The Côte d’Azur with Nice

My wife and I did a 4 day modified version of the Cote d'Azur with Nice self guided walk. This is our 2nd Inntravel trip which we thoroughly enjoyed.  We especially liked the Welcome Hotel in Villefranche and the coastal walks were spectacular. Unfortunately, our walk from Villefranche to Nice was on the same day as a run/swim race, so we had to share the narrow trail with hundreds of competing runners/swimmers. When the swim portion joined the trail, the path became wet, slippery, and dangerous on the exposed portions above crashing waves.  

Inntravel provided excellent navigation instructions and maps. Additionally, this time they provided GPS tracks which were quite helpful. Their office was very helpful in planning our travels and responsive to issues that arose. We will be using Inntravel again in the future.

We were pleasantly surprised by the ease of coastal walking with a good surface underfoot and well waymarked Paths. In Villefranche and Nice an orange Ligne D'Azur card has to be purchased on the bus which can be topped up via an App. The card can be used on the trams in Nice as well. We found the day pass good value.

We were impressed by the hotels. We found the trip notes/guides useful. The Nice Côte d'Azur map was too big and too big a scale to be really useful. 

bearing in mind we upgraded all our rooms we'd have been less impressed with the standard rooms. Enjoyed the walks apart from the Villefranche - Nice which was a slog. luggage transfer worked well. We enjoyed it.

Menton:
Prince de Galles hostel in Menton is very welcoming and offers complementary mini-bar in room as well as hot and cold drinks and cake in reception. However, it is quite a walk from the centre of town and more or less in Carnoles.
Campaillette "Artisan Boulanger" shop in Carnoles, in Avenue Briand (5 mins from Carnoles station) is a great local place to stock up for for picnic lunches.
Carnoles railway station close to the Hotel Prince de Galles is usually unstaffed. Ticket machine does not identify Roquebrune Cap Martin (for visiting Le Corbusier site) as a destination for which a ticket can be bought. Can buy any ticket over the counter in Menton station but that means a walk from the hotel and the station office gets very busy because many locals as well as visitors have troubles with ticket machines.
The Cocteau Museum in Menton shows no sign of reopening. Le Bastion in the town has some of his stuff but is disappointing.
The Salle de Marriage in the town hall (€2)is a must if you are into Cocteau. Entry may be delayed a few minutes until the recorded audio commentary ends.
Monaco:
Monte Carlo (NB loos and info office in station) may be fabulous but it is incredibly busy during the Grand Prix period (end of May). Pedestrian access in the enter is difficult because of closure of whole areas. We were there shortly after and there was still disruption.
But the Japanese garden in Monaco, in the centre of town just beyond the Casino, is one of best of its type in the world and not to be overlooked.
Villefranche:
Has no purpose other than tourism. Cruise boats dock outside the harbour and discharge huge numbers passengers on the quai outside the hotel. Most of them go to Nice. The Welcome Hotel in its decoration of public areas reflects the Cocteau association. Advance booking of restaurants strongly advised for the evening.
Bus stops except for a minibus are on the main road quite a long hike above the town at Octroi.
The nearby Villa Ephrussi is totally unmissable but could easily be visited from Menton or Nice.
Nice:
Speaks for itself but check opening times and days of Chagall and Matisse museums. Chagall may close for lunch (2 hours) while Matisse closes between exhibitions.
Inntravel recommended restaurant in Nice (La Cantine de Lulu) no longer exists at the stated address - site now occupied by Le Bistrot de Jeff - also recommended - Jeff has been there for 4 years!!
Public loos are plentiful through the area and free except in Nice (50c) but not usually found in small railway stations.
Buses along this section of coast are plentiful and €1.50 for unlimited travel including changes (correspondance) foor up to 74 mins. But tickets must be validated on board (as with trains).

It's a very beautiful part of the world, very, very opulent with extreme wealth on clear display with stunning boats and cars in particular but for us it was the genuine friendliness of "ordinary" French and Italian people we met who were all keen to talk and help if necessary. Location of hotels was perfect with excellent staff. We also went to a beautiful classical music concert in Menton's Basilica and would advise customers to take every opportunity to engage with cultural events.

This was our second Inntravel holiday to the Cote d'Azur. We just love that area of France. The first two hotels on this walking holiday were excellent. Very pretty rooms with stunning views, and Menton and Villefranche were not too crowded in early May.

We were not so keen on the hotel in Nice. The staff were lovely, but we found the rooms rather dreary. But we were probably spoilt by the previous two hotels. However, it was very central for exploring Nice, and hundreds of great restaurants within a five minute walk. It would be difficult to recommend any particular restaurants, as they were all excellent. My favorite walks were the ones along the cliff top paths with the sea crashing below. We have taken many walking holidays with Inntravel, and I think they are great value. We love them.

