Beyond sightseeing and eating out, there are plenty of things to keep the visitor occupied. All three cities offer endless shopping and window-shopping opportunities. In summer, the beach and water sports are the obvious choice for activities, complemented by a host of outdoor music festivals and fireworks displays. The rest of the year the busy agenda ranges from Nice’s traditional Carnaval and the Monte Carlo Car Rally to opera and ballet.
The Côte d’Azur is a sailor’s paradise
iStock
shopping
What to Buy Where
Nice, Cannes and Monaco are all major shopping destinations. Cosmopolitan Nice offers the greatest variety, while Cannes and Monaco are firmly targeted at the luxury fashion market, with an adventurous, trendy edge in Cannes and more conservative styles in Monaco.
In Nice, smart designer labels are concentrated along avenue de Suède, avenue de Verdun, rue Paradis and rue Alphonse-Karr, where you’ll find Chanel, Emporio Armani, Cartier, Max Mara and Kenzo as well as the ‘preppy’ men’s and women’s wear of Nice-based Façonnable. Among more unusual shops, Kantzé (10 rue Alphonse-Karr) is hot on the latest trends from designers such as Liu Jo, Not Shy, Kocca and Des Petits Hauts; Espace Harroch (7 rue Paradis, www.espace-harroch.com) is a chic multi-level, multi-label outlet for men’s and women’s clothes, kitchenware and interior design items.
For more mainstream chain stores, go to Rue de France, rue Masséna and avenue Jean-Médecin, home to practical supermarket Monoprix, Fnac book, music, photo and computer superstore, the Galeries Lafayette shopping centre (www.galerieslafayette.com/magasin-nice) and the Nicetoile shopping centre (www.nicetoile.com).
In Vieux Nice, food shops and souvenir outlets mix with art and craft galleries, such as Art Gallery Lepa (27 rue de la Buffa), New Agey clothes shops, and organic and ethical clothing outlet Ekyog (12 rue Alphonse-Karr). Village Ségurane is an arcade of 40 antiques dealers on rue Ségurane between place Garibaldi and the Vieux Port.
In Cannes, high-end boutiques are concentrated along La Croisette, rue d’Antibes and the Gray d’Albion mall that runs between the two. For diamond necklaces and haute couture dresses suitable for walking up les marches, the most prestigious labels (Lacroix, Cartier, Balenciaga, Ferragamo) cluster on La Croisette, with younger styles, such as Paul & Joe, Zadig & Voltaire and Italian labels Missoni and Patrizia Pepe on rue d’Antibes. Rue Meynadier near the food market is lined with outlets for cheaper casual wear and beach gear.
Monaco’s ‘golden rectangle’ is on place du Casino and avenue des Beaux-Arts, which stretches between the Hôtel de Paris and Hôtel Hermitage. Galerie du Métropole is an upmarket mall, next to the Hôtel Métropole; more boutiques can be found on avenue Princesse Grace and boulevard des Moulins. Up in Monaco-Ville, the Chocolaterie de Monaco (place de la Visitation) is a rare exception to the many souvenir shops. Monégasques go to Fontvieille just for the huge Centre Commercial, home to Carrefour hypermarket, clothing chains and the sports store Decathlon.
Jewellery for sale in Monaco
Sylvaine Poitau/APA Publications
Food and Wine
As in any French town, the food market is an essential part of life, and cours Saleya market in Vieux Nice, the Marché Forville in Cannes and the Marché de la Condamine in Monaco are the places for stocking up on fresh produce. Good items to take home include olive oil and related products such as table olives and tapenades. French olive oil production is tiny by Italian and Spanish standards, but it is usually of high quality. The Nice area has an appellation d’origine protégée (AOP) for oil made from its tiny purple cailletier olive. Outlets include Alziari (14 rue St-François-de-Paule, www.alziari.com.fr), and Oliviera (8 bis rue du Collet, www.oliviera.com), both in Vieux Nice, and stalls in Cannes’s Marché Forville.
Marché Forville, Cannes
Sylvaine Poitau/APA Publications
Also in Vieux Nice, look out for candied fruit and other gourmet items from Maison Auer (www.maison-auer.com), truffles at Terres de Truffes (www.terresdetruffes.com), both on rue St-François-de-Paule, and home-made pasta from Maison Barale (7 rue Sainte-Réparate; www.maison-barale.fr). Other regional produce includes wines from Bellet (for more information, click here) and the Lérina liqueur made by the monks on Ile Saint-Honorat. The oldest wine shop in Nice is Cave Bianchi (7 rue Raoul Bosio, www.cave-bianchi.fr) which also has a branch in Cannes (5 rue du Maréchal-Joffre).
