Nice, Menton and Monaco: A Week on the Riviera in Winter

The Riviera is usually imagined in high summer, crowded with megayachts and private beaches. There is another way to experience it: slowly, in winter, linking Nice, Menton and Monaco over a week with no beach schedule and no need to book months ahead. This is the Riviera as locals know it, one that reveals its architecture, its cuisine and its light without the bustle of high season.

Days 1-3: Nice, your home base

Nice makes an ideal base for this winter week: well connected and compact, it lets you branch out easily to the villages nearby. Spend your first days in the old town, along the Promenade des Anglais, and on an excursion up to the Colline du Château. Here, the Matisse and Chagall museums can be enjoyed in the complete calm of the low season.

Day 4: Menton and its winter gardens

Menton, nicknamed the "pearl of France," enjoys a microclimate that lets citrus trees flower almost all year round. The town famously holds its Lemon Festival in the depths of winter, a burst of colour that stands out against the season's quiet. The gardens of Serre de la Madone and Val Rahmeh can be visited without summer's crushing heat, in an atmosphere that feels almost Mediterranean.

Days 5-6: Monaco beyond the summer glamour

Monaco, often linked to the Grand Prix and summer excitement, reveals a different side of itself in winter. The Rocher, the Oceanographic Museum and the exotic gardens can be explored at a gentler pace, and the Principality even offers a handful of gastronomic addresses that are more accessible outside the big event calendar.

Day 7: back along the Moyenne Corniche

End your trip on the Moyenne Corniche road between Nice and Monaco, which in winter offers exceptional visibility over the coastline thanks to air that's drier and clearer than in summer. A stop in Èze, a hilltop village often overrun in season, allows for a peaceful stroll through its medieval lanes this time round.

Where to stay along the way

Choose a hotel near the Promenade des Anglais for your first days in Nice, then a charming address in old Menton to make the most of the local microclimate. In Monaco, winter rates open the door to establishments usually out of reach during high season.

Exactly when to go

February, between the Lemon Festival in Menton and days that are already growing longer, offers the best balance of calm, budget and local atmosphere.