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Contrasts of the French Riviera

The two faces of the Côte d'Azur
 
Your self-guided walking holiday takes you soaring above the French Riviera, to hidden villages perched atop rocky crags, lost in time, and with far-reaching views. Your luggage is transferred ahead as you walk down to the azure coastline, and to Menton, its most scenic town.
Contrasts of the French Riviera. 4 nights
+44 (0)1653 617001 Call now
Contrasts of the French Riviera. 4 nights
+44 (0)1653 617001 Call now
 

Holiday information

 

A walking holiday on the French Riviera

Near the Italian border the Alps crash mightily into the sea; behind the coast, the mountains harbour villages lost in time, hidden from the bustling Côte d'Azur. You start in one of those mountain villages – Sainte Agnès – perched impossibly atop its granite pinnacle, yet as the crow flies only a stone's throw from the waters. The cobbled village streets are lined with medieval buildings and meander under vaulted passageways, all under the watchful eye of castle ruins. Explore ancient paths leading to local summits, with 360-degree views: to the north the snow-capped Alps; to the south the Côte d'Azur glistening under the Mediterranean sun; to the east, beyond the border, the first Italian villages and beyond; and to the west Monaco's tall buildings and modern lines, nestled under vertical cliffs. 
Your onwards walk to your second hotel winds past hill-top villages, before centuries-old paths lead you right down to the Mediterranean, and to your seaside hotel in Menton. Arguably the prettiest town of the French Riviera, Menton is a place to discover at leisure, with a colourful labyrinth of narrow streets, cafés and restaurants, a beautiful covered market, and endless beaches.   


 
 
Gallery
 

Itinerary

The key to Inntravel holidays is flexibility. You can start on the day of your choice, and are free to add extra nights.
  • The average maximum daytime temperatures and monthly rainfall relate to the nearest weather station and are intended as a guide only.
    Average temperatures and rainfall
      Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
    °C 11 11 13 15 19 22 26 26 23 19 14 12
    mm 77 79 74 66 61 46 22 43 65 104 101 78
  • Arrival in Sainte Agnès
    Night 1: at Saint Yves (the first of two nights here).
    As your first night’s accommodation is on the day of travel, Day 1 is your first day of walking.
  • Circular route via Pointe de Siricocca: 11km, 4hrs; ascent/descent 530m
    Pleasant trails explore the verdant and steep valleys north of Sainte Agnès, affording views of the village itself, sitting precariously atop its rocky spire. You circumnavigate the slopes of Pointe de Siricocca, and climb to its very summit, complete with a grassy platform, the perfect picnic spot from which to admire the 360-degree panorama of both sea and Alps.
    Sainte Agnès circular via Pointe de Siricocca
    Circular route via Pointe de Siricocca: 11km
  • Sainte Agnès to Menton: 12.5km, 4.5hrs; ascent 340m/descent 1000m
    With two idyllic villages to visit en route, we recommend a prompt start today. Climbing above the village of Sainte Agnès, you're rewarded with spectacular sea views, before a long descent through a lush valley to the medieval village of Gorbio. Explore its narrow streets and ancient houses, and perhaps enjoy a meal on the scenic terrace of one of the two village restaurants. You continue along a stunning ridgeline, where sea views span from the Italian border westward to Monaco. You descend to the medieval village of Roquebrune, with its colourful buildings and endless series of winding steps and vaulted passageways; they lead you right down to the Mediterranean Sea, where you enter the Riviera town of Menton, your base for the next two nights.
    Sainte Agnès to Menton
    Sainte Agnès to Menton: 12.5km
  • Choice of walks from Menton: 10.5km to 16km

    Circular route via Castellar: 16km, 5hrs; ascent/descent 500m
    You start by heading eastward along the beachfront promenade. Within a stone's throw of Italy, you begin a steep climb along a series of steps and paths. Your efforts are rewarded at the top with awe-inspiring coastal views. You wind gently down to the sleepy village of Castellar, just three narrow lanes linked by arched passageways, and from here head back to Menton, arriving above the Old Town, and strolling down its picturesque streets.  

    Circular walk via Cap Martin: 10.5km, 3.5hrs; shorter option returning by train: 7.5km, 2.5hrs
    Follow the scenic coastal path around Cap Martin to the beaches of Pointe de Cabbé. Either return on foot across the headland, or join a guided tour of the Modernist architecture of Cabbé, including Le Corbusier's cabin, and return by train (pay locally).