Arts and Entertainment
Performing Arts
While the south of France is often remembered for its summer festivals, both Nice and Monaco have an active year-round arts calendar. In fact, the serious arts season runs from September or October to June; over July and August the performing arts tend to move outdoors, with theatre productions in the Fort Saint-Antoine in Monaco, Nice’s renowned jazz festival in Cimiez and electronic music and chamber music events in Cannes.
For information, look out for the culture agenda on www.nice.fr and the free brochures Sortir à Cannes (Oct–Apr) and L’Été à Cannes (May–Sept), published by the tourist office.
Carnaval de Nice
For the two weeks leading up to Shrove Tuesday, Nice lets its hair down in the annual Carnaval, a pre-Lenten tradition going back to the Middle Ages – and probably to pagan festivals before. It took its present form in the late 19th century when the municipality organised what had been a raucous event of street dancing and masked balls into a parade of carnival floats. Today, there’s a different theme each year as colourfully decorated floats, dancers, musicians and giant carnival figures with papier mâché heads parade noisily each night behind the King of Carnaval, culminating with fireworks on the last night. In the afternoon, thousands of flowers are thrown in the bataille des fleurs along the promenade des Anglais. You have to pay for reserved seats along the promenade des Anglais, but you can join the crowds around the Jardins Albert Ier for free (www.nicecarnaval.com).
Carnaval de Nice musicians
Fotolia/APA Publications
The Opéra de Monte Carlo (www.opera.mc) offers a glamorous night out amid the gilt and chandeliers of the opera house. Under director-choreographer Jean-Christophe Maillot the Ballets de Monte Carlo (www.balletsdemontecarlo.com), the descendant of Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, has become one of Europe’s top troupes. It generally performs in the Grimaldi Forum when not on tour. First-rate contemporary international dance companies take part in the biennial Cannes Dance Festival in November (www.festivaldedanse-cannes.com).
The Opéra de Nice (www.opera-nice.org) is another fine opera house. It stages a wide range of productions, along with ballet and classical concerts by the respected Orchestre Philharmonique. Nice is also home to the Ensemble Baroque de Nice, one of France’s leading early-music ensembles, and the experimental contemporary music institute CIRM, which organises the MANCA festival (www.cirm-manca.org) in November. The Théâtre National de Nice (www.tnn.fr), on the promenade des Arts, is the most important of several in Nice. In Cannes, most events take place in the Palais des Festivals (www.palaisdesfestivals.com).
Rock and Jazz
Big-name rock bands and French variété singers perform at the vast Palais Nikaia (www.nikaia.fr) and Nice Acropolis Convention Centre (www.sean-acropolis.com) in Nice and in the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco; the Théâtre Lino Ventura (www.nicemusiclive.fr) in Nice has a programme of pop music and contemporary dance; local bands and British indie groups turn up at popular Wayne’s Bar (15 rue de la Préfecture) in the Old Town. In summer, there are outdoor concerts in the Théâtre de Verdure in the Jardin Albert Ier. The Monte Carlo Sporting Summer Festival (www.montecarlosbm.com) at the Sporting d’Été features young pop divas along with rock and soul legends.
Nice Jazz Festival (www.nicejazzfestival.fr) in July has a relaxed atmosphere as spectators wander between three stages in the Roman arena and gardens by the Matisse Museum in Cimiez. It encompasses a wide spectrum of music, ranging from celebrated jazz veterans to soul, blues, funk, folk and hip hop.
Out on the town in Cannes
Getty Images
Nightlife
Cannes offers plenty of sophisticated nightlife. During the film festival, trendy Paris clubs come south and stage parties. In July and August, Hôtel Martinez’s chic Zplage hosts international DJs, while the Pantiero festival focuses on new electronic music trends.
The rest of the year, the hub of trendy lounge bars with DJs is a block back from La Croisette on rue du Docteur Monod and rue des Frères Pratignac, led by Sun7 Bar and For You. Other regulars include gay bar Le Vogue on rue du Suquet, weekend DJ parties at Hôtel 3.14 and the summer Le Medusa at the Palm Beach Casino (http://palmbeachevents.fr). Classy all-night restaurant, sushi bar and discotheque Le Bâoli (www.lebaoli.com) on Port Pierre Canto draws a VIP crowd and has a tough door-selection policy.
