Visiting the Côte d'Azur / the French Riviera | Places to visit and things to do at the French Riviera

The Côte d'Azur, or like you use to call it in English, the French Riviera. 

It was always a dream of me to go there and last year my wish came true. 

Going there in the Autumn resulted in not always having sunny weather but windy and stormy weather too (makes sense when you live at the coast), 

so if you were ever thinking of doing a quick side-trip to the French Riviera, I would recommend you being more clever than I was by going in the summer. 

But nevertheless whenever you actually go, it is always worth it, this is something I can promise you.
What I like about the French Riviera is that it is not a city you stay in but you can switch between different cities because the French Riviera has a lot of places to offer, each of them not far away from the others.

Monaco

There are some places that you have probably already heard of. 

Only having a couple of days, I decided not to visit every city at the French Riviera, but only the most famous ones. 

If you do not have endless time for a vacation, I would recommend you to do the same. 

The places I have visited were:

Antibes

the place where my hotel was that I stayed in, not far away from the other cities and also not too crowded like the other ones listed below; less expensive; beautiful beach

Nice

wouldn't recommend you staying there if you are looking for a beautiful/comfy beach. They have beautiful markets there with different specialities; I've been to: Marc Chagall Museum, Castle Hill (where you get the best view of Nice!)

Monaco

oh yes, the city where rich people like to stay and live. Lovely beach. Places I've visited there: Prince's Palace of Monaco; Jardin Exotique (has one of the best views to look over Monaco!); Musee Oceanographique

Cannes

my favorite city, good one to party and go out. Places to visit are definitely some of their islands (I've been to Iles Sainte-Marguerite); "Le Suquet" which is an old quartier of Cannes with cute, little stores and restaurants (picture below); the Forville market (picture below)

Grasse

also called the "city of perfumes"; Places I've been to: Musee Fragonard (a perfume factory where you can find out a little about the history of perfumes and their production); Galimard (where you can create your own perfume!!! Scroll down to see mine)

You can also visit Saint-Tropez. 

I have heard that it is quite good but I did not have the time for it so I decided to visit it some other time in the future.

Here are the pictures of some of the places that I have mentioned above:

The view out of my hotel room

The pool of my hotel

Cannes' buildings near the beach

Cannes - Nature at its finest

Cannes beach and its islands in the background

Cannes harbours and yacht life

What the French Riviera is famous for

Photoshoots near the ocean

"Le Suquet"

The forville market

Ile Sainte - Marguerite

the Prince's Palace of Monaco

Monaco