The South of France was a place I had always heard of, but honestly didn’t know much about until I started to explore the idea of visiting. Once, I did, I knew I had no choice but to visit as soon as it was possible. This post is one of the longest I’ve ever written, with the most photos, but I promise if you scroll it’ll be worth it!
I’d be spending two weeks in Europe with some from time at the end of June and we found no better destination than the Cote d’Azur, aka the South of France. I will note before we start the article: this was one of the most costly trips I’ve ever been on. This is definitely a luxury experience and nearly impossible to fully enjoy for a budget traveler. That in mind, here’s such an energy about the area that you can’t properly find the words to describe it. Let’s dive in, shall we?
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
Health & Travel
I traveled in 2022, and for COVID regulations, I had to show nothing. While I was in Europe, the United States lifted their restriction of needing a negative test to return, as well. I wasn’t in a single opportunity when I was required to wear a mask after I got off the plane.
Language
While a European country that speaks French, almost every single person we encountered spoke English, and were not mad for doing so, like I had previously experienced in Paris. You won’t have a hard time communicating if you come from the United States, in my opinion.
Getting Around
Rental Car
After doing a lot of research and deliberating what we wanted on this trip, we knew we were going to have to rent a car. To rent a car here, you’ll just need a United States Passport, valid driver’s license, and a valid credit card. Something important to note is that when making a reservation, most vehicles here had manual transmissions, which makes sense considering the roads. If you don’t have someone in your party who can drive a stick shift, you’ll need to reserve an automatic car.
Uber/Taxis
Uber exists in country, but I noticed some cities were easier to get drivers than others. Nice? No problem. Cannes and Saint Tropez caused a lot of difficulties because there weren’t always enough drivers. Cannes had designated Taxi services so you couldn’t hail a cab off the street, even if it was empty.
In Saint Tropez, we were left driving more than we wanted to, because of the lack of Ubers and taxis available. There are car services that may be arranged, but you need to ask how much it will be beforehand. We were left with a 50-euro car service bill to go 13 minutes because we assumed it was a “cab” that was being called. That one hurt a bit.
If you go to Nice, please use Arnaud for your taxi. It was a standard metered fare, and he was just an incredible guy. We were stuck in a position where we needed to move our car from the AirBnB so he brought us there, waited for us, and brought us back to Nice. He explained to us how important tourism was for the area and he was extremely kind to us. **If i find his business card I will insert the picture here**
Trains
There is a train system which would be sufficient if you weren’t hopping around the area, however with our intended itinerary including traveling further down to Saint Tropez and up to Menton, we needed the vehicle to drive long distances and hop around and I can’t imagine what we would have done without it.
Driving in France was clear, with signs in English and the tolls even accepting Apple Pay. There were so many roundabouts in that country, I lost count, so if you don’t feel comfortable with merging/tiny, curved roads, maybe put in the time to learn about the train services.
Walking
Once you arrive to most of your destinations, the old villages and towns are very pedestrian friendly. Bring comfortable shoes and if you’re visiting in summer, you might want to opt for shoes with straps. I wore backless sandals most days and although fine, sometimes I was left walking up staircases with flimsier shoes which wasn’t get.
What to Pack
Like I said, make sure to bring comfy shoes! We visited in June, so the weather was HOT. In Fahrenheit, it had to be hitting 85 degrees some days. According to online, the “best” time of the year to visit the South of France is Summer from May to October. I totally believe it and felt like going late-mid June was a great time because it was busy, but I was told July gets much worse and much hotter.
As far as specifics with the clothes, I wrote an entire blog post on what clothes I brought on this which you can find here.
Every day, I brought around a tote bag with sunglasses and water. I would also recommend taking some SPF with you to reapply through the day. Finally, you will need a European power converter for any of your US electronics/chargers/hair tools.
Where to Stay
This is the golden question, isn’t it? I think it is such a subjective answer and there isn’t one solid answer because it really comes down to what your travel goals are and who you’re with. Are you traveling with friends, family, or as a couple? Although I’m not nearly an expert on this area, I’ll explain to you what we did and why it worked for us.
Where We Stayed
We couldn’t decide on one set location to make our hub, so we wanted to split the trip in two. I wanted to explore the villages north and east of Nice, and my friend wanted that classic beach/resort experience in the Saint Tropez. Because of that, Saint Tropez was on our list for two nights, followed by Villefrance-sur-mer, and I think this worked out well.
Saint Tropez
We stayed in Saint Tropez for two nights at my favorite resort of all time. Literally. I will say: we completely splurged with this decision and in my opinion, it was worth every single penny.
I never wanted to leave this place and I felt overwhelmed with gratitude every moment there. It was such easy & breezy living with stunning views of the bay. I was, and still am, completely blown away by this spot. Located in Gassin, it was a quick drive to Saint Tropez and the beach clubs in Ramatouelle, as well. There were more families and couples than single people in the area, but it was so easy to meet other peers like us at the beach clubs in the area.
