French Riviera Road Trip: The Perfect Route to the Most Beautiful Places

The perfect route for your French Riviera road trip

What your route along the Côte d’Azur looks like will depend on whether you’re traveling by car or by train.

We’ll share our suggested route by car here and then show you how we’d plan the trip by train.

The perfect Côte d’Azur route on a map

To give you a better overview of the French Riviera, we’ve marked our recommended driving route and the most beautiful spots along the coast on a map.

Where you start your road trip doesn’t really matter. In our suggestion, we use Nice as the starting point — it has an airport and is super easy to reach by car or direct flight from most European hubs.

Overall, our French Riviera itinerary is designed for 14 days. You should definitely plan for at least two weeks — longer is always possible, of course.

Here’s roughly how much time you should plan for each leg of the drive

The most beautiful spots on your French Riviera road trip

We’ll walk you through the most beautiful destinations along the Côte d’Azur and share our advice on where to stay on the French Riviera, parking, and how many days to plan for each stop.

Start your road trip in Nice

The starting point of our Côte d’Azur road trip is Nice. This charming city right on the Mediterranean is something like the capital of the French Riviera — and it’s packed with highlights.

Since Nice is a very popular vacation destination, especially in peak season, we recommend booking a hotel with parking and leaving your car there for the duration of your stay.

If you stay at the Hôtel de France, you’ll pay 23 euros for the public parking spots next to the property. It’s not a bargain, but you won’t find it much cheaper anywhere else in Nice.

Day trip to Monaco

After exploring Nice, we recommend spending one day in the principality of Monaco. It’s only about a 30-minute drive away.

We personally wouldn’t plan an overnight stay in Monaco — instead, drive back to Nice in the evening. You can easily see all the highlights of the city-state in a single day, and accommodations in Monaco are seriously expensive.

Find out why it’s worth spending a day here in our article on the most beautiful sights in Monaco.

Heads up! You are not allowed to drive into the center of Monaco — the Rocher — if your car is not registered in the city-state (which is almost certainly not the case).

It’s better to park in a parking garage and explore Monaco on foot from there.

Continue on to Cannes

After Nice and Monaco, your road trip continues to Cannes — just under an hour by car.

Here too, it’s best to leave your car at your accommodation and explore on foot. At the Hôtel de Provence, you’ll pay 25 euros for a private parking spot.

The standout attraction in Cannes is the world-famous Palais des Festivals. But the long city beach and the beachfront promenade are also gorgeous.

Luxury and beaches in Saint-Tropez

Saint-Tropez feels like half of Hollywood vacations here — okay, that might be a slight exaggeration. But it’s not unusual to spot a familiar face or two.

If you want to really treat yourself on your south of France road trip and spend a day relaxing on the beach, Saint-Tropez is the perfect spot. Alongside the most beautiful beaches on the Côte d’Azur and stylish beach bars, Saint-Tropez also has a charming historic center.

Since accommodations in Saint-Tropez are extremely expensive, we recommend staying just outside of town. The hotel Lou Trelos offers free parking.

From there, you can drive to Saint-Tropez in 20 minutes. We recommend parking at the large Parking du Nouveau Port lot near the harbor — for six hours you’ll pay 16 euros, and this is where you’re most likely to find an open spot.

Stopover in Toulon

On your way from Saint-Tropez to Marseille, it’s easy to make a quick stopover in Toulon.

The port city isn’t the most spectacular, but it’s also far less touristy than the other stops on the French Riviera — which is actually pretty refreshing.

The old quarter is very charming, and just outside the city center you’ll find the summit of Mont Faron. You can ride up by cable car and enjoy a stunning panorama from the top.

A great place to stay in Toulon is the Grand Hôtel de la Gare — a lovely boutique hotel with parking that costs just 10.90 euros per day.

Big-city vibes in Marseille

Marseille is the largest city on the Côte d’Azur and offers a complete contrast to everything else on this itinerary.

It’s not a typical seaside tourist town, but a dynamic metropolis where everything is a little more lively and chaotic. After all the glitz and glamour of Monaco or Saint-Tropez, that’s honestly quite refreshing.

For accommodations, we recommend the Hôtel Maison Montgrand – Vieux Port. It’s centrally located and there’s a public parking garage right around the corner.

Continue on to Aix-en-Provence

For a change of scenery, Aix-en-Provence sits not on the coast but a bit further north of Marseille, inland. The city is calmer, more laid-back, and more elegant than Marseille — and its beautiful historic center completely won us over.

Top highlights include the Cathédrale Saint-Sauveur, the Cours Mirabeau promenade, and the Place d’Albertas.

You can easily see all the main sights in Aix-en-Provence in a single day.

For a place to stay, we recommend the Hôtel Le Mozart. It’s just a few minutes from the highway exit, and parking at 12 euros per day is comparatively affordable.

Verdon Gorge and lavender fields in the hinterland

The Verdon Gorge is one of the most impressive sights in France and the largest canyon in all of Europe.

It’s located in the hinterland of the Côte d’Azur, about a two-hour drive from Aix-en-Provence.

