For our French Riviera holiday, we made a plan with some friends, another couple who live in Germany: we would fly to Cuneo in Italy, they would drive down and pick us up at the airport, and from there we would head to Port Grimaud together.
We chose one place to stay and planned to visit a different town each day. We wanted to see as much as possible, but also leave time to catch up. We were going on holiday together, after all. 😊
The plan was good. The timing, less so.
Getting to the French Riviera and meeting at the airport
We landed in Cuneo, collected our bags and looked for our friends. They were nowhere to be seen.
We called them, and they told us they were still in Germany. Obviously, we thought they were playing a terrible joke and were actually just around the corner, waiting to see our reaction.
Except they weren’t joking.
There had been an accident along the way, and they had been stuck in traffic. At least, that’s their excuse. 😅
We ended up waiting six hours at the airport. So by the time all four of us were finally together and on our way to France, we already knew we would be arriving late that evening.
Staying at Les Prairies de la Mer in Port Grimaud
We chose Les Prairies de la Mer, a nicely landscaped campsite with mobile homes, caravans and tents, surrounded by palm trees and plenty of greenery.
Together with our friends, *le husband and I rented a mobile home for six. There were only four of us, but we wanted some extra space and a living area where we could eat and sit around chatting.
We arrived late, but there were no surprises with the accommodation. It looked just like the photos, and everything was clean and nicely arranged.
The next day, we went to Carrefour to stock up on breakfast supplies. We ate our other meals out, since we were off exploring and it didn’t make sense to come back just to eat.
This worked well for us: breakfast at the mobile home, then into the car and off for the day.
Every time we left the motorway and paid the toll, the machine at the barrier said “Meeerrrci!”. I don’t know why we found it so funny, but all four of us laughed every single time. 😂
Saint-Tropez: yachts and colorful streets
Our first outing was to Saint-Tropez, where we walked around the harbor, past luxury yachts and Rolls-Royces parked right in front of them. This was where we felt poor. 😆
We also stopped at a café terrace overlooking the yachts, where we enjoyed a €15 coffee. At that price, at least the view was included. 😅
We wandered through a few more streets and took some photos, then headed back to Port Grimaud.
Port Grimaud: canals, boats and beach time
We made time to explore Port Grimaud too, since this was where we were staying. We walked along the little streets and over bridges, past colorful houses with boats parked right outside. 😁
We also took a boat ride through the canals, so we got to see the place from the water.
On the days we stayed close to our accommodation, we went to the beach. It was nice to have some time without driving or sightseeing, just relaxing by the sea.
Saint-Raphaël: a walk and some beach time
In Saint-Raphaël, we walked around the harbor and spent some time on the beach. We took a break from sightseeing and enjoyed the sea. 😊
The beach is sandy, and from the water you can see the town, including the church dome that we couldn’t resist photographing.
This was another seaside stop before we continued exploring the coast toward Cannes and Nice.
Cannes and Nice
We arrived in Cannes in the afternoon and went to get something to eat first. Then we took a short walk along the seafront, snapped a few photos and headed to Nice.
We reached Nice that evening and wandered through the narrow streets of the old town, past colorful buildings, restaurants and café terraces, before heading down to the sea for sunset.
The beach in Nice is pebbly and not particularly comfortable to sit on, but once we saw the sunset, we stopped caring. 😊
Nice was my favorite of all the towns we visited on this holiday.
I would love to come back and spend a few days just here, with time to enjoy the city without heading off to another destination. Our evening walk was long enough to make me want to return, but much shorter than I would have liked.
Back to Cuneo
At the end of the holiday, our friends drove us back to Cuneo Airport, where they had picked us up. On the return journey, we made a few stops to admire the scenery and the Alps.
Before our flight, we went into town to find some breakfast. Except we couldn’t find anywhere open that served food. Coffee was available, but we wanted something a little more substantial. 😁
Eventually, a gentleman at a small restaurant offered to make us some pasta if we were hungry.
We appreciated the gesture, but we weren’t quite hungry enough to eat pasta for breakfast. 😂
French Riviera holiday: final thoughts
❤️ What we (well, I) loved:
- Nice: my favorite place on this trip. I would love to return for a few days and take my time enjoying the city.
- Having a car to explore: it gave us the freedom to visit several towns.
- The accommodation: our mobile home was lovely and had everything we needed. The campsite had plenty too, from a supermarket and restaurants to a beach and areas for various activities.
💔 What we (okay, I) didn’t like:
- The six-hour wait at the airport: not quite the start to the holiday we had hoped for.
- The prices: quite a bit higher than we were used to. That €15 coffee in Saint-Tropez is a good example. 😅
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