The South of France. Home to some of the most picturesque and coveted villages and beaches, the destination has so much to offer. Having been to Paris, I have been mesmerized by France. Knocking it off the bucket list, this summer, Mustafa and I took a direct flight to Nice from London on a Thursday night. We took the Friday off from work and basically had three full days to explore the South of France.
We arrived pretty late into Nice International Airport and just in time before the car rental place closed! Crazily enough we found out that if we had arrived just 5 minutes later, the place would have shut down and we would have had to come back to pick up our ride the next day! That is something to keep in mind if arriving into the airport super late or if you have a flight delay!
Day One: Nice
Since we had arrived pretty late in the evening on Thursday (flight delays and being stuck on the tarmac for an hour later), we woke up and lazily got ready to stroll right into Place Masséna. Our hotel was just a stone’s throw away from the Place Masséna, which made getting around on foot extremely easy.
It was deliciously hot weather with perfect cool winds blew as we grabbed some breakfast in Place Masséna before making our way to the beach. The vibe of the city is so incredibly relaxed, and it came as no surprise when I fell in love almost instantly. We walked along the the Promenade de Anglaise, which is unbelievably glamorous (I was squealing in excitement the entire time). The Promenade stretches five miles round the Bay of Angels, a gorgeous and wide walkway dotted with palm trees and pergolas.
We sat down in a local cafe, had the most delicious Burrata Pizza and indulged in creamy Tiramisu for dessert. The streets were full of people leisurely strolling between the Old Town and the beach. It could not be a more perfect start and welcome to the French Riviera.
Since we only had one day in the city, we spent most of it walking around the neighbourhood of Cimiez and the Old Town of Nice.
Day Two: Menton and Monaco
On our second day, post breakfast satisfaction but dangerously cloudy skies above us, we started our drive to Menton, which is a little town north of Nice and closer to the border of Italy. Unfortunately for us, the second we got there, we were greeted by a torrential downpour and an absolute dark sky. We quickly found a local McDonalds and waited a while to see if the storm would subside only to check the forecast to find that it would not stop raining for the rest of the day. Although this put a little bit of a damper on our plans, we decided to drive through Monaco next (even through the rain) before making our way to Provence.
We spend the rest of the afternoon driving from the French Riviera to the countryside of Provence and luckily left the storm behind as we drove on. The highways are excellent which made our drive very smooth.
We made our way to Manosque and it was one of the prettiest scenes I have seen. Stretches of land covered in sunflower and lavender fields, truly gorgeous and scenic landscape!
Day Three: Valensole and Gorges du Verdon
On our third and final day, we got incredibly lucky with the weather. Gorges du Verdon and exploring the lavender fields were the agenda for the day as we left Manosque and took the most gorgeous drives through the Valensole region. The roads were absolutely empty, and we glided through the mountains and fields stopping for photo opps of course!
One pro tip: There is no cell phone service and the GPS will stop working as you go through the mountains to get to Verdon. We did end up getting a little lost and also realized that no one spoke English. Thankfully following some of the signs worked for us and we managed to make it to the spot only to find that the paddle board rentals were cash only and we were completely out of Euros 🙁 But even though we weren’t able to paddle board, it was just such a treat to get the gorgeous views of the turquoise waters.
We eventually headed back towards Nice Airport and caught a late night flight back to London.
I already cannot wait to go back.