    Menton town trail
    Follow our town trail, during which you can stop for lunch at one of several shady squares. First, pause to admire pretty gardens, an art museum and a Russian church close to your hotel before continuing into Menton itself where you will find the picturesque squares and colourful markets. Then ascend through Vieux Menton (the old town) itself, perhaps visiting the Baroque churches that dominate the skyline, before winding through narrow streets to an atmospheric, hill-top cemetery. Here there is a faded Russian Orthodox mausoleum and the graves of various well-known British former residents (William Webb Ellis, the ‘inventor’ of rugby, is one such occupant). From here, descend via botanical gardens to reach the Jean Cocteau museum, housed in the bastion and former custom house, before taking time to explore Menton’s many shops and to stroll along its pleasant, sea-front promenade.

     
    Looking down on Menton
    Circular route via Castellar: 16km
    Menton
    Circular route via Cap Martin: 10.5km
    Visit the botanical gardens in Menton
 

Accommodation

There is a real contrast between your two bases: one simple high-mountain walker’s inn followed by a high-quality, sea-facing hotel, where we include a room with a sea view.
 

Extend your stay

 
Prices & travel options
All prices are in £ sterling (GBP). If you'd like to see what they equate to in your currency, use the converter. For general information on pricing, see the 'your holiday price explained' page.
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  • 4 nights: 15 April 2023 - 30 June 2023, 01 September 2023 - 31 October 2023, 15 April 2024 - 30 June 2024 & 01 September 2024 - 31 October 2024

    Start any day* | End by latest date(s) shown above

    Starting Price Single room
    15 - 30 Apr 2023 £705 £195
    1 - 19 May 2023 £765 £240
    20 - 26 May 2023 not available not available
    27 May - 30 Jun 2023 £765 £240
    1 - 8 Sep 2023 £765 £240
    9 - 15 Sep 2023 not available not available
    16 - 23 Sep 2023 £765 £240
    24 - 28 Sep 2023 not available not available
    29 - 30 Sep 2023 £765 £240
    1 - 27 Oct 2023 £705 £195
    15 - 30 Apr 2024 £780 £215
    1 - 19 May 2024 £845 £265
    20 - 26 May 2024 not available not available
    27 May - 30 Jun 2024 £845 £265
    1 - 8 Sep 2024 £845 £265
    9 - 15 Sep 2024 not available not available
    16 - 23 Sep 2024 £845 £265
    24 - 28 Sep 2024 not available not available
    29 - 30 Sep 2024 £845 £265
    1 - 27 Oct 2024 £780 £215
    3rd & 4th person discount -£150 to -£165
    Single traveller supplement £150 to £165

    Includes accommodation, meals and services integral to the holiday as described, plus walking notes and maps, but no travel from the UK, nor any connecting travel from the airport unless stated below.

    *NB some dates not available due to Monaco Grand Prix and annual Yacht Show

    Included travel: transfer from/to Nice airport (see Connecting Travel below)

    Book your flights through us and we'll find the best route and times to suit you. Please contact us to find out more about our flight booking service. We can also book connecting travel - see below.

  • Room upgrades (£ per person per night)

    Hotel Prince de Galles, Menton
    Sea view & balcony: 15 Apr - 30 Jun 2023 £18
    Sea view & balcony: 01 Sep - 31 Oct 2023 £18
    Sea view & balcony: 15 Apr - 30 Jun 2024 £20
    Sea view & balcony: 01 Sep - 31 Oct 2024 £20

    Extra nights (£ per person per night) in a double or single room

    Hotel Prince de Galles, Menton (B&B) Double room Single room
    15 Apr - 31 May 2023 £104 £192
    01 Jun - 30 Jun 2023 £116 £220
    01 Sep - 01 Oct 2023 £116 £220
    02 Oct - 31 Oct 2023 £88 £160
    15 Apr - 31 May 2024 £114 £211
    01 Jun - 30 Jun 2024 £128 £242
    01 Sep - 01 Oct 2024 £128 £242
    02 Oct - 31 Oct 2024 £97 £176
  • RECOMMENDED AIRPORT(S):
    Nice

    Travelling from the UK

    Travelling from outside the UK

    If you are flying from outside Europe,  we recommend flying via Nice. To discuss onward connecting travel to the start of your holiday, please contact us.

    Travelling from outside the UK
    We have many years' experience catering for customers who live outside the UK, and will be happy to make tailored arrangements to fit with your plans.

    You have two options:

    1) Book your own flights to London, from where we can book flights and onward connecting travel to your hotel.

