Discovering Alpes-Maritimes: a practical guide
Within less than a hundred kilometres, Alpes-Maritimes brings together the most famous stretch of the Côte d'Azur, timeless hilltop villages and the peaks of the Mercantour. In an hour you go from the beaches of Nice to mountain lakes. Modern art museums, exotic gardens and spectacular gorges complete a département of rare richness.
This practical guide helps you choose your stops and organise your trip. Underlined site names link to their detailed pages.
Understanding Alpes-Maritimes in a few minutes
The coast links Cannes, Antibes and the Cap d'Antibes, Nice, the Riviera from Villefranche to Èze, then Menton on the Italian border. Just behind, the hinterland offers hilltop villages such as Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Gourdon and Èze, and gorges such as the Gorges du Loup. To the north, the Vésubie, Tinée and Roya valleys climb towards the Mercantour National Park.
Nice airport is the second-busiest in France, and the coastal railway serves every town on the coast. For the hinterland, a car is essential. The Principality of Monaco, an independent state, is an enclave within the département.
- The TER train is often faster than driving on the coast in summer.
- Hinterland roads are narrow and slow: allow plenty of time.
- A base in Nice lets you explore both the coast and the hinterland.
Cannes
Made world-famous by its Film Festival, Cannes unrolls its palm-lined Croisette between the Palais des Festivals and a bay protected by the Lérins islands.
Menton
The last French town before Italy, Menton stacks its pastel façades between sea and mountains, famous for its exceptional microclimate and its lemon trees.
Saint-Paul-de-Vence
A fortified village become a high place of modern art, Saint-Paul-de-Vence has drawn artists and galleries for a century into its cobbled lanes perched above the Baie des Anges.
Gorges du Loup
Carved by the coastal river Loup, these limestone gorges wind through the hinterland of Nice between waterfalls and giant's kettles. The hilltop village of Gourdon, clinging to the cliff, offers one of the most dizzying viewpoints.
Culture, history and heritage
Nice offers many visits: Castle Hill, the Palais Lascaris, the St Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral, the Matisse Museum, the Marc Chagall Museum and the Museum of Asian Arts. On the Riviera, the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild and the Villa Kérylos are two exceptional residences. In Antibes, the Picasso Museum occupies the Château Grimaldi.
Grasse is the cradle of perfumery, with the International Perfume Museum. Castles and hilltop villages tell the story of the area: the Château-musée Grimaldi de Cagnes-sur-Mer, the Château de Villeneuve-Loubet, the Château de la Napoule, the Château de Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, and the villages of Saorge, Lucéram, Sainte-Agnès and Coaraze. In neighbouring Monaco, the Prince's Palace and the Oceanographic Museum are must-sees.
- Many Nice museums are free with the city museum pass.
- Saint-Paul-de-Vence and Èze are very busy: come early in the morning.
- Hilltop villages are visited on foot: park at the entrance.
Villa et Jardins Ephrussi de Rothschild
The Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, also called Villa Île-de-France, is one of the most beautiful Renaissance-style palaces of the Côte d'Azur, built on the summit of Cap Ferrat between 1905 and 1912 at Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat by Baroness Béatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild (1864–1934).
Musée Matisse de Nice
Set on the ancient site of the Nice arenas in a splendid eighteenth-century villa, the Matisse Museum gives a comprehensive panorama of the work of the leader of Fauvism.
Eze
Located just after Nice, going towards Menton, Èze stretches along the sea from Cap Roux to the Pointe de Cabuel. Perched like an eagle's nest at the top of an imposing and superb cliff, you will see the village and its pale ochre church from afar.
Palais princier de Monaco
Official residence of the princes of Monaco since 1297, this palace perched on the Rock hosts the changing of the guard every noon, one of the most-watched attractions in the Principality.
Food and local produce
Niçois cooking is Mediterranean: salade niçoise, socca (chickpea pancake), pissaladière, stuffed vegetables, ratatouille and pan bagnat. Nice olive oil, Menton lemons and Grasse flowers make the département's reputation.
