Four Days on the French Riviera: Nice, Monaco, Cannes and the Hill Villages
Four days is enough for the coast's four faces: Nice itself, Monaco and the village above it, Cannes and its islands, and the hill villages inland. It is not enough to move hotel twice. This plan keeps one base, uses the train where it wins and a tour where it does not, and books the French Riviera tickets that save you the most time.
Why keep one base for four days?
Packing and unpacking eats half a day each time. Nice is the base that works. The tram from the airport reaches the centre and the port. Trains leave Nice-Ville for Monaco in about 22 minutes and for Antibes in 11 to 13. Most road days collect you from a Nice hotel, and the shared boats leave from its port.
Cannes suits a stay built on the western coast and the islands, and Menton suits a quiet one. Our guide to where to stay weighs them.
How do you get from the airport to your base?
By tram. Line 2 runs from Terminals 1 and 2 through the centre of Nice to the port, roughly every eight minutes. The airport sits about 6 km from the centre and is France's third-busiest, and the tram is the simple way in.
The plan at a glance
| Day | Where | How | Tour or ticket |
|---|---|---|---|
| One | Nice on foot | Walking, tram | Free; a boat at sunset from April to October |
| Two | The village above the sea and Monaco | Half day by road, or train and bus | $75 a person, or €6.10 each way by train |
| Three | Cannes and the islands offshore | Train, then a ferry or a private boat | Ferry €19.50 return, or $476 a boat |
| Four | The perfume town and the hill villages | Long day by road | $149 a person |
What should you do on day one in Nice?
Walk. Start on the Promenade des Anglais in the morning, then turn into the old town. The Cours Saleya fruit and vegetable market runs every morning except Monday, and the flower stalls beside it most of the day.
Climb Castle Hill before lunch. The park is free, open from 08:30, and a free lift runs up from the seafront by the Tour Bellanda. From the top you see the port on one side and the whole bay on the other.
Nice has been on UNESCO's World Heritage List since 2021, as a winter resort town of the Riviera, and the seafront villas and hotels are the reason why. Look up as you walk.
In the afternoon, the Matisse museum in Cimiez costs €12 and closes on Tuesdays. Finish at Port Lympia: from April to October, the sunset boat leaves from the tram stop for an hour and a half to two hours on the water, with wine at anchor.
How do you see the village above the sea and Monaco on day two?
Take a half-day tour in the morning. It collects you from your hotel, stops in Èze for the village and the free perfume factory, then drives on to Monaco. You are back in Nice by the middle of the afternoon.
If you go alone, reverse it. Take the train to Monaco-Monte-Carlo, 22 minutes and €6.10. The Changing of the Guard is at 11:55 every day on the square in front of the palace. The palace State Apartments open from 30 March to 15 October for €13. Then take the bus up to the village: line 82, or line 602, which does not run on Sundays.
The casino's gaming rooms admit over-18s only, with a passport or national ID card. The Atrium is open to anyone who wants a look.
How do you reach Cannes and the islands on day three?
By train, about 27 minutes on the fastest direct services from Nice. In Cannes, the Marché Forville is open from 7:00 to 13:00, Tuesday to Sunday outside summer and daily in July and August. On Mondays outside summer it is a flea market instead.
Two islands lie offshore. The Trans Côte d'Azur ferry crosses from Quai Max Laubeuf to Sainte-Marguerite in about 15 minutes, roughly hourly. Its fort holds the cell of the Man in the Iron Mask, for €6.50. The abbey's own ferry, Planaria, sails from the old port to Saint-Honorat in about 20 minutes, €19.50 return for an adult, where monks still farm their vines.
If there are six or more of you, the private boat from the Croisette is worth pricing. It anchors off the Lérins Islands for an hour with snorkel gear and a paddleboard.
What does day four inland look like?
This is the day to hand to a driver. The villages day takes you to Grasse, Gourdon on its cliff, Tourrettes-sur-Loup and Saint-Paul-de-Vence in eight hours, with pickup in Nice. Alone, the art village takes a tram and two buses, and the other two are harder still.
In Grasse, Fragonard's historic factory gives free guided visits daily, and the International Perfume Museum costs €6. Inland at the art village, the Fondation Maeght costs €18. Marc Chagall is buried in the village cemetery.