    2) Book your own flights direct to an airport appropriate to your chosen holiday. You can either make your own way from the airport to the hotel, or we'll be happy to book onward connecting travel for you. Please consult with us before booking your flights, so that we can advise you on the suitability of your proposed route and timings.
    Outward route Airline
    Belfast Intl. - Nice easyJet,  jet2 
    Outward route Airline
    Birmingham - Nice jet2 
    Birmingham - Nice (via Paris) Air France 
    Outward route Airline
    Bristol - Nice easyJet 
    Outward route Airline
    Edinburgh - Nice easyJet 
    Edinburgh - Nice (via Paris) Air France 
    Outward route Airline
    Glasgow - Nice (via Amsterdam Schiphol) KLM 
    Outward route Airline
    Leeds Bradford - Nice jet2 
    Outward route Airline
    Liverpool - Nice easyJet 
    Outward route Airline
    London City - Nice British Airways 
    Outward route Airline
    Gatwick - Nice British Airways,  easyJet 
    Outward route Airline
    Heathrow - Nice British Airways 
    Heathrow - Nice (via Paris) Air France 
    Outward route Airline
    Luton - Nice easyJet 
    Outward route Airline
    Stansted - Nice Ryanair 
    Stansted - Nice easyJet,  jet2 
    Outward route Airline
    Manchester - Nice British Airways,  easyJet,  jet2 
    Manchester - Nice (via Paris) Air France 
    Outward route Airline
    Newcastle - Nice easyJet 
    Newcastle - Nice (via Paris) Air France 
    Outward route Airline
    Norwich - Nice (via Amsterdam Schiphol) KLM 
    Outward route Airline
    Southampton - Nice (via Paris) Air France 
    Outward route Airline
    Teesside International - Nice (via Amsterdam Schiphol) KLM 
    Travelling from outside the UK

    If you are flying from outside Europe,  we recommend flying via Nice. To discuss onward connecting travel to the start of your holiday, please contact us.

    This list of flight options should be used as a guide only, and you should check each airline’s website for current routes, frequency and schedules. Not all flights operate daily, and may not run for the entire season. You should also heed the latest flight arrival time and earliest flight departure time stated in the connecting travel section, as it may not be possible to arrange connecting travel outside these times. Please do not book your flights until we have confirmed your accommodation to you. Alternatively, our expert reservations team will be happy to offer advice and to make flight bookings for you for any of the options listed above. We charge £35 per person for our flight booking service. Your flights are then covered by our package-booking conditions, which give you greater protection in the event of delay or cancellation, as well as providing ATOL cover.

  • Prices below are based on 2 people travelling together. If you are travelling solo or as a party of 3 or more and our arrangements include a taxi, please contact us for prices; additional passengers often pay less.

    Unless otherwise stated, connecting travel by rail or bus tends to be from the city centre station, rather than from its airport, and connections between the two should be paid for locally.

    Where a price range is given, the price you pay depends on your date of travel.

    Connecting travel options - flying via Nice

    Outward route Price per person Latest flight
    arrival time
    airport bus Nice airport to Menton (1h15), taxi Menton to hotel (0h30) £22-£24 reduction 1600
    direct taxi Nice airport to hotel (1h) included flexible
    Homeward route Price per person Earliest flight
    departure time
    direct taxi hotel to Nice airport (1h15) included flexible
    airport bus Menton to Nice airport (1h15) £44-£48 reduction 1030
What is included
  • 4 nights
  • 2 dinners
    4 breakfasts
  • luggage transported
  • route notes and maps
  • GPS navigation
  • transfers from/to Nice airport
 
Reviews

If you've experienced this holiday first hand, why not write a review?

We are keen for as many customers as possible to review their holiday. To make it easier to do so, we include a specific review section on our post-holiday questionnaire, and this is what we publish here, unedited. Read our full review policy >

All 6 reviews
  • Mr D Walker
    Norway
    28 June 2023

    As usual another great holiday with Inntravel. The contrast between basic mountain hotel with great food and a comfortable seafront hotel works really nicely. We had two great mountain walks and then a variety of more gentle walks in and around Menton , with some good swimming. We had an extra day in Menton which is to be recommended. We would also recommend the restaurant Madame Bleue in Roquebrune Cap Martin a ten minute walk from the hotel in Menton. Excellent food and service.

  • Mrs C Furley
    New Zealand
    28 May 2023

    Very good experience. Highlight was time in Menton, to which we added extra days to see more of the coast (taking day trips to Monaco, Nice).

  • Ms C Pickering
    Australia
    04 May 2023

    We particularly enjoyed being in the mountains at Saint Agnes.

  • Ms C Faust
    USA
    24 October 2022

    The scenery was beautiful, and the accommodations quite charming on the first half of this trip.

