This trip was proof that with enough research you can plan a last minute trip to France in July when it's the busiest and most expensive time of year and still find great places to stay that aren’t going to cost you an arm and a leg.
We flew into Nice, started our trip in Antibes and flew out of Toulouse. We rented a car and just drove everywhere. I would highly recommend doing this! Our days were filled with hanging out on the beach, drinking rosé and enjoying the beautiful Cote de Azure.
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South of France
Europe
France
Nice
Nice was our first stop on our two week long trip along the French Riviera and Provence. It is a beaulful city right on the water with so much to explore and take in. We loved our time here and it really is a place you want to go back to once you experience it!
stay
Airbnb - We just stayed at this simple but nice and clean spot right in town. We walked everywhere and it was a great location.
Le Plongeoir - Honestly the only place that matters that you MUST eat at! I so wish a spot like this existed in the states. We sat our in the water. The food was delicious and the wine was delicious but the view was just spectacular!
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Villefranche-sur-Mer - About a ten minute car ride and you are in an adorable, super quaint town where you will want to relax on the beach all day!
Villa Et Jardins Ephrussi de Rothschild - This is an insanely gorgeous villa with beautiful gardens that you can walk around and just take in all of the beauty. We loved spending some time here just walking around and taking it all in.
DO
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Èze
Èze is a twenty minute drive from Nice and well worth visiting. We walked up a lot of stairs and it was so quiet and peaceful. We loved getting away from the big city for the day and enjoy some peace!
DO
Le Jardin Exotique - Situated on top of the hill is a beautiful garden with stunning views of the water and lots of succulents along the walking path. It's roughly about $8 to get in and well worth it!
ANTIBES
We fell absolutely in love with Antibes (pronounced On-teeb). A quaint town full of charm, and yes rosé.
STAY
Our AirBnb - This was a great launching pad for all we wanted to do. Our host Thierry was so wonderful!
EAT
Honestly, our favorite meal was just going to a local butcher and grabbing cheese, meat and a bottle of wine and sitting on a dock watching sunset.
Restaurant L'Arazur - This was such an adorable spot for dinner on a quiet street. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was perfect.
Gelateria Del Porto - Best gelato ever! Just go!
Plage Keller (they have free parking) - Walk along the rocks. Find a spot to plop down away from all the crowds!
Hotel Cap Du Eden Roc - Okay, this is such a pretentious place but it’s so beautiful and worth seeing. We thought we would just go and grab a coffee, we thought surely that couldn't be too expensive. Well, $28.00 got us two americano's. I kept my cloth napkin (pictured below), since I figured we payed for that too. haha So just know that going but parking is free and you can walk around the lovely grounds for free.
Le Marche Provencal - Visit this local market that happens everyday.
"Antibes is always a good idea." - The Good Life
DO
We just took a little trip out from Antibes to Saint Tropez. It was a really lovely village. The vibe of the beaches are a bit more bumpin than Antibes but that could of just been where we were. We preferred ed the quiteness of Antibes over Saint Tropez but it was still beautiful!
EAT/do
Indie Beach - This was our first stop for lunch. I recommend getting a reservation because it was packed. They luckily fit us in and we had a wonderful lunch right on the water. This spot felt very chill and down to earth. I loved that you could also reserve lounge chairs here for the day if you wanted to plop down and stay a while.
EAT/DO
Saint Tropez
Just 40 minutes from Antibes is the quaintest little village where you feel miles away from the French Riviera. We enjoyed staying outside of the little village so much and wish we could of stayed longer.
STAY
Le Escale du Ciel- This is hands down one of our favorite bnb's. We arrived and the two pups greeted us. We then had a lovely snack on the terrace and sat by the pool for the rest of the afternoon. Since we booked this trip rather last minute there was only one night available but I got some serious home inspo from this gem!
Le Bar Sur Loup
Hotel Particulier des Jasmins - We had dinner at this lovely spot just a few minutes drive from the bnb and were absolutely blown away. The food and drinks were incredible and the setting was magic.It is also a great option to stay as there is a hotel on the property.
EAT
There are just no words to describe how incredible beautiful these fields were. They truly took my breath away. We really got lucky and happened to be there right at the peak time in July. If you are in this area around the time of the lavender blooming you cannot miss seeing it!
restaurant francis malleman at chateau la coste
Our last stop of the day was at Francis Mallemans restaurant on our way to our hotel. We didn't even know that he had a restaurant in France but somehow saw it in a magazine at one of the bnb's we stayed at and knew we had to do whatever it took to get to eat there. It was Bastille day and we didn’t have a reservation so our chances of getting in were slim. Somehow, by some miracle they had a table available and we soaked up every minute of it!
valensole:Lavendar fields
Roadtrip Day
grasse
From Le Bar Sur Loup we headed west towards Provence but had a full day ahead of us sightseeing. Grasse was our first stop and this little town is considered the worlds capital of perfume, so of course we had to make a quick stop there. We stayed here for a few hours and picked up some things to take back home with us and then continued on to our next location.
Next up on the list was checking out the Gorge. We grabbed some meats, cheeses and of course wine and ate while we waited for a boat to become available. Getting to cruise along the gorge was such a blast and it was so beautiful.I has no idea that something like this existed in France!
verdon gorge
verdon gorge
Le Beux de Provence
This little village in Provence was the perfect spot for us to stop for a few nights on our way to Toulouse.
Baumaniere - We stayed for two nights at this lovely hotel. It was a bit of a splurge for us but the grounds were amazing. The actual room we got was nothing fancy but the property and pool were so special!
STAY
STAY
STAY
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We ate in the little town both days we were there as it was walking distance from the hotel. Just go into the village and pick a spot. Sometimes not having a plan is the best plan of all!
eat
DO
We honestly hung out at the hotel pool both days and just relaxed. The World Cup game was going on while we were there so we hopped in to a local bar in town and watched France win with all of the locals. We were chanting things in french with everyone and it was a moment I will never forget!
From Provence we drove 2 and a half hours to our final destination. The quiet village of Montreal (Pronounced Mon-ree-all).
STAY
Camellas Lloret- I know I have said this same thing in this guide but this spot was also one of our favorite bnbs we have ever stayed in. Everything was just so spot on. Annie and Colin were such wonderful hosts and were so helpful with anything we wanted to do. It honestly felt like we were just staying at a friends house...but those friends you are jealous of because they get to live in France and have an insanely beautiful home.
Montreal
Chateau de gudanes
Day Trips From Montreal
It has been a dream of mine to go see this insanely beautiful chateau that is being restored. Stays will open back up in 2022. We just went and got to tour it but it is a place not like any other.
Saint Remy de Provence
This was another lovely village that we visited for a couple of hours and grabbed lunch and walked around. Definitely a place worth seeing!
L'isle Sur la Sorge
We loved visiting this adorable little spot. It is known for its antiques and waterwheels. We ate lunch at the cutest little spot right on the water called Olive et Raisin. It started raining as we sat down and the window was open so we just watched the rain fall while we ate our charcuterie. It was marvelous. After lunch, we just walked around the lovely streets and went into some antique shops.
This adorable little spot is known for its antiques and waterwheels!
L'isle Sur la Sorge
Leucate Beach
For our last day we went to this beach which was about an hours drive from Camellas Lloret. It was such a great beach spot with hardly anyone there. It definitely had the feeling of a more locals beach and the food at the restaurant was amazing!