The Bellet vineyard, on the hills of Nice, is one of the smallest in France; the Château de Crémat is one of its historic estates. The Cours Saleya market, in old Nice, is a must.
- Try hot socca in old Nice.
- The Menton Lemon Festival takes place in February.
- The Cours Saleya flower market is held in the morning, except on Mondays.
Château de Crémat
The history of the Château de Crémat is closely linked to the Bellet vineyard.
Menton
The last French town before Italy, Menton stacks its pastel façades between sea and mountains, famous for its exceptional microclimate and its lemon trees.
Musée International de la Parfumerie
Inaugurated in 1989 in Grasse, the "cradle of traditional perfumery", the International Perfume Museum traces, through exceptional collections, the history of perfumes, but also of soaps, make-up and cosmetics, over four thousand years.
Nature and wide open spaces
Gorges abound in the hinterland: the red-rock Cians gorges and Daluis gorges, the Vésubie gorges, the Saorge gorges and the Gorges du Loup, with the Saut du Loup waterfall and the Courmes waterfall. In the Mercantour, the Vens lakes and the Lac de Trécolpas reward hikers, and the Vallée des Merveilles holds thousands of rock engravings, presented at the Musée des Merveilles in Tende.
Gardens thrive in the very mild climate: the Menton botanical garden, the Monaco exotic garden and the Parc Phoenix in Nice. With children, the Alpha park, devoted to wolves, the Zooparc du Cap Ferrat and the Vesúbia Mountain Park are popular outings. In winter, Isola 2000, Auron and Valberg welcome skiers an hour and a half from the sea.
- Visit the Vallée des Merveilles with a guide to see the engravings.
- Set off early for Mercantour hikes: storms break in the afternoon.
- Gorge roads can be cut after heavy rain.
Les Gorges du Cians
The Cians is a river that rises at the foot of Mont Mounier (alt. 2,817 m) on the slopes of Pierrous.
Lacs de Vens
A string of five glacial lakes between 2,286 and 2,327 metres' altitude in the Mercantour, overlooked by the Vens refuge, in the commune of Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée.
La vallée des Merveilles et de Fontanalba
In the heart of the Mercantour National Park and at the foot of the "sacred mountain" of Bégo (2,872 m), the Vallée des Merveilles and that of Fontanalba shelter the largest ensemble of protohistoric rock engravings in the world (several tens of thousands recorded) in a landscape shaped by the…
Alpha, Parc Animalier
In the Boréon valley, 8 km from Saint-Martin-Vésubie, the ALPHA park takes you to meet its 3 wolf packs, which you can observe in their natural habitat from hides set in the heart of the forest.
When to go and how to plan
Spring and autumn are perfect: mild temperatures, fewer people and beautiful light. Summer is hot and the coast very busy, but it is the ideal season for the Mercantour. Winter stays mild on the coast, with the Nice Carnival and the Lemon Festival in February.
A five-day trip can combine two days between Nice and the Riviera (Villefranche, Èze, Monaco), a day in Antibes, Cannes and Grasse, a day in the hinterland (Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Gorges du Loup) and a day in the Mercantour.
- Book accommodation well ahead for the Cannes Film Festival and summer.
- Avoid driving in Nice: the tram is convenient.
- Check mountain road openings in winter.
Château de Villeneuve-Loubet
Overlooking the Provençal village and church of Villeneuve-Loubet, the castle was founded in the thirteenth century by Romée de Villeneuve, constable and seneschal of Provence.
Saorge
Saorge, at 550 m altitude, impressively overlooks the Roya valley, with a concentration of houses huddled against each other, several storeys high, and tiered on several levels.
Sainte-Agnès
You reach this village by the hairpins of a narrow road crossing a terraced landscape planted with olive trees and mimosas.
Going further
Explore the départements of this area: