A walking holiday along the Côte d’Azur to Nice

For anyone who loves walking along the shore with the sea to one side and wonderful views on the other you will not be disappointed.  The walks are easy (mainly flat) which allows plenty of taking in the views whilst walking.  Stopping off in the bays for something to eat and drink is a lovely way to spend your holiday.

We have done two trips with you and are likely to do more in the future. They are extremely well organised and meet our travel needs, budget and timeframe. 

More to the point they introduce to new and interesting walks which we would probably not normally think of doing such as the Britany coast in a manner that relieves us of the logistics of  lugging suitcase/backpacks around with interesting hotels to stay at and with suggested local restaurants to try. 

Finally, we have been travelling for the best part of 40 years or so and were starting to get a sense of "been there, done that". You have introduced a new way to travel with its new experiences which we have enjoyed. 

The extra walk we did up Mont Bastide, though not an Inntravel recommendation was a highlight for us both. It was really good to climb up out of the coastal strip and see a wider view and to enjoy a different mix of flowers and birds. Perfect to do in the relatively cool weather, in shorts and teeshirts.

The view from the hotel balcony at Villefranche of the coming and going in the harbour, yachts, the launches from the cruise ships and the fresh fish arriving at the Quay.

There were elements to everyday which brought unexpected pleasure. On our walk around Cap d’Ail from Monte Carlo we found several restaurants full of private parties on a Sunday lunchtime, but at La Pinède they squeezed us in and we had a lovely meal enjoying the families around us celebrating birthdays and First Communion together and friends greet each other moving from table to table, the waiters entering into the spirit if it all. A more expensive meal than we might have opted for, but well worth it! The food was really delicious too, and lovely views out to sea from the terrace. An excellent place to choose for a special meal. 

We loved the variety of restaurants, some just for pizza or pasta, and others a full meal, but at each of which we enjoyed the interaction with those who served us, discovering that our school day French wasn’t quite as buried as we expected. We really appreciated it when people didn’t immediately reply in their much better English! 

[Inntravel note: These customers combined our Alps to the Mediterranean walk with the Côte d'Azur walking holiday]

Generally a good holiday. We had a very nice, bit expensive, meal in L’Oursin Bleu in Villefranche. Can also recommend Le p’tit Reso in Menton which was excellent value. The fountains in Villa Rothschild were a highlight. Having walked round Cap Martin instead of getting train back to Menton we stayed on and went to Ventimiglia where we found the old town fascinating and also came upon a medieval re-enactment with drummers, flag waving and a crossbow demonstration. We also particularly liked the old town area in Nice.

A really worthwhile holiday with excellent hotels. It gives the opportunity for mix and match walking and sight-seeing/cultural visits. Our 5th holiday with Inntravel and you haven't disappointed yet.

Highlights: Menton old town, Val Rahmeh Gardens.

HIGHLIGHTS: Menton and Villefranche were a surprise and a delight. Some great walking around the coast, with wonderful hotels to come back to. Sitting on the balcony watching the world go by with a glass of wine and chilling was a real highlight. P’tit Resto in Menton was so good we went back twice. It was full of locals having a great time. La Serre and La Cave Nature - don't miss them. Sitting out under fairylights, with excellent food and wine. La Maison de Marie is worth the trip to France alone. A cosy courtyard with unbelievable fish.

Despite the misleading Slow Holiday appellation, Inntravel provides extra fast and efficient service

