Riviera itineraries

Planning a Nice and French Riviera itinerary means deciding first how much of the perched villages and alpine hinterland you want to reach, since the mountain valleys and Mercantour add real driving and walking time that a coastal-only trip doesn't need. This hub groups itinerary suggestions from a single day up to a full week, organised around the kind of trip you're planning rather than a single fixed route. A self-drive itinerary makes the most of a week here, since a rental car opens up the perched villages, the alpine hinterland and the quieter corners of the Riviera that are hard to reach otherwise.

A car-free itinerary is realistic if you base yourself in Nice and rely on the TER train along the coast plus guided day trips booked through GetYourGuide or Viator, though it will naturally reach less of the interior than a self-drive plan. Family itineraries here tend to favour Nice's Promenade des Anglais and the calmer stretches of the coast, together with gentler outings rather than the longer Mercantour hikes better suited to older kids and adults. A budget-minded itinerary leans on Nice itself, the TER train along the coast, and fewer booked activities, since boat excursions, parfumerie workshops and helicopter flights add up quickly.

A hiking-focused itinerary is built around the Mercantour, particularly the Vésubie and Roya valleys, and the Vallée des Merveilles for those willing to walk in, and works best from May to September when trails are in better condition. A Monaco and Eze itinerary times a visit around the corniches and the Grand Prix calendar, building the rest of the plan around that seasonal draw rather than the other way round. Every itinerary here notes what's realistic to fit in given real driving and walking times, rather than assuming you can treat map distances as a guide to how long a day will actually take.