Villefrance-sur-mer
I will get into the details as I go through what we did, but we stayed in an Airbnb in between Nice and Villefrance-sur-mer. The view was incredible, but for a few reasons, I can’t recommend the AirBnB. However, location wise it was great and served its purpose for us completely,
Okay, so now let’s finally get into what we did over the trip! Before I start, I’ll note, we speed travel, and this type of experience is not for everyone. We were limited on time, and we have previously traveled together so we knew it would work. I keep calling it our “beginner” South of France trip, because there’s no way you could experience this once, or just for a couple of days. That being said, here’s what we did:
DAY ONE
Arrival
We both flew into the Cote de’Azur airport in Nice, my friend from New York and myself from another country I was visiting in Europe. It is a larger airport with two terminals, and we had landed in different ones. The rental car area is in the “main” terminal, or Terminal 2, which can be accessed by tram if you land in Terminal 1 like I did.
The airport is quite large with many food options and some currency exchange spots if you need to stock up on anything before you take off on your trip. As I mentioned earlier, we opted to rent a car and once we did, we were off. If you’re staying in Nice, you can take a taxi into the city in about 15 minutes.
We needed to make it to Saint Tropez by 3:30pm for our beach club reservations, but we were done out of the rental center by 11:30pm, so we detoured a little off the beaten path for our first spot along the trip.
leaving Lithuania at 3:30am 
on our way!
Lunch in Saint Paul de Vence
Lined with galleries and shops through older looking streets, this little village is a phenomenal introduction to the South of France that’s a “little” lesser known to American tourists. The way I found it was a French blogger living in NYC had posted that she stayed there, and that made me trust it. Also, check her out because she’s fabulous. *Link*
It was crowded but did not feel overwhelming. We didn’t have too much time but were hungry after the flight and the spot Café Timothe caught our eye.
Not only was the food delicious, but the spot was also as charming as you could find out of a story book. The French waiter playfully teased my friend as she ordered a Coke Zero. He said “last one, okay? It’s bad for you. Organic is better,” as he pointed to the Lemonade I ordered. We chatted with a beautiful Dutch couple next to us and it was such a warm welcome to the country.
Saint Tropez & Check-In
After this, we got back in the car and did the two-hour drive to Saint Tropez. We checked into the best resort of my entire life, where they welcomed us with delicious tea and we soaked up the sunshine and the grounds of the resort for a bit. Then we had to get going to the reservations. I will say, if I could do it again, I would’ve tried to make the reservations maybe an hour later, because it felt so unnatural to rush as a place like this, where your life is meant to be enjoyed simply by being.
Nikki Beach
Okay, so this place is a party. It just is. The energy is electric. There are locations around the world, with the first being in in Miami, but this was a staple for people my age in Saint Tropez. I will also say, it was a staple for the other Americans in the area, too. When asked where we were from and answered New York, our waiter literally said “Who isn’t?” and then we looked at the table next to us? My friend literally ran into someone she knew from New York.
That being said, I was there for only three hours of my life, yet my friend and I exchanged info with 6 international people (from India, Germany, Norway, & France).
We started with dinner, where we had a lot of fresh food and then basically filled our bloodstreams with Rosé wine, so make sure you have some kind of plan for returning back to your resorts because we had a little difficulty ordering an uber at first.
We went back and enjoyed a breathtaking sunset at our resort.
DAY TWO
Day 2, I woke up first and sat by the pool a little bit. When my friend woke up, we headed to breakfast at our resort. This was the start of “I never ever want to leave this place” moments.
Old Town Saint Tropez
Afterwards, we headed into Saint Tropez to explore the city, window shop, and people watch.
One thing I totally recommend is the Dior Café, It wasn’t even on our list but some gravitational pull had us park right out front. After we were done with our coffees, we went into the store, which was set up like a museum. The woman who worked there (Sydney) was soo sweet to us and showed us each showroom, sampled perfumes, etc.
Le Club 55
Club 55 is famous in the area where Brigette Bardot used to spend her time. It received its name based on the year that it was founded in 1955. It’s very chic and a “must do.” There is no wifi or English menus. If we could do this again, I would’ve eaten somewhere else and then booked the sunbed instead of a lunch table. Either way, you will need a reservation. If you don’t want to reserve a sunbed, there is a free bed directly next to the club. We ended staying for hours until we basically forced ourselves to leave.
My biggest regret of the trip: we need WAY more beach/way time. We definitely had enough of exploring time, but I needed to repeat this 4 hour window everyday of the trip, and unfortunately, we didn’t make the time for it.
Then we went home and laid by the pool cabanas a little while to catch the sunset again. Then, it was time to shower and regroup for the night time.
Le Opera
So, if you are looking for a party in Saint Tropez, you’re going to have to go to Le Opera. We booked a table and shared small plates while watching the performances. They’re camp in a luxury kind of way, or maybe luxury in a camp kind of way. Either way, it was very fun. If you’re like us, you may meet a fantastic couple from LA and make some new besties.
