Two Weeks in the South of France: An Itinerary

Last summer we embarked on a two week adventure, taking all four of our children on vacation in the South of France.

I grew up with family who all lived in the area and spent many summers and holidays in this region. It has always felt like a second home to me and even dream of one day owning a home here. Will is American born and breed through and through and has never left the US. So being able to take him to France has always been on our list of things to do before we turned 40.

We were originally planning to go in the spring of 2020 but we were halted on account of the global pandemic. Then the spring of 2021 brought us the birth of the twins. So finally in the year 2022 we made it a reality, but with a new travel plan since now we had a 6 year old, a 3 year old, and two lap infants in tow. Will has never been to France (or anywhere in Europe for that matter) so we wanted to see as much as possible in the short amount of time we were there. Here is a quick rundown of our itinerary, a look at all the places and towns we visited, and a list of the places we didn’t make it to but wished we had.

DAY TWO: GASSIN FRANCE

Day one was our travel day and we felt from Charleston to JFK and landed in Nice in the afternoon. We picked up the rental car and drove 1.5 hours down to La Croix Valmer where my uncle lives. We spent the rest of the day unpacking, swimming in the pool, and getting settled in.

On day two, we decided to ignore jet lag and get straight into France’s time zone so we headed out to the nearby town of Gassin to explore the tiny streets and grab lunch. Gassin in small, so small that the world’s most narrow street, L’Androuno, is located here. We explored the streets and let the kids run around before grabbing lunch at Le Vieux Gassin. More photos of Gassin can be found in this post.

DAY THREE: A DRIVE ALONG THE COAST TO NICE

On the third day we decided to explore the city of Nice. We foolishly decided to drive along the coast instead of taking the interstate and it ended up taking over 4 hours instead of the 1.5 it would of taken us if we drove direct. The only plus side to taking the coastal road was we were able to stop at Saint-Raphael and spend some time people watching, riding the two story carousel, and grabbing sandwiches at a beach side cafe. But otherwise the views of the Mediterranean Sea are the same from this highway as they are from the top of Gassin where we just were yesterday, so I would definitely recommend heading straight to Nice next time so you can spend more time exploring the city and less time in the car in summer time traffic.

Once we arrived in Nice we walked through the Old Town – the historic part of Nice that feels like a medieval village with narrow streets curving between old buildings. We visited the flower market on Cours Saleya between Place Massena and Vieux Nice, walked along Promenade des Anglais– a long promenade in the city of Nice with beautiful blue Mediterranean Sea, ate gelato in Place Rossetto, and chased pigeons through Place Garibaldi. We ran out of time and did not get to hike to Castle Hill or Parc du Mont Boron but both are know for being beautiful parks in the city with gorgeous views. There is so much more to do in Nice so you could do an entire week here. But it is definitely more of a large city vibe vs being a small town or village so keep that in mind when planning your trip.

DAY FOUR: GRIMAUD

Grimaud was the town I was most excited to visit. Known as the “Bougainvillea capital of France” even at the end of the season it was impossible to not find the bougainvillea on every twist and turn. We attempted, the best we could, to visit each town on their market days. Grimaud’s market day is Thursday held in Place de l’Eglise and was filled with so many beautiful fabrics and linens. We spent about two hours walking the villages, seeing there shops, the market, and of course all the flowers. Afterwards we had a wonderful lunch on the patio at Cafe de France. After lunch we hiked to the top of the Chateau de Grimaud and ended the day by driving down to Port Grimaud, which is a totally different atmosphere but a fun spot to walk around and see the boats.

DAY FIVE: SAINT TROPEZ

Saint-Tropez is known for being very glitz and glam but there is still so much to see and do as a family. Only 30 minutes from our uncle’s home we were able to get their in the morning and walk along the Old Port at All. du Quai de l’Epi and gawk at the views over the sea, all the stunning yachts and boats, and pastel-colored mansions. Next we walking along the old quarter of La Ponche and grabbed croissants for all and skipped rocks on the small pebbled beach in La Ponche. Half of our crew decided to hike to the top of the old Citadel of Saint-Tropez for another view of the sea and the city while the twins and I walked to buy postcards and a chai tea. There was no market on this day but we did to back another day. It is in Place des Lices which is also a good place to grab lunch and let the kids ride on the carousel. Saint-Tropez’s market was my favorite so if you have to pick just one, I would start here.

