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Nice and the Côte d'Azur

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3.8 stars(30 reviews)
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Small Group

The French Riviera from Promenade des Anglais

You are viewing the 2023 itinerary. Select your departure year
20232024
7 days From £1,595 per person

2023 Tour code: NIJ23

About the tour

The wonderful hilltop towns of fragrant Provence combine with chic resorts and the glamorous principality of Monaco on this exciting exploration of Nice and the Côte d'Azur. Join us as we discover the sights, scents and flavours of the French Riviera - a much-loved, sun-drenched holiday hot destination.

Highlights

What’s included

Itinerary

Day 1 - London and Nice

We take the Eurostar to Paris, continuing by rail to Nice for six nights.

Includes
  • Eurostar Meal
Day 2 - Nice

We enjoy a guided tour of Nice by coach and on foot. We drive up to Mont Boron, which offers terrific views across Nice and the Bay of Angels, before continuing to the hill-top quarter of Cimiez, once home to the artist Matisse. After visiting the vibrant Place de l'Opéra and exploring the streets of the Old Town, we visit the colourful and mouthwatering food market in Cours Saleya. We then visit a restaurant in the Old Town to sample a range of local delicacies. The rest of your day is free before we meet for dinner at a local restaurant.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 3 - Monaco

Our day begins with a coach journey along the Lower Corniche Road, soaking up wonderful views over the Mediterranean enroute to Monaco. There, we make our way to the 13th-century Palais du Prince, home of the principality's ruling family for over 700 years, to watch the time-honoured changing of the guard ceremony. Finally, we stop by the famous Casino Square in Monte-Carlo. Following our tour, you have some free time to look around - maybe have a flutter in the casino or enjoy a drink in the Café de Paris, Monte Carlo's prime people-watching spot. On our way back to Nice, we stop at Eze, a medieval village set on a rocky peak above the glittering ocean. Overlooking the terracotta houses sits Eze's ruined castle and an unusual cactus garden, the ideal spot to look out across the scenic Côte d'Azur.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 4 - Nice

With a free day, you might like to visit the Musée Matisse or Chagall museum above the city, or you could take the train to Cannes or pretty Antibes. A visit to Villa Ephrussi is another attractive option, a palace with exquisite gardens. You could also relax by the seaor stroll along the fabulous Promenade des Anglais. This wide palm-tree walkway separates the glamorous shops and hotels from the beach and was named after the earliest foreign visitors to flock to the city - the English.

Includes
  • Breakfast
Day 5 – Grasse and St-Paul-de-Vence

We travel by coach to Grasse, renowned as the perfume capital of the world. We enjoy a tour of the Fragonard Parfumerie, where a dazzling array of perfumes and soaps are created, before making our way into the hills of Provence to visit St-Paul-de-Vence. Here we meet with a local pétanque player for a lesson in how to play this characteristically French lawn game. This charming town has been the retreat of choice among artists for centuries and there is free time afterwards to explore St-Paul-de-Vence's medieval walls and shaded squares. Among its many restaurants is 'La Colombe d'Or', famed for its cuisine and for the art on its walls - as artists including Picasso and Matisse stayed here rent free in exchange for paintings.

Includes
  • Breakfast
Day 6 – Nice

Make the most of your free time today. One option is to take the Train des Merveilles, from Nice to Tende and back. It travels through stunning valleys and villages, passing the beautiful and hilly region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, the picturesque village Breil-sur-Roya and the rugged Valley of Marvels, famous for its Bronze Age carvings. Or take it easy, enjoy a stroll through the flower market and lunch at a pavement café. This evening we have a farewell dinner at a local restaurant.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 7 - Nice and London

Saying farewell to Nice, we make the return journey back to London St Pancras, travelling via Paris where we board the Eurostar.

Includes
  • Breakfast
  • Eurostar Meal

Additional information

Please note

Please note that while every departure of this tour will feature the same excursions, the order may differ from that shown above.

Departure times

Provisional departure and return times, where available, can be found together with our dates and prices by clicking on the 'Prices & Availability' button. We write to all booked customers approximately 10 weeks prior to the start of their tour to advise the exact departure and return time for their particular group.

Mobility information

Due to the nature of our tours they are generally unsuitable for those with restricted mobility. If you’d like to discuss any particular holiday with us in this respect, then please don’t hesitate to call us.

Hotels

La Malmaison Nice Boutique Hotel, Nice

La Malmaison Nice Boutique Hotel, Nice

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Villa Otero, Nice

Villa Otero, Nice

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Trains

Eurostar
TGV

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Reviews

3.8 stars3.8 / 5 · 30 reviews

  1. 5 stars
    (8)
  2. 4 stars
    (12)
  3. 3 stars
    (8)
  4. 2 stars
    (0)
  5. 1 star
    (2)

HappyinHerts

3 stars

Submitted 16 Oct 2022

This holiday was good in parts. We enjoyed the train from Paris to Nice. It does take a long time and by evening it was too dark to see the beautiful Mediterranean coastline. The walk to the hotel at 9 o'clock at night dragging suitcases wearied many. The hotel was a disappointment. The rooms were small, the curtains in our room were threadbare, the carpets in the communal areas were filthy. Breakfast was good. Cost cutting was evident in the number of free days and the holiday ending on a Friday not Saturday. Included meals were of a reasonable standard but taken in restaurants a 10-15 minutes walk away. Some of our group had to take taxis. Our guide, Alan, was genial and unflappable despite one or two problems. He shepherded us across Paris and delivered us to and from Eurostar efficiently. We enjoyed the excursions to Eze and St Paul de Vence. The visit to Grasse was not a visit but a retail opportunity at the Fragonard factory and a waste of a morning. We have travelled with GRJ before, to the Swiss Alps. This tour was, sadly, not up to the same standard.

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A Coy

3 stars

Submitted 14 Oct 2022

It really is a very pleasant seaside place to visit but if we had the weather here in the UK I can think of several seaside places within striking distance that I would prefer to go to. The visit to Monaco and St Paul de Vence were particularly good and worthwhile but all in all there was too much free time in Nice itself.

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Mrs B Partridge

1 stars

Submitted 30 Sep 2022

Your good but “hotel” totally unacceptable. Located in a back street a long walk to Nice city centre, front or restaurants. No lounge, dining room or bar. Breakfast eaten in reception area on low tables and uncomfortable chairs. Insufficient seats for everyone. It was a poor quality bed & breakfast. Totally unlike any hotel stayed in on previous holidays. Barbara and Mike Partridge.

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Alan Pye

3 stars

Submitted 28 Sep 2022

Lovely beaches although very stoney. Sea lovely and clear. Saw some lovely scenery.

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P Jackman

3 stars

Submitted 23 Sep 2022

The hotel was too cramped with minimal guest facilities e.g. no lounge or bar and was too far from the sea front. It was realy not much more than a B & B.

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Barbara Brown

3 stars

Submitted 23 Sep 2022

Enjoyed the trip but found Hotel Otero disappointing. It is okay for a one-night stay but inadequate for a week.

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