Which days do Mondays and Tuesdays spoil?
Mondays close the Picasso museum in Antibes, and from September to May the Antibes market too. In Nice, the Cours Saleya turns into an antiques market, and in Cannes the Forville does the same outside summer. Tuesdays close the Matisse and Chagall museums in Nice and the Cocteau chapel in Villefranche-sur-Mer.
So put the walk in Nice on a day that is neither, and put the road day on the Monday. The road tours do not depend on markets or museums.
Which day should the road tour go on?
The Monday. Markets and museums close that day across the coast, and a road day does not need either: it stops in towns, at viewpoints and at the free perfume factory. The Monday rule also frees your Tuesday for Antibes, whose market and museum reopen, while the big museums in Nice take their day off.
Where does a boat fit in?
On the calmest morning. The shared boats from Nice take two or three hours, so a morning boat leaves the afternoon free. The sea cave boat stops to swim and snorkel; the 3-hour trip adds 45 minutes ashore in the next harbour town. Keep the boat day loose, and swap it with day one if the wind is up.
What is the rain plan?
Rain is rarest from June to August and most common in November, so a summer stay may never need this plan. If it does, the Oceanographic Museum in Monaco costs €22.50 and opens every day but Christmas and the Grand Prix. The Picasso museum in Antibes costs €6. The Fragonard factory in Èze gives free visits every half hour. A road day runs in rain too, and the stops are towns rather than beaches.
What can you do in the evenings?
The sunset boat from April to October. The old town of Nice for dinner, since the port and the Cours Saleya stay lively late. In Monaco, the casino square after dark, with ID if you plan to go inside.
What if this is your first time on the coast?
Then keep day two as a tour. It shows you the village above the sea and Monaco with someone explaining them, and you learn the lie of the coast before you ride the train alone. Our first-time post covers the rest: what is free, what costs, and which fares earn their place. Book the boat for the second half of the stay, once you know which mornings are calm.
What do four days cost?
With the half-day and the villages day booked, the tours come to $225 a person. Add two train days at €6.10 each way to Monaco, the Cannes return, a ferry and the doors you choose to pay for. The walks, the hill park, the markets and the perfume factories are free.
What if you only have two days?
Take a long road day on one, which reaches Monaco, Cannes, Antibes and the art village in ten hours. Spend the other in Nice on foot, with the sunset boat in season. Our comparison of the tours helps you pick the road day.
And with six days?
Add Menton and Antibes. Menton is €7.70 by train from Nice, and the line runs on to Ventimiglia in Italy, about 48 minutes from Nice. Antibes is 11 to 13 minutes away, with its ramparts and its market. In February, time the Menton day for the lemon festival.
A sixth day also buys the villas. Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild at Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat costs about €18-20 and opens from February to November. Villa Kérylos at Beaulieu-sur-Mer costs from €15. The coastal train stops at Beaulieu, and the cape is a walk from there.
Frequently asked questions
Where should I stay for four days?
What should I book before I arrive?
When is the Changing of the Guard in Monaco?
How do I get from Nice to Monaco without a tour?
Do I need a passport in Monaco?
Are tips included?
Tours that fit these four days
Monaco, Monte-Carlo and Eze Village Small Group Half-Day Tour
Five hours from your address in Nice, eight people at most: the hill village and the perfume factory, then Monaco's old town and Monte-Carlo.
From $75 per person
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Private escape to discover Cannes & Lerins Islands from the sea
Four hours on a private boat from the Croisette for up to eleven, priced per group: out to the islands, an hour at anchor, snorkel gear and a paddleboard.
From $476 per group (up to 11) plus €300 captain and service, per booking
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Villages Médiévaux,Grasse, Gourdon, Tourrettes sur Loup, St Paul (Medieval Villages Tour from Nice)
Eight hours inland from Nice: the perfume town, a clifftop village, the village of violets and the walled art town, with a guide.
From $149 per person
Check AvailabilityNext: Would rather do more of it alone? Our guide to the coast without a tour has the trains, buses and ferries. Every fare sits side by side on French Riviera Tours.