A little local perspective
Worth knowing.
Worth going.
- Destination
- Nice and the French Riviera
- The selection
- 12 hotels
- Your kind of trip
- couples · beach · food · special occasion
$$$ to $$$$ — roughly 350-1,500 euros a night, peaking in July and August
The Baie des Anges is a seven-kilometre curve of coast with Nice at the centre of it, and it faces almost due south. That single fact explains most of what people like about this coast and it should decide where you book.
South-facing means sun on the water from mid-morning until it goes down behind the Estérel hills to the west, which is why the light here has been the reason painters came since the 1880s. It also means a sea-facing room gets the whole day rather than a slice of morning, and it means the Promenade des Anglais, which runs the length of the bay, is usable from breakfast until late.
Nice, or one of the small places
The Riviera divides into three and the choice is genuinely open.
Nice itself is a working city of 350,000 with an old town, a market, an airport at the end of the promenade and the best food on the coast. It has hotels at every level and it is the only place here that is not seasonal.
The cap peninsulas east, Cap-Ferrat, Villefranche and Beaulieu, are ten to twenty minutes away and are where the coast is at its most beautiful and most expensive. Small, quiet, and dependent on a car or the coastal train.
Cannes and Antibes west, thirty to forty minutes, are the film-festival and yacht end. Bigger beaches, bigger hotels, more scene.
Monaco is twenty-five minutes east and is a separate country and a separate proposition.
The twelve below are grouped that way.
Nice, on the Promenade des Anglais
Facing the bay, with the old town and the market behind.
Hotel Negresco is the pink-domed 1912 landmark on the promenade, filled with an art collection that runs from Louis XIII furniture to a Niki de Saint Phalle, and it is the most recognisable building on the French coast. Ask for a sea-facing room; the rear rooms are ordinary.
Hyatt Regency Nice Palais de la Méditerranée occupies a restored art deco building on the promenade with a rooftop pool over the bay and rooms facing the water. It is the most comfortable modern hotel in Nice.
Anantara Plaza Nice Hotel sits at the eastern end of the promenade in a restored belle époque building with a rooftop pool, a spa and the best position for both the old town and the beach.
Hotel La Perouse Nice occupies a building beneath the castle hill with a terraced garden, a small pool and the quietest position in central Nice. It is the value pick with a view.
Le Meridien Nice sits on the promenade with a rooftop pool and reliable rooms at a rate below the landmarks. It is the practical family choice on the bay.
The cap peninsulas
Ten to twenty minutes east. Pine trees, rock coves, and the most expensive stretch of coast in Europe.
Grand-Hotel du Cap-Ferrat, A Four Seasons Hotel occupies the tip of the Cap-Ferrat peninsula in seventeen acres of gardens, with a pool cut into the rock above the sea and a funicular down to it. It is the best hotel on the Riviera.
La Reserve de Beaulieu sits on the Beaulieu waterfront in a Renaissance-style palazzo with a seawater pool and a level of formality that is now rare. It is the most old-fashioned in the best sense.
Royal Riviera occupies a position between Beaulieu and Cap-Ferrat with gardens running to the water, a heated pool and views along the coast. It is the quieter alternative to its two neighbours.
Cannes and Antibes
Thirty to forty minutes west, along the Croisette and the Cap d'Antibes.
Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc sits at the tip of Cap d'Antibes in twenty-two acres of pines with a pool blasted into the cliff, and it is the most exclusive hotel on the coast. It famously operates its own way and is worth understanding before booking.
Hotel Carlton Nice occupies the 1911 landmark on the Croisette in Cannes with a private beach, a courtyard and the best-known terrace on the coast.
Hotel Martinez sits along the Croisette with a large private beach, a rooftop restaurant and the biggest rooms in Cannes.
Monaco
Hotel de Paris Monte-Carlo faces the casino across the square in Monte-Carlo, with a wine cellar of extraordinary size in the rock beneath it and a level of theatre that suits the principality. It is a country away and twenty-five minutes by train.
What we have left off
The hotels along the inland side of the Nice promenade are excluded, and they are frequently half the price with the same distance to the beach. They face a six-lane road rather than the sea, and on this coast the direction the window faces is the product.
What to do
Walk the promenade at either end of the day. Cours Saleya market in Nice in the morning for produce and flowers, and socca eaten standing up.
Take the coastal train. It runs from Cannes to Ventimiglia stopping at Antibes, Nice, Villefranche, Beaulieu, Monaco and Menton, it costs a few euros, and it has the best views of any commuter line in Europe.
Go up. Èze village on its rock, the Grande Corniche road, and the Chagall and Matisse museums in the Cimiez hills above Nice.
Swim from the rocks rather than the beaches. Nice's beach is pebbles and the coves around Villefranche and Cap-Ferrat are better.
Practical notes
Nice airport sits at the western end of the promenade, seven minutes from the centre by tram, which is the shortest airport-to-city distance in Europe.
May, June and September are ideal. July and August are hot, full and expensive. The Cannes film festival in May and the Monaco Grand Prix take rates across the whole coast to extreme levels for their weeks.
Most of the coast is doable by train and bus. A car is useful for the hill villages and a liability in Nice.
Explore 4 & 5 Star French Riviera Hotels
Prices shown are sample rates from upcoming dates — not quotes for specific dates. Open a hotel and choose your own dates and guests to see the exact price.
Questions people actually ask
Nice or one of the small towns?
Nice for a first visit: it works year round, has the food and the airport, and everything else is a train ride. The caps for a second, when you want quiet.
Is a sea-view room worth it?
On a south-facing bay, yes. It is the difference between a room with light all day and a room facing a road.
Are the beaches good?
Nice's are pebbles. Antibes and the caps have better swimming. Nobody comes here primarily for the sand.
How many nights?
Five. Three in Nice and two along the coast, or use Nice as a base for all of it.
