Nice is not only filled with beautiful views of the Mediterranean as you climb your way up to the Parc du Château or stroll along the Promenade des Anglais, but it truly is in the most perfect position.
From the alps to the ocean, the extravagant super yachts of Monaco to quaint quintessentially French villages, Nice is a gateway to so many unforgettable day trips, including my 5 favourites:
The Alps
The region that Nice occupies isn’t called Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur for nothing, it does indeed have that emblematic view of the pebble beaches and startling blue of the Mediterranean but this is coupled with the towering peaks of the French alps that are not too far away.
On my more recent visit my exchange family who I was staying with for a second time advertised ‘un petit randonnée’ which I took to mean a short walk, but then three hours later I found myself in the mountains overlooking the green valleys speckled with snow and the sight of a wolf in the distance on a slope above.
Monaco
Imagine yourself in the life of the rich and famous, at least that’s what I did when I visited Monaco. My friends and I browsed the shops that were about ten times our price range and sipped our hot chocolates while watching the cars we could only dream about driving, of course we were about fifteen at the time and none of us could drive yet anyway but it’s the thought that counts. Monaco is one of the world’s smallest countries but is notorious for its casinos, super yachts and its annual Formula 1 Grand Prix.
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Cannes and Antibes
Another ‘Nice’ day trip (see what I did there) are these two wonderfully contrasting cities which my host family took me to in a single day. Although we drove, both are easily accessible by train from Nice as well. Cannes is a glamourous Mediterranean hub with a gorgeous walk along the promenade beside the sea on a sunny day and again another place to pretend you’re a movie star here for the iconic Cannes Film Festival.
An absolute opposite, Antibes is a bustling town with all the heart of a French seaside village. Fabulous patisseries line the old town on your walk to the beach on the gorgeous Mediterranean. If you’re an art fanatic make sure to stop off at the Picasso Museum on the way.
Eze
From the moment we touched down at Nice Airport, I was looking forward to seeing a real medieval village. Eze is convenient to get to from both Nice and Monaco with buses running from both ready to transport you back to the middle ages.
Climb up uneven stone stairs and gaze across rolling hills shrouded in the mist as you duck under low archways until you reach the summit of the village. The Jardin Exotique d’Eze balances on top the village giving you a panorama of the Mediterranean that will stun your friends back home.
Italy
One of the most bizarre things about Europe was how easy it was to get from one country to another and just how fantastically close they all are. Luckily enough my host family realised how shocked I was by this and probably laughed at me, before deciding to show me first hand by taking me to Sanremo and Ventimiglia in Italy.
We strolled through the markets picking up some bargains and then the family even decided to do their grocery shopping there because it was cheaper! Both were gorgeous cities, with all the charm of the Mediterranean and delicious food that I managed to gorge myself on even in my short time there.
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