Best Towns on the French Riviera: Where to Stay and Base Yourself Along the Côte d’Azur
Stretching from Menton near the Italian border to Saint-Tropez in the west, the French Riviera includes dozens of towns with very different personalities, charms, and conveniences.
While the region began as a wintering destination for aristocrats, the roughly 125-mile Côte d’Azur, as it’s called in French, is now one of Europe’s most celebrated summer playgrounds and jam packed with an exciting mix of glamorous beach towns, medieval hilltop villages, gorgeous gardens, colorful ports and harbors, and one unmistakable royal outpost—Monaco—making it easy to discover many in one trip.
But which are the best towns on the French Riviera, and where should you stay? Let’s dive in and find out!
The good news is that the distances between the are short, which means you can move around or settle into one spot, and day trip from there by car, bus, train, or guided tours, which are varied and plentiful in this region.
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How to Choose the Right Town on the French Riviera
If this is your first visit, aim for access and flexibility. On a return trip, hunker down in a quiet village for atmosphere and setting
Best first-time base: Nice & Villefranche-sur-Mer
Best beaches: Antibes, Théoule-sur-Mer, Saint-Tropez
Most glamorous: Saint-Tropez, Monaco
Best hilltop villages: Èze, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Mougins
Italian-influenced Riviera feel: Menton
Underrated and quieter discoveries: Mougins, Biot
The Best Base for a First-Time Visit to the French Riviera
For first-time visitors, Nice and Villefranche-sur-Mer make the most practical and rewarding bases along the French Riviera.
Nice-Côte d’Azur (NCE) is the region’s main airport, and the city has excellent train connections running east toward Monaco and Menton on the Italian border, and west toward Antibes and Cannes.
In town, Nice is a lively mix of beaches, markets, cafe culture, museums, and Old Town streets brimming with charm. Staying in Nice is especially convenient if you’re not planning to rent a car.
Just ten minutes away by train or bus, Villefranche-sur-Mer delivers a completely different vibe with pastel waterfront tumbling down the hillside to the protected harbor, and the feeling of staying in a classic French Riviera fishing village, all while remaining close to everything Nice offers.
Together, the two create an ideal pairing for a first-time visit to the French Riviera
Nice: The Best Home Base for First-Timers
As the gateway to the French Riviera, Nice combines big-city conveniences with a Mediterranean vibe, especially along the waterfront known as the Promenade des Anglais, often simply called ‘the Prom.’
Cultural highlights include the Musée Matisse and the Marc Chagall National Museum. Don’t miss the views from Castle Hill overlooking the Baie des Anges and the terracotta rooftops of Vieux Nice. It’s spectacular, especially at sunset.
A key perk of basing yourself in Nice is that catch a train, tram, bus, or private car service to just about anywhere along the French Riviera (and France), making it super easy to plan excursions to iconic towns like Villefranche-sur-Mer, Antibes, Cannes, Monaco, and Menton.
📍For first-time visitors to Nice and the French Riviera, a guided day tour is one of the easiest ways to get oriented along the coast before deciding whether to rent a car. Many tours depart from Nice and include stops in several nearby villages in a single action-packed day. Here are a few well-reviewed Riviera day tours that start from Nice:
Classic Riviera Beach Towns
Saint-Tropez
Still the Riviera’s most famous seaside name, Saint-Tropez balances Provençal village charm with legendary nightlife, shopping, beach clubs, fantastic dining, and exceptional hotels—including Chateau de la Messardière, the setting of Season 4 of White Lotus.
If Saint-Tropez is on your Riviera wish list (and I don’t blame you one bit if it is), getting there takes some thought, mostly because of the distance and traffic.
📍Saint-Tropez cannot be reached directly by train, but seasonal boat transfers from Cannes and Nice make one of the easiest, most scenic, and stress-free ways to arrive. Cannes is easily reached by train from Nice, so traveling to Saint-Tropez by boat is a good option for visitors without a car. It’s worth checking schedules early, as departures can book up quickly in peak season.
Cannes
Best known for its red carpet for its April film festival, Cannes is also one of the French Riviera’s most practical and elegant coastal bases.
The palm-lined Croisette promenade and its famous hotels anchor the waterfront, while the historic Le Suquet quarter above the harbor offers narrow streets, cozy restaurants, and views toward the Lérins Islands just off the coast.
Cannes is well-connected to the rest of the French Riviera by train, and has easy access to nearby towns like Mougins and Théoule-sur-Mer, for travelers looking for more under-the-radar destinations to explore.
Antibes
If Nice and Cannes feel too much like cities, and Saint-Tropez and Monaco feel too much like scenes, Antibes often ends up being the French Riviera town travelers settle into most comfortably.
Very close to Nice, Antibes has a picturesque old town and rampart walls that make it obscenely photogenic; sandy beaches (rare for the region) and walkable stone streets that make it feel like the French Riviera of your imagations.