  • Simon Fleming
    14 October 2022

    Walks not the best. Day 1 walk excellent. Day 2 difficult as downhill virtually the whole time with many rocks and progress much slower than your indicated times. The final day walks were weak. One was a tour of Menton which does not really rate as a hike at all in our view. We stayed another day and did another walk B or C from memory which ended up on a disgusting beach. It should have finished at the previous beach OR gone further towards Monaco. In summary everything good EXCEPT for the quality/enjoyment of the walks

     

  • Anon
    24 June 2022

    A lovely area to explore and we would like to return.
 

FAQs

If you have any questions relating to this or any other Inntravel holiday, our friendly travel experts will be happy to help. You might also find our General FAQs section helpful.
  • We’ll send you route notes and maps 2-3 weeks before your holiday. The route notes not only contain directions to get from A to B, but also include practical information about places of interest and eateries along each route, plus cultural information about the area. If/when you are moving between hotels, you leave your luggage in reception as you leave, and it will be transferred ahead to your next accommodation, meaning that all you need to take with you are a camera, sun cream, drinks, food and waterproofs.

    For more detailed information, see our walking holidays in Europe page.
  • We can book a wide range of routes from the UK with a variety of airlines. As well as being more convenient for you to book all elements of your holiday together, it also means that we’ll accept liability for your travel arrangements, so if things go wrong, such as the airline going bust, we’ll make suitable alternative arrangements for you. The fee for this service is £35 per person (£15 for children aged 2-11). More information on flights >
  • We can’t book flights that originate outside the UK, but if you wanted to book your own flights to London (or elsewhere in the UK), we can make all onward travel arrangements (including flights) from there. Alternatively, if you are booking your own flights to an airport in continental Europe that’s appropriate for your holiday, we can book onward rail travel and/or taxis. More information about how we can tailor holidays for customers outside the UK >
  • Since our holidays are self-guided, we recommend calling us for a chat about your plans before making a booking, especially if it’s the first time you’ve booked with us.
    The price panel shows the supplement for a single room and also the single traveller charge (this covers (luggage) transfers and other costs which are usually shared between two people).
  • Once you’ve decided on your exact itinerary (our travel experts will be happy to offer advice), you need to provide us with your party’s details, either by phone or via our booking form. At this point we also ask you to pay a deposit so that we can secure a room for you immediately on confirming availability with the hotel(s). If it turns out that we can’t secure the accommodation for the holiday you’ve requested, or offer an acceptable alternative, we’ll refund your deposit promptly and in full. After booking your accommodation and other key elements, we'll then book your travel (or you can do so if you’re making your own arrangements) and send you a Booking Confirmation and Invoice.

    More information about the booking process >
    Information about accommodation, general practicalities and more >
    Booking conditions >
  • Yes, it’s something we insist on, even for holidays in the UK. The vast majority of holidays go smoothly, but when things go wrong, it can be expensive to put them right. Buying a new pair of walking boots after your suitcase is stolen mightn’t seem so bad, but the bill for being airlifted down from a mountain with a broken leg or flown home while still recovering from an illness or accident can incur a five or six-figure bill.

    Many insurers offer travel insurance (you can find details on our insurance page of a policy that you may like to consider if you are a UK resident), but you do need to make sure that you’re covered for medical emergencies – including falling ill with Covid-19 while on holiday – and repatriation. We also recommend that you are covered for other eventualities, such as cancellation and loss of luggage and passports.

    When you purchase a policy, be sure to check that it covers the activities you'll be doing on holiday and that it is adequate for your own individual needs.
  • It is your responsibility to ensure you are in possession of the correct travel documents, with the correct validity. If you’re a UK citizen, you need a full British passport to travel to France, but not a visa (please note, however, that a new travel authorisation system is being introduced). If you are a citizen of another country, you’ll need to check requirements with the national embassy or your own consulate.

    Current information regarding vaccinations and travel health advice for UK citizens can be found through the Travel Health Pro website. You must make sure you have adequate insurance cover for illness, accidents and repatriation (see the insurance question). You should also apply for a Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) if your EHIC has expired (if you have a still-valid EHIC, you can use this until it expires).
  • The official language is French. The currency is the Euro. French time is GMT/UTC + 1. It uses Daylight Saving Time, so in summer is on BST + 1.
  • For information on the practicalities of travel now that the UK is no longer part of the European Union, visit www.gov.uk/visit-eu-switzerland-norway-iceland-liechtenstein.
  • The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) provides up-to-date, country-by-country travel advice, as well as information on security, local laws, passports and visas for UK citizens.

    If you live outside the UK, see our essential travel information page for a list of relevant websites.
  • You are the best judge of your child’s/children’s capabilities. We are happy to take bookings for families of older children/teenagers if they walk regularly, love the outdoors and are comfortable with the distances and ascent/descent involved. Please note that the bedrooms at most of the accommodation we use will normally only sleep a maximum of 3 people, and sometimes only 2.
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