The French Riviera Town by Town, from Menton to Cannes
The short answer. Read the coast east to west. Menton and Monaco sit by the Italian border; the capes and the hill village are between Monaco and Nice; Nice is the middle; Antibes and Cannes are the west, with the art town and the perfume town inland. A French Riviera tour from Nice usually strings four to seven of these together, and the minutes it gives each one are what you are paying for.
The coast at a glance
| Town | What it is for | The paid door | Train from Nice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Menton | Lemons, gardens, the old quarter | — | Yes, €7.70 |
| Monaco | The Rock, the palace, the casino | Palace €13; museum €22.50 | Yes, 22 min |
| The hill village | The view, the lanes, perfume | Exotic garden €10 | No: bus 82 or 602 |
| The capes | Villas, coves, the harbour town | Villas about €15 to €20 | Some stops |
| Nice | The seafront, the old town | — | — |
| Antibes | Ramparts, the market, Picasso | Picasso museum €6 | Yes, 11 to 13 min |
| Cannes | The Croisette, the islands | Iron Mask museum €6.50 | Yes, about 27 min |
| The art town inland | Galleries, walls, Chagall's grave | Maeght foundation €18 | No: tram and 2 buses |
Menton, the lemon town at the border
Menton is the last French town before Italy, €7.70 from Nice by train, and the train carries on across the border to Ventimiglia, about 48 minutes from Nice. It is best known for lemons: the Fête du Citron runs from 13 to 28 February 2027, with floats and sculptures built from citrus fruit. The rest of the year it is a quieter town of tall ochre houses and bell towers above the beach, and the easiest way to taste it is the three-hour food walk, which starts at the carousel by the old town.
Monaco, the stop most road days make
Nearly every road day east of Nice spends between 20 minutes and two and a half hours in Monaco. The old town on the Rock holds the palace, where the Changing of the Guard takes place daily at 11:55, and the Oceanographic Museum on the cliff edge. Monte-Carlo, across the harbour, is the casino and its square. The palace's State Apartments open from 30 March to 15 October for €13, and no road day includes them, so plan a separate train day if the rooms matter.
The hill village and the capes, between Monaco and Nice
Èze perches on its rock above the sea, a village of stone lanes topped by an exotic garden (€10, free for under-12s). At the foot of the village the Fragonard factory runs free guided visits about every half hour. Most road days east of Nice stop here, usually pairing the village with the factory.
Below it, the coast breaks into capes. Cap d'Ail and the sea cave at Mala are best seen from a boat. Beaulieu-sur-Mer has the Villa Kérylos, a Greek-style villa from €15. Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat has the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild and its gardens, at about €18 to €20, and no train station. Villefranche-sur-Mer, the harbour town next to Nice, has a free fort courtyard and a Cocteau chapel, closed on Tuesdays.
Three roads between Nice and Monaco
Between Nice and Monaco the coast is so steep that three roads run along it, one above the other. The lower corniche follows the shore through the harbour town, Beaulieu and Cap d'Ail. The Moyenne Corniche runs halfway up the slope and passes the foot of Èze. The Grande Corniche keeps to the ridge at the top. Which road a day takes decides what you see: the half-day with viewpoints spends a full hour on the middle road's lookouts before the village, while the train keeps to the shore and sees none of the heights.
Nice, the middle of the coast
Nice is where most visitors sleep and where most outings start. Give it at least one day of its own: the Promenade des Anglais, the old town, the park on Castle Hill and the port. Most road days do not stop in the city, so the time you give Nice is time you plan yourself. Tram line 2 joins the airport to the centre and ends at the port, where the boats leave, so you rarely need a taxi. The detail is on our things-to-do page.
Antibes and Cannes, the west
Antibes is the old walled port, with the Picasso museum in the Château Grimaldi (€6, closed on Mondays) and a Provençal market on Cours Masséna most mornings. Cannes is the festival town: the 80th festival runs from 11 to 22 May 2027. Beyond the Croisette, the Marché Forville is the covered food market, open every morning except Monday outside July and August, and the ferries leave for the Lérins Islands, where the Iron Mask was held on Sainte-Marguerite and monks still farm vines on Saint-Honorat. Planaria, the abbey's own boat, crosses to Saint-Honorat in about 20 minutes for €19.50 return. The easiest way to eat Cannes is the four-course lunch walk from the Old Port, and the easiest way to reach the islands with your own group is the private boat from the Croisette.
Inland: the art town and the perfume town
Two towns sit back from the sea. Saint-Paul-de-Vence is a walled village of galleries, with the Fondation Maeght outside the walls (€18) and Chagall buried in the cemetery. Grasse is the perfume capital, whose perfume skills are on UNESCO's intangible heritage list, and its historic Fragonard factory is free to visit. Both reach you best by road, and our post on which hill village to choose weighs one against the other.
How long each town deserves
- A whole day: Nice, and Monaco if you want the palace rooms and the museum.
- Half a day: Cannes with lunch, Antibes with the market, Menton.
- An hour or two: the hill village, the art town, the harbour town next to Nice.
- From the water: the capes and the coves, which are best seen by boat.
Before you plan, check the best time to visit: the lemon festival, the film festival and the Grand Prix all move prices and crowds. Where to stay matches each base to the trains, and the map puts every meeting point on the coast.
Several towns in one day
Monaco - Monte Carlo - Eze Village- Small Group - Half Day Tour -
Four to five hours from anywhere in Nice: an hour of viewpoints on the middle road, the hill village and its perfume factory, the palace and Monte-Carlo.
From $111 per person
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From Nice: Cannes, Antibes and St Paul de Vence Private Tour
Five hours in a private car for up to four: an hour and a half each in Cannes, Antibes and the walled art town inland, with pickup where you are staying.
From $191 per person
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Half Day Guided Boat tour to Mala caves with stop in Villefranche
Three hours from the port of Nice: a look at the sea cave, a 45-minute swim at a beach on the cape and 45 minutes ashore in the harbour town.
From $87 per person
Check AvailabilityNext: Pick the two or three towns you care about most, then choose the day that gives them the most minutes. Every fare sits side by side on French Riviera Tours.