The Picasso Museum is a good little culture stop to add to your itinerary in between sips of rosé. Visitors interested in Picasso’s connection to Antibes can also join an hour-long, highly-rated guided museum visit with a hands-on workshop to create your own souvenir masterpiece in the style of the famous artist
The nearby Cap d’Antibes peninsula offers some of the Riviera’s most beautiful coastal walking trails, a good place to contemplate the town’s storied literary history as a haven for “Lost Generation” writers, most notably F. Scott Fitzgerald, who used the area as his muse in Tender Is the Night.
Picturesque Towns Between Nice and Menton
The stretch of coastline between Nice and Menton includes some of the Riviera’s most picturesque seaside towns, each easy to visit by train or bus and ideal for slow harbor walks, waterfront dining, coastal hikes, and scenic viewpoints along the eastern Côte d’Azur.
Beaulieu-sur-Mer
Beaulieu-sur-Mer reflects the Riviera’s Belle Époque heritage with elegant waterfront promenades and nearby landmarks like Villa Kérylos, a reconstruction of an ancient Greek seaside residence.
The town sits directly on the coastal train line and makes an easy stop between Nice and Monaco. There is also a lovely coastal path from the villa to Cap-Ferrat, and I highly recommend you make it part of your visit.
Villefranche-sur-Mer
If you’ve ever imagined staying in a classic Riviera harbor town, this is probably the one you were picturing.
Villefranche-sur-Mer is a combination of colorful village houses, a quaint harbor, and alfresco dining just minutes from Nice by train or bus.
Its wide sandy public beach sits directly beside the train station, making it one of the easiest and most accessible swimming spots from Nice.
📍Villefranche is also an ideal base for exploring nearby Cap Ferrat, with its quiet coves, little beaches, coastal walking paths, and stunning villas to visit, including Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, one of the Riviera’s most memorable garden visits, and easy to combine with a visit to Villefranche or Beaulieu-sur-Mer.
Èze Village
Perched more than 1300 feet (400 meters) above the coastline between Nice and Monaco, Èze Village is one of the Riviera’s most dramatic hilltop destinations, known for its narrow medieval lanes and sweeping views over the Mediterranean.
At the summit, the Jardin Exotique d’ Èze, one of the Riviera’s most beautiful gardens, offers a viewpoint you won’t soon forget.
The village is also home to two of the coast’s most memorable small luxury hotels—Château Eza and Château de la Chèvre d’Or—making it one of the rare hilltop villages where staying overnight is as rewarding as visiting for the views alone.
For serious hikers, the Nietzsche Path is a steep 1.5- to 2-mile trail connecting the medieval perched village to Èze-sur-Mer at sea level.
📍Many French Riviera day tours from Nice include Èze as part of a half-day coastal itinerary with pick up and drop off at several locations. This one includes Monaco too.
Roquebrune-Cap-Martin
Another underrated Côte d’Azur stop, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, offers a quieter stretch of coastline with walking paths, gardens, and sweeping Mediterranean views within easy reach of the principality.
The dramatic cliffside Maybourne Riviera hotel has brought new attention to this part of the coast with its panoramic terraces overlooking the sea, while Maybourne La Plage, the hotel’s beach club below, provides one of the most stylish swimming stops along this eastern Riviera corridor.
The area is also known for the scenic coastal Le Corbusier Path, a memorable seaside walk connecting Roquebrune with Monaco.
Menton
With its pastel old town climbing above the harbor and gardens filled with citrus trees, Menton feels like the French Riviera exhaling a little before crossing the border.
Here, there is a strong Italian influence, visible in both its architecture and cuisine. The town is also famous for its annual Fête du Citron (Lemon Festival) held each spring.
If you’re the splurging type, three-Michelin-starred Mirazur, one of the French Riviera’s most celebrated dining destinations, is set on a hillside overlooking the Mediterranean.
French Riviera Towns Between Nice and Saint-Tropez
Head west from Nice toward Antibes, Cannes, and Saint-Tropez and the Riviera begins to feel a little wilder (and I don’t mean the nightlife).
Nice’s pebbly beaches give way to sandier ones in Antibes, Cannes, Sainte-Maxime, and Saint-Tropez, while the striking red cliffs of the Esterel mountains hide turquoise coves and excellent hiking.
Théoule-sur-Mer
Théoule-sur-Mer is often overlooked by first-time visitors.
The small village and its eight-mile coastline hide small coves and quieter beaches, including at the foot of the dramatic red Esterel mountains. Against the sapphire blue water of the Mediterranean, it is absolutely stunning.
For nature lovers seeking a little more space and scenery, yet still close enough to busier resort times, Théoule-sur-Mer could right up your alley, or chemin, I guess they’d say here.
It’s a popular spot for scenic walks and hikes in the Pointe de l’Aiguille State Park too.
Antibes
Antibes offers one of the Riviera’s most balanced stays, pairing sandy beaches with a lively old town, Provençal covered market, good hotel and dining variety, and renowned museums.
The coastal path around Cap d’Antibes is one of the most scenic coastal hikes on the Côte d’Azur, and the town sits directly on the main train line (though it’s about a 10-15 minute walk to the Old Town).