This was the second time I've done this walk with Inntravel. Walking along the water is always beautiful. Although Kerylos was closed for renovations on our walk, I've been there before and highly recommend it. We ate lunch in the garden at the Villa Ephrussi-Rothschild, taking the bus from Villefranche one day as suggested. We never even bothered to pack a picnic, as there were always tempting restaurants for lunch. The stone steps on the final day up to Nice were pretty tough, so we took the 15 bus into town as soon as we came to the road. We loved all three hotels, with ocean views at the first two and garden views at the Villa Victoria.

A delightful walk with really pleasant and interesting towns and cities. All three hotels are really good. The weather in April was just right, warm enough to be very pleasant but not too hot for walking. The highlight was the Rothschild garden on Cap Ferrat which exceeded expectations particularly with its musical fountains. The walking is mainly easy, but caution to anyone who chooses this grade 1 level walk thinking that it will be easier on knees or hips ... there are an awful lot of steps, particularly going from Villefranche to Nice. Restaurant recommendations ... if you like gallettes or crepes go to the Fleur de Sel in Menton (2 rue de Vieux College). P'tit Resto was also good in Menton. The hotel is a mile's walk from the old town so make sure you wear appropriate footwear if going there in the evening. In Villefranche Le Serre was good value and busy. La Belle Etoile was pricey for what it served.

We had a wonderful holiday at Easter in glorious sunshine and blue skies, visiting an impossibly picturesque part of France which neither of us had visited before. The hotels were all comfortable and friendly and the walking was just right for what we wanted to be a relaxing break. Not to be missed is lunch on the terrrace of the Villa Ephrussi and the gardens there are superb. We loved the bustle of Nice and the excellent ice-cream throughout our trip! 

We have an additional restaurant recommendation for Roquebrune: La Caravelle, 3 Rue de l'eglise, a short wlay up from the harbour on the road to the church, the start of your town walk.

Restaurants:

Villefranche: Le Serre - so good we went there 2 nights running - wonderful family restaurant, wonderful food, ambience. Recommendation - La Tavola, 11 Rue du Poilu, Italian restaurant. I had Gratin Ravioli Trois Fromages, which was to die for. Look them up on the internet.

Nice: Cafe de Nice in Rue Maurice Jaubert, just off the Rue Massena pedestrian area. Onion soup was fabulous, great staff, just generally lovely.

Beautiful area with lots of route options and great hotels.

There were so many wonderful things to see and do on this fabulous trip to the South of France that it is difficult to select the highlights . Add as many extra nights as you can to ensure nothing is missed. A guided tour  to the Eileen Gray building is a must even for those with no architectural leanings, but make sure you book as the tour is restricted to 12 visitors! The magical musical fountains in the gardens of the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild are a sight to behold. Allow enough time in Monaco to visit the sumptuous Palace and the mesmerising Oceanographic Museum, in reality an incredible aquarium. One of the joys of an Inntravel holiday is being shown hidden parts: the markets and back streets of Monaco are a case in point. Visiting Nice at the end of the trip is the icing on the cake.

The views from all the rooms were great. Particularly enjoyed the balcony at The Welcome Hotel Villefranche with the busy (but not too noisy) quay below. Walks and notes were the usual Inntravel high standard! 

We were extremely happy with our Inntravel experience. The walks were interesting, and we loved that we could do as much or as little as we liked each day. The hotels were charming, with wonderful breakfasts and often sea views. I will definitely recommend Inntravel to friends in the United States.

INNTRAVEL NOTE:  Customers combined two walking holidays, The The Côte d’Azur with Nice with The Cinque Terre.

Your notes should reflect the Jean Cocteau Wundermann museum is under repair, and will not be open in the foreseeable future. Also, no fault of your own, but we had no clue about how swimming could be impacted by jellyfish. Overall, we had a great time, and look forward to more Inntravel holidays in the future!

We loved Villefranche and the Hotel Welcome. The breakfast was superb. That is the one place we would return to. There is a lot of renovation going on - the museums at the Citadel were closed but we managed to see inside the wonderful Cocteau Saint Pierre chapel, although the exterior is under scaffolding. Villefranche has real character and some excellent and quirky winebars and restaurants. We found the Menton hotel a little corporate and a bit too far from the old town although there were some pleasant bars and restaurants nearby on the seafront. The garden at the Villa Victoria is its selling point - a place to enjoy a drink and meet the hotel's two characterful cats. The rooms in Menton and Nice were stylish but quite small. The staff at all the hotels were extremely friendly and helpful. We found Nice too busy for our taste but Antibes was a delightful and easy trip by train.