Nice is curiously short on top club venues. Here nightlife revolves more around an active pub scene, and lounge bars serving finger food. Stalwarts include Les Trois Diables (2 cours Saleya, www.les3diables.com), Au Fût et à Mésure (2 rue Gilly, www.aufutetamesure.fr), and DJ and cocktail bar the Ghost House (3 rue de la Barillerie, www.leghost-pub.com).
Clubbing in Monaco is generally for the affluent. Jimmy’z (www.montecarlosbm.com) at the Sporting d’Été is where you’ll find the Monaco princesses, racing drivers, rock stars and top models, while La Rascasse (quai Antoine Ier) is for all those who enjoy dancing and clubbing all night. There’s a more laid-back mood at Stars ’n’ Bars (for more information, click here) by the Port Hercule, and for a more traditional piano bar ambience head to the Sass Café (11 avenue princesse Grace).
The Casino de Monte Carlo is the ultimate in glamour
Sylvaine Poitau/APA Publications
Casinos
The sumptuous Casino de Monte Carlo is the most beautiful and famous of Monte Carlo’s assorted casinos, but other options include the Casino Café de Paris, where punters crowd the slot machines from 10am until the early hours of the morning (table games from 8pm); fairground-themed Sun Casino inside the Fairmont Hotel, which has an emphasis on ‘American games’ (American roulette, poker, blackjack, craps), while the Monte Carlo Bay Casino has high-tech slot machines only. None of Monte Carlo’s casinos allow religious or military uniforms (www.montecarlosbm.com).
At Cannes, there are three casinos: Casino Croisette (www.groupebarriere.com), in the Palais des Festivals, Les Princes (www.groupebarriere.com), in the Palais Stéphanie Hotel, and the 3.14 Casino (www.314casino.com) at Pointe Croisette, a legendary 1930s venue that reopened in 2002. Nice has two casinos on the promenade des Anglais: at No. 1, glitzy 1970s-style Casino Ruhl (www.groupebarriere.com), with slot machines, gaming tables and a Vegas-style revue (weekends except July and Aug); and the revived neo-Art Deco Palais de la Méditerranée (No.13, www.casinomediterranee.com).
Sports and activities
Beaches and Swimming
Private beach concessions provide sun loungers, parasols and changing rooms; some have water-sports facilities and many have restaurants serving excellent food, from classic grilled fish and salads to cosmopolitan modern cuisine. Others morph into cocktail and DJ bars in the evening, while a few provide beauty treatments and massages. In Nice, the long pebble beach has plenty of public areas, with showers and loos, between the private concessions. In Cannes, if you’re not paying for a private beach along La Croisette, head to the mainly public Plage du Mourré Rouge to the east or Plage du Midi to the west. Monaco’s Larvotto Beach is surprisingly small. You may want to cross the frontier to the unspoilt Plage Cabbé at Roquebrune Cap-Martin to the east, where there’s also bathing off the rocks from the Sentier du Littoral coast path, or west to Cap d’Ail, where, if you’re prepared for a walk down the steps, lovely Plage Mala has a spectacular setting in a small bay with mountains descending straight to the sea. Note that topless bathing has gone out of fashion.
On the beach in Nice
Sylvaine Poitau/Apa Publications
Sailing and Water Sports
Jet skis, parascending and water-skiing are available at several of Cannes’ and Nice’s private beaches. For dinghy sailing classes and hire, try: Plongée Aigle Nautique (50 boulevard Franck-Pilatte, Nice; tel: 06 75 79 13 12, http://plongeeaiglenautique.fr), a water-sports centre on the eastern edge of the Vieux Port.
Yachts galore
Vintage yawls, ketches, dragons and other classic racing yachts provide a spectacular vision as they set out across the Baie de Cannes at the end of September in Les Régates Royales (www.regatesroyales.com), a regatta founded by the International Yacht Club of Cannes in 1929.
Diving
The shipwrecks, underwater caves and marine fauna and flora of the Alpes-Maritimes offer some spectacular diving. Try: Plongée Aigle Nautique, Nice; Nemo Plongée (Pointe Croisette, Cannes; tel: 04 93 70 49 97; www.nemo-plongee.org), for deep-sea diving courses and expeditions, sea-kayaking classes and equipment hire; or the Plongée Club de Cannes (quai St-Pierre, Cannes; tel: 06 11 81 76 17, www.plongee-cannes.com), which offers diving around the Iles de Lérins.