DAY SIX: SAINT-PAUL-DE-VENCE

By far my most favorite town we visited, Saint Paul de Vence feels like you are being transformed back in time. It’s another of the perched villages with medieval walls and ramparts surrounding the entire city. One of the things that we did here was walk along the top of the ramparts for the best view of the villages and countryside below. Saint Paul de Vence is also known since the 1920s as being a city for artist to gather for inspiration. We visited the home of famous French poet Jacques Prévert at 7 Rue de L’Aleé which we found out is now a rental. The famers market is small but beautiful and held Wednesday and Friday mornings at Place du Jeu de Boules. We walked and looked at the artwork in the village. More photos and info about this Saint Paul de Vence can be found in this post.

Day 7: LA GARDE-FREINET

This town is usually not on the radar for many but this is the town that my mother grew up and we still have family who reside her. We had plans to have lunch with my cousins on Saturday and a typical French lunch goes for 3+ with multiple courses and time to digest in between. In the morning, we went into the town for their farmers market and to walk around the side streets that I still remembered from my childhood. There are not as many shops and restaurants here so definitely come on market days to get the best experience. We watched the locals playing bocce and then drove up the mountain for a quick walk over to La Croix des Maures which is beautiful to see but also gives a beautiful 360 view of the village and houses below.

Day 8: MONACO

We started the morning early at Oceanographic Museum of Monaco. It was very crowded despite getting there early and the highlight for both the kids and adults was actually not in the museum but instead was the rooftop playground overlooking the sea. Another pro is we were able to easily find parking at Parking du Chemin des Pêcheurs parking garage which is connected to the aquarium. Afterwards we had a picnic lunch at the Jardins de Saint Martin with beautiful views of the water. Afterwards we continued through the park to see the statue of Prince Albert followed by more views of the water overlooking the Port de Fontvieille at Rle Sainte Barbe. From there you can wake over to the Prince’s Palace and see the changing of the guards. You can also head from there to Saint Nicholas Cathedral, a beautiful cathedral which has Princess Grace’s grave.

Day 9: Menton

We originally had this saved as an entire separate day but due to its proximity to Monaco we decided to head here in afterwards and make an afternoon of it. I do, however, think Menton needs more time than just an afternoon as this was such a beautiful town with so much to see and do. We had a little traffic getting out of Monaco (which is not uncommon) but still only about a 20 minutes drive. Menton is known as “the pearl’ of the Riviera” and is a less publicized destination but so beautiful. It’s the last town before you hit the boarder into Italy and in my opinion he kind of has an Italy meets France vibe. The town was calm and quiet when we arrived after lunch and we easily found a metered parking spot at Old Town Parking at Pl. Fontana. We walked around the old quarter and gawked at the beautifully colorful buildings. After getting snacks for me and the kids and coffee for Will, we walked along the plage des Sablettes. Then we walked out along the Quai Impératrice Eugénie for the new view of the city and beach with the 16 imposing arches of the Quai Napoleon. A local told us Menton comes alive at night so if we ever find ourselves back here and we have an adequate babysitter for the kids, I would love to come back in the evening!

Day 10: RAMATUELLE

The best bucket of mussels I have ever had in my life was at a small restaurant in Ramatuelle called Le Cigalon by Cafe Valmer. 14 euros for the biggest bowl I have ever had, so big that even the kids were digging in and eating their weight in moules! After a delightful lunch we walked around the village garden where it feels as if all the home owners in the village have gathered together to make the streets collectively feel like one big garden. Ramatuelle is very small, similar to La Garde Freinet so I would not go out of my way to visit but if you are close by it is worth a stop. Even if it’s just for those mussels!

Day 11: beach day in La Croix Valmer

This was not originally on my itinerary but our uncle really wanted to take us to lunch and the beach for our last day and I am so glad we did. You can’t come to the French Riviera without spending a day swimming in the Mediterranean. There are tons of beaches along this coast, some more well know than others. We ventured out to Place De Gigaro the evening before for a night swim which had easy street parking. The next day we went to have lunch beach side at Le Filao Plage for another amazing meal and then played on the beach right in front of the restaurant.

If you are ever in this area and want to stay at a hotel in the cote d’azur I would recommend La Pinede Plage. We visited a few times when I was growing up and I have so many fun memories of this place. It’s family friendly but also would make a great honeymoon or couples trip.

Where Else?

A few places we did not make it to are Cannes, Antibes, Eze Village, Gorges du Verdon, Villefranche Sur Mer, Pon du Gard. This was purely due to time constraints and wanting to make sure we didn’t force ourselves to do too much in one given day. I also really wanted to venture more inland to see more of the Provence region. The lavender fields were already past bloom so that helped us decide the stay on the coast for this trip. But there is always next time!!