Day 1
First day in Nice! We landed early in the morning and took the tram to Jean Medecin station, in the heart of the city. Our hotel, Le Grimaldi by Happy Culture was just a short 5-7min walk from the station. We only stayed in this hotel for the whole trip and it cost about $250/night including taxes. The decor was okay, there were lifts and there was air con, but the aircon didn't work too well. My main complaint was the lack of a kettle in the room! There is a bar in the lobby but it's really inconvenient to go down to get water or drinks. Bottled water is only provided on the first day AND there's no kettle so that means we either had to continuously get water from the jug downstairs or buy water.
Our itinerary of the day was just to explore Nice, so first we headed to have brunch at Pain & Cie. And explored the markets.
Then headed to the famous Promenade des Anglais.
Then climbed up Castle Hill for the amazing views.
Came down, walked along the Promenade, then headed inland for shopping!
Day 2
Day trip to St Paul de Vence and Vence!
We took the bus to St Paul de Vence which is a very pretty and quaint hilltop town.
We had a quick lunch, then took the bus to Vence, which was unfortunately abit of a dead town on Sunday.
Headed back to Nice for some relaxation in front of the beach, and then dinner at Franchin. Most good restaurants are closed on Sundays and it was one of the few highly rated restaurants open on a Sunday. Tried the pig terrine, escargot and fish.
Day 3
Day trip to Monaco! Monaco is easily reached by a 20min train ride from Nice. But upon reaching, I realised to my horror that my data wasn't working! And I had forgotten to download offline maps. Which means I was stuck in the train station with no clue how to get around. AND there was no tourist information counter. So I blew 6 euros on Monaco's free wifi...sigh. Luckily it worked so I managed to find my way to a place for breakfast called Sweet Therapy.
Then headed to the old town to visit the museum. The walk up to the old town is pretty arduous as it's uphill, under that hot son. But the view from the top is really pretty. And Monaco is really tiny that we truly can walk from one end to another in 20min.
Grace Kelly is so pretty!!! And managed to catch the guard changing session as well, which occurs at 11.50am everyday.
The cathedral is nearby, but I couldn't go in because of shorts lol.
Next stop was the famous Oceanographic Museum.
We headed towards the bayside for lunch at Quai des Artistes, situated next to the pier. Tried fish soup, and prawn risotto.
Walked along the pier to admire the famous superboats of Monaco, and reached the other part of Monaco where the rich and famous hang out.
The famous Monte Carlo casino!
Nearby were all the luxury brands. And to my surprise, we actually bought something, because my sister had requested for us to help her find a replacement for her spoilt Balenciaga bag with giant studs...whatever that means. (I'm terribly uneducated and disinterested in branded handbags) She wanted the exact same type but they no longer stock it, so the sales lady recommended a different one. And the Balenciaga store is located in a weird place underground so everytime I wanted to contact my sister, I had to go up. Finally, my sister decided to buy it and I had to lug that Balenciaga bag home lol.
Anyway after some shopping where I bought absolutely nothing, we decided to head to dinner. It was sooo difficult to find a highly rated but not exorbitantly priced restaurant (40 euros for one dish is just crazy..). We walked all the way back to the old town hoping to eat at a place with Michelin guide but they were full, so we had no choice but to eat at a random restaurant. Food was decent but service was terrible. And then finally, we headed back to the train station to go back to Nice.
Monaco is truly expensive af.
Day 4
Today's itinerary was a day trip to Eze and Villefranche Sur Mer.
We had breakfast first at a bakery in the old town of Nice. The croissants in France are all super cheap and good.
The easiest way to Eze is to take bus 82 from one of the busstops. Can't emphasise how lucky we were to pick the first busstop from the terminal, and be able to squeeze onto the bus. Because so many people couldn't get on, and the bus just zoomed by the subsequent stops. And the bus comes every 2 hours...
So as can be expected, Eze was super touristy. It's pretty but very very small and there's little to do other than the Jardin garden, which has amazing views.
We ended up having lunch at a hotel restaurant overlooking the sea. Beautiful views. Unfortunately the waiter got my order wrong (and I didn't realise) so I ended up having a lobster linguine that cost 66 euros. SO not worth it.
Took the bus back to Nice, then a train from Nice Riquier station to Villefranche Sur Mer, which is yet another coastal town. This town is SO PRETTY. The Caucasians are truly not afraid of the sun, because everywhere we went, the beach would be full of people suntanning and playing in the sun while their skin turned lobster red. I have skin phenotype 4, so I turned very tanned.
Dinner was churros at Ballanger, a bright pink patisserie shop right in the middle of the shopping district.
Day 5
Day trip to Antibes and Cannes!
Took a train to Antibes, and headed to the market to get breakfast. While waiting for the Picasso museum to open, we walked around the coastal area.
Picasso museum which featured a lot of non picasso works as well.
Headed back to the train station to head to Cannes. Soooo crowded! Headed first to the shopping area, then to the beach.
Then headed to Volupte for lunch. They are famous for nutella cappucino, which was indeed good. The iced chocolate was great as well. Tiramisu was not bad, but I just have really high standards for tiramisu.
Headed to the famous Lumiere theatre with that red carpet to snap many pics. And got some pretty souvenirs from the official Cannes film festival shop.
Then headed to the Musee de la Castre, which showcases exhibitions from all parts of the world. There's a tower which I climbed up, for the most spectacular views.
We came down and shopped more while waiting for the restaurants to open for dinner. The opening times of restaurants in France are so weird! They only open from 12 to 2 or 230, then 7 to 930. So outside of those times, it's hard to get a nice proper meal.
L'assiete provencale was the place that I wanted to head to for dinner for the very worth it set meal - starter, main and dessert for 27eur. We got a salmon tartare and fish soup for starters, prawns and salmon for mains, and choc lava cake with ice cream and roasted peach with ice cream for desserts respectively. Loved the food.
And finally headed back to Gare de Cannes (gare is station in french) to take the train back.
Day 6
Last day, which we spent in Nice. Had breakfast at Le Bistroy. We got a hot chocolate (which interestingly comes in a bowl) and crepe with salted caramel, as well as a French Breakfast set that consists of baguette with every type of spread, a hot drink and a cold drink. Not sure why we need 2 drinks but sure haha.
Headed to the Chagall museum, which is mostly art based on the bible.
Quickly rushed to have lunch at Les Sens, another restaurant on the Michelin guide, before it closed. Luckily there were seats, and we got set menus of main + dessert. We got the pork fillet and salmon for mains, and their famous souffle (I got Grand Maniere but there's also lemon) and eclair for dessert. yummm.
We got a last minute request to buy Pierre Herme or Laduree macarons, and luckily there was a Pierre Herme in Galleries Lafayette not far from where we were. They were so expensive but came in a cute little box.
Then at the airport we saw Laduree! So we bought some as well. The verdict at our tasting session back home was that Pierre Herme was superior.
And then I got my phone stolen at the Nice airport, but luckily it was just my work phone. I didn't even realise it through my whole journey from Nice to Frankfurt, then Frankfurt to Singapore.
That's the end of my trip to the very hot but beautiful French Riviera. Can't wait for my next leave period for the next trip.