Relaxing in the French Riviera

Closing out a two-week road trip through France, my husband and I spent three days exploring the French Riviera. We stayed in Grasse (the world’s capital of perfume) at the amazing La Surprise Bed and Breakfast and traveled out each day from there. Grasse is built into a mountainside along the Mediterranean Sea and while it comes with some very confusing and vertical driving, it’s a great central location with simply beautiful views!

On the first day of our trip, we drove the Grande Corniche through Nice. This took us into Monaco and onto the Grande Prix route being set up for the races. We walked the city of Monaco from Palais Princier to the famous Monte Carlo. We then found ourselves severely lost trying to find our parking garage. With so many tunnels, the cut-throughs and levels are nearly impossible to navigate on foot and we highly recommend making your locations well on a map!

On our way back to Grasse we stopped to explore the quaint little town of Eze. Much like the mountain-top villages of the Luberon Valley, Eze is filled with cute corner shops and cobblestone streets. That evening we had a delicious dinner at Mougins at La Petit Fouet, which is supposed to be quite the spot for movie-star spotting!

On our second day, we drove into Cannes to explore the city while the world famous Film Festival was being held. It was quite beautiful, even when swarmed with people and hidden under tents. An enormous display of monstrous yachts were docked for the festival, and everywhere you looked something exciting and flashy was sure to catch your eye!

From Cannes we followed the Grande Corniche into Antibes where we found our favorite spot along the French Riviera. The town was so relaxed with many a quaint shop, an ease to life and not too many people. We grabbed a few sandwiches (and macarons!) and found a port dock to sit and eat and soak in the view. After a little shopping we drove around the Cap (Le Cap d’Antibes), stopping to explore and people watch. We finished the day in Valbonne, a city covered in beautiful flowers and climbing roses.

We left La Surprise B&B on the third day and drove into Aix-en-Provence, which I would describe as a romantic French college town. This is a bright city with a great blend of typical French shops and new modern twists. We also ate the most delicious pizza at La Pizza, Rue Aude – you must go!

La Surprise Bed and Breakfast
[email protected]
+33 (0) 677 86 86 38
(It’s very hard to locate your first time, but the location really couldn’t be better. The owners are English and fantastic. You’ll love it!)

Kallie Buckmaster is a wife, mother, and film photographer. She hails from Florida and is newly based in Seattle. You can often find her traveling around the world with her array of film cameras.