Absolutely worth it. The Verdon Gorge is a spectacular natural wonder and a seriously fantastic photo opportunity. That said, it gets extremely crowded in summer — a visit in spring or fall is a much better choice.

Lavender fields near the Verdon Gorge

From mid-June to mid-August, it’s lavender season in France. If you’re traveling along the Côte d’Azur during this time, you should also check out the lavender fields in Valensole.

They’re on the way from Aix-en-Provence to the Verdon Gorge and burst into a gorgeous, deep violet when in bloom.

A great place to stay between the Verdon Gorge and the lavender fields is Le Jasmin. Parking is free, and the hotel is really cozy and affordable.

Last stop in Cagnes-sur-Mer

As your last stop after the Verdon Gorge, we recommend heading back to the coast to the seaside town of Cagnes-sur-Mer.

From here, it’s only 15 minutes by car to Nice Airport — making it the perfect place to spend the night before a return flight.

You can easily explore the beautiful old town of Cagnes-sur-Mer in an afternoon. Or just relax on the beach one last time on your final day.

We’d stay at the Hotel Indigo Cagnes-sur-Mer by IHG. It’s very centrally located, has great connections to Nice Airport, and on-site parking costs 20 euros per day.

French Riviera itinerary without a car

If you’re traveling light, you can also explore the French Riviera very comfortably by train. The connections along the coast are excellent and the routes are truly beautiful.

By train, though, a classic loop trip works less well — it’s better to start your vacation in Nice and fly home from Marseille. The reverse works just as well, of course.

So you don’t have to lug your luggage around the whole time, we recommend staying overnight only in Nice and Marseille and taking day trips to the other destinations.

The main train stations in both cities, from which you’ll most often depart, are Nice-Ville in Nice and Saint-Charles in Marseille.

Here’s what your Côte d’Azur road trip by train could look like

• 3–4 days exploring Nice
• Day trip by train from Nice to Monaco and Cannes
• One guided day tour from Nice to the Verdon Gorge and one to Saint-Tropez
• 3–4 days exploring Marseille
• 1 day trip from Marseille to Aix-en-Provence

We’d skip Toulon and Cagnes-sur-Mer when traveling by train along the Côte d’Azur.

For day trips from Nice to Saint-Tropez and the Verdon Gorge, it’s best to book your tickets in advance online:

Verdon Gorge and lavender fields combo tour from Nice

Day trip from Nice to Saint-Tropez

You can easily take all the other excursions by train. Here’s an overview of the duration and prices for each train route:

Rental car, your own car, or train: What’s best?

Your budget is the deciding factor in how you get around on your French Riviera road trip. Depending on which mode of transportation you choose, you’ll be looking at very different costs.

The most convenient option — depending on where you’re starting from — is your own car. Just keep in mind things like the vignette in Switzerland and toll fees in Italy.

We’ve put together an overview of the costs for the various transportation options. Prices naturally vary by season, so treat these as a rough guide only.

If you’re traveling as a couple or a group, going by train is significantly cheaper and more sustainable than renting a car — unless you really need the flexibility of your own vehicle.

If a rental car is the right call for your trip, book as far in advance as possible — prices on the French Riviera can get steep, especially in summer.

Compare rental car deals on Discovercars

General tips for your Côte d’Azur road trip

Before you pack your bags, here are a few practical things to know: getting there, the environmental sticker in France, and the best time to visit the Côte d’Azur.

#1 Getting to the Côte d’Azur

If you’re flying, your best options are Nice or Marseille — both have plenty of direct connections from major European airports.

If you want to explore the French Riviera with a rental car, it’s best to pick it up directly at the airport. Rental cars on the Côte d’Azur are unfortunately not cheap, so we strongly recommend booking as far in advance as possible.

Find the best rental car on Discovercars

#2 What do you need to know about driving on the Côte d’Azur?

The speed limit on highways in France is 130 km/h and 50 km/h in built-up areas.

On the highways, you’ll pass through toll booths. Only use the lanes marked with a green arrow.

Usually you’ll need to take a ticket at the first booth and then insert it at the next one to pay — either in cash or by credit card.

If your car is equipped with the electronic payment system Télépéage, you can use the lanes marked with a “t.” With this chip, you don’t have to stop to pay at every booth — you simply drive through and the bill is sent to you afterward.

Our tip: Always have cash and a credit card on you. You can usually pay with either, but since toll stations in France are not standardized, it’s best to be prepared for anything.

Info on the environmental sticker in France

To drive into the cities of Nice and Marseille, you must display an environmental sticker — the Crit’Air vignette — on your car.

You can order the Crit’Air sticker on the website certificat-air.gouv.fr. It costs just 4.76 euros including shipping.

To be safe, we recommend applying for it at least two weeks before your trip.

Without this sticker, you could face a fine of at least 68 euros.

#3 When is the best time to visit the Côte d’Azur?

If you want to see the lavender fields on your road trip, plan your trip for mid-June to mid-August — that’s the only time you’ll see the fields blooming in a deep purple.

We’d recommend going in June, as the Côte d’Azur is still significantly less crowded than in July and August.

The months of May, September, and October are also great for a French Riviera road trip. It’s not too hot, sightseeing is enjoyable, and the water is still warm enough for swimming.