacks at Hotel Cafe de Paris
Afterward we strolled across the road to the famous Hotel Cafe de Paris for a drink on the gorgeous terrace.
We ended up staying there all evening drinking champagne and cocktails, and eating the most expensive sliders and fries we have ever eaten whilst staring out at the sun dipping below the Cote d’Azur.
It was bliss, and the perfect Monte Carlo experience.
Cannes, France
Enroute we stopped off at Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat to visit the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, which I highly recommend!
Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild
The views are absolutely breathtaking, and the villa itself is fascinating and oh so pretty.
It’s very cheap to enter the villa, and you’re even treated to a huge and rather impressive fountain show in the gardens if you time your visit well!
Paloma Plage
After visiting Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild we then drove along to Paloma Plage, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat’s most famous beach.
We soaked up the rays, enjoyed a delicious lunch of avocado and quinoa salad, calamari, and fresh bread at the beach-side Paloma restaurant, and just relaxed.
It was the perfect day and one of the highlights of our trip.
Check-in at Hotel Martinez
We finally arrived in Cannes late in the afternoon and checked in to our hotel, Hotel Martinez.
We had a gorgeous sea-view junior suite, and I literally want that entire bedroom in my future dream house (with the view and everything).
Wander along De La Croisette
After unpacking and getting settled we decided to go for a wander down Boulevard de la Croisette to look for somewhere for dinner.
The Croisette is really, really beautiful and feels very Cannes!
Dinner at Vesuvio
Naturally we gravitated towards the busiest restaurant, a pizza place called Vesuvio.
The waiting staff were a little sour but the pizzas were great and it was proper old-school Cannes!
We finished the evening with an apple tart that Cannes is apparently famous for, and then got an early night after our busy day in the sun.
Enjoy a Beach Day!
The following day was our one full day in Cannes, and so we decided to spend it on the beach, and then planned to see the rest of the city the next morning.
This worked out great as after a busy and hectic few months, I was in desperate need of some chill out time.
Hotel Martinez currently don’t have a beach club as theirs is being renovated, so they have a reciprocal agreement with The Carlton hotel that we took full advantage of!
It was only 20 Euros each for a day bed, sunshade umbrella, and towel, and the beach reminded us of the beaches in Perth – beautiful soft sand and crystal-clear and calm waters to swim in.
We spent the morning going from the sunbed, to the water, back to the sunbed, back to the water.
Lunch at Fouquet’s, Barrière Le Majestic
Eventually we were feeling a little peckish, so wandered down the Croisette to Barrière Le Majestic for lunch at Fouquet’s.
We dined in style, sipping on crisp white wine, and feasting on grilled octopus and steak. We loooooved our lunch so much, and I highly recommend booking a table and splashing the cash.
We completed our meal with the most moreish desserts possible, and then waddled back to The Carlton’s beach club to soak in the sun some more.
As if we hadn’t eaten enough, a couple of hours later we each treated ourselves to very overpriced gelato! Every holiday needs gelato!
Cocktails at Le Jardin du Martinez
After getting showered and changed we opted for cocktails and an Absinthe fountain at the hotel’s bar, Le Jardin du Martinez, and then more cocktails across the road at the famous La Chunga.
Sadly it was a Wednesday evening in September and everywhere was closed, so when we arrived at Baoli Club and got over-excited about there being no queue, the security man laughed in our faces and told us the club was completely empty.
Dammit.
So we headed back to the hotel and went to sleep, haha!
Cannes Old Town
Our final morning in Cannes was spent exploring the old town and walking around the pretty streets; the view from the Musée de la Castre was just stunning!
It was really dreamy wandering the cobbled streets, listening to musicians and feeling the cool sea breeze.
And then it was time to drive to Nice…
Nice
Like the drive from Monaco to Cannes we decided to stop off enroute on our way to Nice.
We only had one night in Nice, but neither of us were too fussed about rushing around a city and really wanted to spend our precious time exploring the beaches along the French Riviera instead.
Plage Keller, Antibes
We drove to Antibes and found a nice little beach called Plage Keller.
It wasn’t as relaxing or photogenic as Paloma Plage, but it was still much nicer than the main beach we drove past.
Lunch at César
We had an hour of sunbathing and then wandered up to the fine dining restaurant on the beach, César, for one last fancy lunch.
We enjoyed the fresh bread coated in butter and olive oil, and fresh tuna tartare and crispy calamari.
Check-in at Boscolo Exedra Nice
After lunch we drove the final stretch to Nice, and arrived just as the sun was dipping below the horizon.
Check-in at Boscolo Exedra Nice, a contemporary hotel right in the centre of Nice.
Rooftop Dinner at La Terrasse Nice
Our final dinner was a sumptuous three course affair with cocktails at La Terrasse Nice, the rooftop restaurant at the beach-front Le Meridien, which overlooks the Cote d’Azur.
It was the perfect end to a perfect week.
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Catherine Lux is a veteran travel blogger by night and the Head of Content Marketing at Amazon by day. Originally from Surrey, she spent four years living in Australia (2007-2009, and 2016-2018), and now lives in London. An ex-party girl sometimes prone to relapses, she loves nothing more than sharing her fine dining and luxury travel experiences with her loyal readers.