As usual with InnTravel, the hotels were very good and the transfers worked seemlessly. We always add extra days to our holidays as we would rather explore an area whilst we're there. We had 6 nights in Menton and 6 nights in Villefranche followed by 2 nights in Nice. One tip would be not to take too much notice of the subjective remarks in the notes about the Citadelle in Villefrance and Castle Hill in Nice. We found them both much more interesting than we were led to believe. Similarly, we were not that interested in wealth of Monaco, but rather the historical aspects. Another tip would be to visit Monaco from Menton rather than Villefranche, unless you are sure it isn't a cruise ship day. We attempted to go from Villfranche and found the train station absolutley mobbed on both platforms plus about a 100 people queuing at the ticket office. Thankfully, with our extra days, we were able to delay our visit until the following day. Cruise ship day was a nightmare in Villefranche, so I'd recommend walking back to Beaulieu-Sur-Mer (only half an hour if you walk there directly), where there are plenty of shops and restaurants and some nice sandy beaches. We found the food in Menton, Villfranche and Nice disappointing on the whole, although we did have some good meals. The menus were all very similar: pizza and pasta, steak tartare, carpaccio of beef, veal. We didn't try the recommended restaurants in the old town of Nice and couldn't find the one reound the corner from the hotel, so we just went to the touristy bit in the centre which was a huge mistake. Our two meals were very expensive and poor quality (e.g. tinned soup, frozen chips). So I would recommend checking out the recommended restaurants on Trip Advisor first. On footwear - trainers are fine, however I would not recommend sandals unless in town, as a few sections were rough underfoot and wearing sandals definitely slowed me down.

All in all a good holiday though and lovely hotels.

A good walk, easily adaptable to extend or shorten the route using the excellent public transport. For example, the detour up to the medieval village of Rocquebrune-Cap-Martin was a bonus. We also walked up to Fort Alban from Villefranche to get stunning views of Nice. One highlight was the abundance of wild freesias. 

Highlights include the walks, stunning scenery, food and sunshine.  There are good restaurants in Rue  Massena in Nice that are close to Hotel Villa Victoria, for example 'Rina'.  The tiny 'restaurant' on Cabbé beach serves great lunches.  The restaurants in Saint Jean village are also good for lunch.  In Villefranche, La Belle Etoille serves excellent meals; definitely worth dining at.  The walk from Beaulieu to Villefranche is brilliant.  On the walk from Villefranche to Nice there are many steps; those back down to the coastal path after the road section are steep and not pleasant.  Overall, excellent walks! 

Great coastal walks, weather was beautiful. Hiking boots definitely not needed although there were a lot of steps on some walks.

This was our fourth Inntravel holiday and was less challenging walking - perfect for the location. Highlights - old town in Menton, view from Cap Martin across to Monaco, walk from Beaulieu sur Mer to Villefranche. The hotels were all perfect - locations fantastic. Will definitely return to the area and repeat the Cap Ferrat walks.

I think it is an excellent holiday because it is so varied with beautiful walks, old towns to explore, interesting museums/gardens and plenty of time to sit and watch the world go by or lie on the beach and go for a swim if that's what you want. It is so flexible. We went onto Antibes for a day from Nice and it did strike me that a good 3 centre holiday would be Menton, Villefranche and Antibes. It is so easy to get a bus or train into Nice for the museums but lovely to stay in the smaller towns.

I loved Villefranche and we were lucky because there was the festival of the sailing boats so every day there was a spectacle of parading sailing ships while breakfasting or walking along the coastal paths. It was fabulous and fun to watch the crews all getting the ropes and tackle ready to sail. Even all the primary school children came down to see and sit in the ships.

Lovely coastal walks each allowing time to stop at beaches to swim and relax.

We very much enjoyed our visit to the Villa et Jardins Ephrussi de Rothschild at Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. The gardens and ornamental fountains were lovely as was tea on the terrace.

The stay in Le Petit Port at Villefranche was magical.

We recommend visiting the Rothschild villa on a separate day rather than at the end of a walk, so as not to be too hot or tired to enjoy it properly. This is a perfect holiday for those of us who are starting to struggle with the higher grade walking holidays, we thoroughly enjoyed it. 

A highlight of our stay in Calvi was an evening boat trip to the Scandola Reserve (a UNESCO world heritage site), with Calvi-Evasion www.calvi-evasion.com. The trip was 4 hours in duration and included the option of snorkelling from the boat in a quiet cove. The company operating the trip use small boats holding 9 or 12 people, the skippers are local fishermen,who use their skills to manoeuvre the craft right into the caves. On our return to Calvi, as the sun was setting, we encountered a pod of dolphins, which the skipper tracked for an extra 30 minutes until the light had faded, a truly unforgettable experience!!!

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined The Côte d’Azur with Contrasts of Corsica