DAY THREE
We had to travel a long way back to Nice on this day, so we woke up leisurely and left just in time for check-out. Honestly, I wanted to savor every moment.
Our first leg of the trip was lunch in Cannes with my friend’s friend. The Lion’s festival was happening at this time, so it was very crowded and all of the restaurants on the water were being rented out by the event. We walked around a little to explore after and then were on our way.
Old Town Antibes
Every list I saw about Old Town Antibes talked about trying this gelato so we can to do it. If I could come back to this area, I would’ve wanted to explore way more of the nature. We needed more than a half day, but we still very much enjoyed it.
Hotel Cap du Eden Roc Antibes
This hotel is iconic, so we were planning on trying to stop here for sunset, but the timing worked out to go around 5ish. We parked at a small lot nearby and then walked up to the front gate and asked if we could go have a drink at the bar.
I heard this doesn’t always work, but we were both in dresses/classy outfits and I genuinely think it helped our odds.
Once we got there, my friend was slightly underwhelmed asking for another view. I think it does photograph a little better than it was in person, but I don’t regret the experience. My cocktail was literally more expensive than my outfit, so this was a sip-on-one & grab the check type of situation. The waiter told us we had the best table in the place, and I’m not surprised by that. It was beautiful. At 7pm, another bar on property opened that had a higher view and more casual vibes, which I liked better but we had to go check into our Air BnB.
Checked into our BnB in Villefrance-sur-mer
I told you guys about this earlier, but for a few reasons, I can’t remember this specific property to you. However, I can’t argue that the view was worth it!
Nice
Finally, we had dinner. We really didn’t plan on staying or exploring Nice much at all, but we definitely didn’t want to skip it! So we grabbed dinner and a drink before heading back.
Overall, Nice felt very young and I feel like everyone were students. It seemed almost as if every American study abroad program was there the same night we were. I loved the spot Babbel Babbel, which had only craft cocktails and organic wine. The crowd was French and closer to my age/late 20s/early 30s.
Day Four
This was by far our biggest day and looking back, I still don’t know how we did this all. Technically, we did four places in one day! So, let’s get into it.
Villefrance-Sur-Mer
We woke up early and headed straight to this village. We had a rental car and the roads were kind of windy, but we found some good parking and explored. I could’ve stayed here all day. The town was so vibrant and it was empty when we got there really early.
At breakfast, I snapped a selfie because I was feeling so zen and grateful that truly couldn’t believe I was sitting there in that moment. Really enjoyed our breakfast here at Le Cosmo, as well! Great portion for the value.
Eze Village
This place is like that of a story book. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was pretty crowded and parking was not great! Give yourself ample of time if you have a rental car, as we had to park in a faraway lot approximately 2 miles away and be brought back down by a shuttle.
Being right between Nice and Monaco, it would have been an absolute crime to skip! These photos speak for themselves.
There were tons of shops, so this was a nice place to get a souvenir and I picked up some French versions of limencello to take back for my colleagues. trek. We also found tons of fresh lavender, as well!
We went to the top of the Jardin, which costs extra and was hot in the middle of summer, but the views of the bay were really worth the trek.
Menton
Finally, we headed down to Mention as the weather started to get a little overcast. It was so enjoyable, regardless of the weather. The people here were UNREAL! They spoke a combination of French and Italian since it’s on the border and the attitude was so breezy. We sat down for a late lunch and when trying to get the check, we said “Please? We need to go.” And the waiter smiled at us “You don’t have to go!” in a tone as if to say, there’s nothing that important. It was so freeing.
Now this next part of our night doesn’t exactly make sense, but we drove all the way back in order to change, just to go back in the direction we just came from. But we had to dress up!
Monaco
We headed to Monaco in order to go explore a little and see the famous Casino. Note: Monaco is technically it’s own country so bring your passport! We went to dinner, but before that, we had drinks at a hotel. I can’t remember the name, as my friend picked this spot!) but the vibes were so opulent and lovely. We had dinner at Buddha Bar, which was nice, but also kind of overpriced! We realized after that they have a location in NYC. If I could go back, I think I would’ve just gone back to Nice and had dinner there instead.
The Casino was definitely the main attraction and I’m so glad we saw it. They say you can’t get in unless you gamble or drink, but I left there without gambling or buying a drink of my own, so that isn’t technically true. Just make sure to bring your passport!
Conclusion
I read so many posts about 10+ days in the South of France and as you can see, it is completely possible to accomplish in 4. That being said, I do feel like SIX would’ve been perfect for the first trip and that I need to go back someday and be a lot more leisurely!! If I could’ve changed things I would’ve added: 1 half-full day to explore Nice during the day. More time in Cannes, potentially by the beach. More time in Antibes at the actual water. And potentially would’ve just stayed in Nice for the 2nd leg of the trip, even though the driving would’ve been a couple minutes longer. I hope that helps. Feel free to ask me anything else!!
This area of the world was some of my favorite I’ve seen so far and I can’t wait to go back.
I love you all and thanks so much for reading!!
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