Golf
The Riviera has some of France’s best golf courses. The Royal Mougins Golf Club (424 avenue du Roi, Mougins; tel: 04 92 92 49 69, www.royalmougins.fr) has an 18-hole course, plus spa and hotel, just outside Cannes. The Monte Carlo Golf Club La Turbie (tel: 04 92 41 50 70, http://golfdemontecarlo.com), is an 18-hole course in a spectacular 900m (2,950ft) setting on Mont Agel.
Gyms and Fitness
Many of the upmarket hotels have small gyms and fitness rooms. For a more serious workout and a wide range of exercise classes try Tropic Gym (www.tropicgymnice.com) in Nice, and the Club Moving Nice, which also has aqua-gym sessions.
Skiing
Nice residents like to boast that they can be on the ski slopes in the morning and on the beach in the afternoon. The nearest ski stations to Nice are Valberg (www.valberg.com), Auron (www.auron.com) and Isola 2000 (www.isola2000.com) in the Mercantour; from Cannes it is easier to reach Gréolières Les Neiges (www.greolieres.fr) on the Massif du Cheiron.
Tennis and Squash
The Monte Carlo Country Club (155 avenue Princesse Grace, Roquebrune-Cap Martin; tel: 04 93 41 30 15, www.mccc.mc) is a luxury club with clay tennis courts, squash, pool and gym; day membership is available. The following have courts which can be hired by the hour: Nice Lawn Tennis Club (5 avenue Suzanne Lenglen, Nice; tel: 04 92 15 58 00, www.niceltc.com), a century-old private club with lawn and clay courts; Tennis-Squash Club Vauban (18 rue Maréchal Vauban, Nice; tel: 04 93 26 09 78, http://tsvauban.free.fr) and Tennis Club de Cannes (11 rue Lacour, Cannes; tel: 04 93 43 63 57).
The Monaco Grand Prix
Fotolia/APA Publications
Spectator Sports
The Riviera’s biggest sporting event is the Monaco Grand Prix in May (for more information, click here); motor fans also come out for the Monte Carlo Car Rally in January, which finishes here after crossing the snow-covered Col de Turini. Nice and Monaco both have premier division football teams and Nice was a host city in the UEFA Euro 2016 Football Championship; it will also host the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2019; horse racing takes place at the Hippodrome de la Côte d’Azur at Cagnes-sur-Mer just west of Nice. Other events include the Monte Carlo Tennis Masters men’s singles tournament, international athletics meetings in Nice and Monaco, and international showjumping in Cannes and Monaco. The 1,200km (745-mile) Paris–Nice cycling race in mid-March, which finishes on the promenade des Anglais, is one of the big events of the international cycling calendar.
Children
Nice’s beach is a draw for children, although it is pebbly and shelves steeply; some private beaches have children’s pools and sandpits. Treats include ice creams from Fenocchio (for more information, click here) on place Rossetti and rue de la Poissonnerie. The Parc Floral Phoenix (for more information, click here) has plenty to keep kids amused, with an otter pool, aquariums with fish and spiders and a musical fountain. Local families also like the Castel des Deux Rois, east of the Vieux Port, which has good playgrounds, mini golf and water jets.
The main attractions at Cannes are the beach and the summer fireworks displays. Ile Sainte-Marguerite (for more information, click here) makes an ideal family day out, with beaches, picnic spots and an enjoyable boat trip at either end. There are also trips to be taken around the bay in glass-bottomed boats.
The aquarium (containing around 100 tanks) in Monaco’s Musée Océanographique (for more information, click here) is popular with families but gets crowded in July and August. The Jardin Animalier (for more information, click here) has over 250 exotic animals from 50 species, who have all been given to the zoo and are kept in good conditions.
Underwater world at Monaco’s Musée Océanographique
Sylvaine Poitau/APA Publications
The area’s biggest attraction is Marineland (daily 10am–7pm, July–Aug until 10pm; www.marineland.fr) between Antibes and Biot. Highlights are the whale and dolphin shows, but the complex also includes Aquasplash water park, Adventure Golf and Kid’s Island, with baby farm animals and pony rides.