Visiting the south of France has been on my bucket list since I was a child. Hearing stories from my mum about soaking up the sun on a beach in Nice, enjoying the beauty of Monaco’s coastline, and browsing the boutiques of Cannes made me so excited to visit one day.
We decided to stay for a week to celebrate both my birthday and our one-year anniversary. In my opinion, a week is the minimum you should spend here—there are so many beautiful places to explore.
We based ourselves in Nice and took day trips to surrounding villages and cities. It was the cheapest city to fly into from Gatwick Airport in London, and we found a perfect Airbnb with a balcony just outside the city centre.
Nice
After landing, we headed straight to our Airbnb for a quick nap—which quickly turned into a full night’s sleep! Our accommodation was ideal: a top-floor studio with a balcony, about a three-minute walk from the tram stop and 40 minutes from the centre of Nice.
The next morning, we went into the Old Town to explore. Naturally, our first stop was gelato before heading to Nice Cathedral. We then wandered through Cours Saleya market and strolled along the Promenade des Anglais.
Phoenix Park wasn’t even on my original plan, but it turned out to be a gem—home to thousands of plants and flowers, flamingos, alligators, otters, lemurs, monkeys, and parrots.
Afterwards, we visited the Matisse Museum and the nearby Cimiez Gardens. I particularly enjoyed the pieces where Matisse drew inspiration from legend, folklore, and ancient history—especially his mermaid works.
Antibes
The next day we took the train—just 20 minutes from Nice—to Antibes, a beautiful coastal town.
Our first stop was the Picasso Museum. The queue looked huge but moved quickly, and we were inside within 15 minutes. Personally, I found it a little underwhelming. I had expected it to be entirely Picasso’s work, but only part of the museum is dedicated to him. While I enjoyed those pieces, the ticket price of around €12 felt a little steep given the very limited Picasso collection.
We spent the rest of the day exploring the town—wandering through the Provençal Market, walking along the old ramparts, and visiting Antibes Cathedral. We stopped at Place de la Gravette, but it was far too busy for our liking.
Villefranche-sur-mer
On my birthday, we travelled east along the coast to Villefranche-sur-Mer, a charming seaside village. We visited the harbour, wandered along Rue Obscure, explored the Old Town, and had our first swim in the French sea at Plage des Marinières.
If you’ve seen the 2010 romcom/action film Killers starring Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl, you might recognise the scenery—the “Nice” scenes in the film were actually shot here. This includes a scene at a restaurant along the promenade (now closed) and various parts of the Old Town. As a fan of the film, it was a fun connection.
We ended the day with dinner at a local restaurant—a perfect birthday.