📍If you’re visiting the French Riviera during the warmer months, seeing the coastline from the water is one of the most memorable ways to experience it. This private 3-hour boat tour departing from Cannes cruises along the red-rock Esterel Massif coastline, around the Lérins Islands, and toward Cap d’Antibes, with time to swim in some of the French Riviera’s clearest coves.
Browse availability early, especially in summer when departures fill quickly.
Cannes
Centered around the palm-lined Boulevard de la Croisette, Cannes combines classic Riviera beaches with one of the coast’s best train-connected locations, making it an easy base for exploring Antibes, Nice, and inland villages like Mougins.
Climb through Le Suquet, the historic old quarter above the harbor, for some quaint restaurants and some of the best views of Cannes and the tranquil Lerins Islands just offshore.
Sainte-Maxime
Set just across the Gulf from Saint-Tropez, Sainte-Maxime offers a more relaxed, family-friendly French Riviera atmosphere while maintaining easy access to its famous neighbor.
The town has broad sandy beaches, a lively but manageable waterfront promenade, and a practical marina with frequent Bateaux Verts ferries connecting directly to the port of Saint-Tropez in about 15 minutes.
With easier parking, good markets, and a laid-back Provençal feel, Sainte-Maxime works especially well as a quieter base for exploring the western Côte d’Azur without the crowds and prices of staying inside Saint-Tropez itself.
Saint-Tropez
Home to the legendary Pampelonne Beach, Saint-Tropez is where glamour goes to vacation—but arrive early enough in the morning, and it still feels like a quiet French fishing village that just happens to wear designer sunglasses.
Even around its yacht-encrusted port, the mystique of Saint-Tropez lingers. I love to wander the narrow streets that look as if they’ve been polished. The Place des Lices, hosts a twice-weekly market year-round. The rest of the time, Saint-Tropez’s main square is for heated games of pétanque.
FYI: trains do not reach Saint-Tropez (only cars, boats, helicopters, and planes), but there are several other ways to get to Saint-Tropez.
Hilltop Villages of the French Riviera
Perched in the foothills above the coastline, many of the French Riviera’s medieval towns began as defensive fortresses built to guard against attacks from the sea.
They are more heavily invaded by tourists these days, especially Èze and Saint-Paul-de-Vence, which are among the most atmospheric, with winding stone streets, galleries, outdoor cafés, and Mediterranean Sea views.
Saint-Paul-de-Vence
Long associated with artists, including Marc Chagall (he lived here for nearly two decades and is buried in the village cemetery), the walled village of Saint-Paul-de-Vence remains one of the French Riviera’s most popular places to visit, only about 30 minutes from Nice.
Its narrow stone streets are filled with artist studios, while the nearby Fondation Maeght houses one of southern France’s most important collections of modern art.
If you’re considering an overnight, check out La Colombe d’Or —once a gathering place for artists, including Picasso, Matisse, and Chagall.
Mougins
When I pick up friends in Nice and make my way back toward Saint-Tropez, I often stop in Mougins for lunch. It’s the perfect place to show off the beauty of these hilltop villages.
Set in the hills behind Cannes, Mougins feels like a whisper in the whirlwind of busy French Riviera towns. It’s fun to just wander (and won’t take you long).
You’ll find a scattering of art galleries, studios, and casual bistros and restaurants. Pablo Picasso spent his final years here, and the village still retains a quietly sophisticated atmosphere.
For an elegant five-star hotel stay, Le Mas Candille is one of the French Riviera’s most appealing countryside lodgings and is within walking distance of Mougins.
Biot
It’s always nice to find a surprise when you travel, even when it’s to busy and well-known areas like the French Riviera, and Biot was a pleasant surprise.
The fortified medieval hilltop village near Antibes is known for its traditional glassblowing studios and its ‘bubble glass.’ Biot is also home to the Fernand Léger National Museum, making it a satisfying stop for off-the-beaten-path travelers and modern art lovers.
FYI: Biot (pronounced bee-ott) is one of the rare French language exceptions where the final consonant is not silent.
Monaco: The Riviera’s Royal Enclave
Though technically its own country and a Principality, Monaco is inseparable from the French Riviera experience.
From the haute couture shopping and Casino of Monte Carlo to the relaxed clubs on Larvotto Beach and the historic streets of Monaco-Ville, a visit here adds a distinctly glamorous dimension to any itinerary. And— it’s less than 30 minutes from Nice by train.
In case you’re wondering: even though Monaco is its own country and not part of the European Union, visitors can easily enter from France without a passport, but you will need one to enter the casino!
Suggested French Riviera Town Itineraries
1. First-Time French Riviera Trip
Best For: travelers who don’t want to rent a car or are visiting the French Riviera for the first time.
Base yourself in Nice. It’s a great, manageable city with narrow, atmospheric streets in its Old Town and the best waterfront walk on the French Riviera: the Promenade des Anglais, lined with restaurants, beach clubs, and plenty of blue chairs for resting and people-watching.
From Nice, half-day and day trips are easy to villages like Villefranche-sur-Mer, Antibes, Cannes, and Monaco. Many guided French Riviera tours also pick up and drop off in Nice, making it super easy for first-timers to get the lay of the land.
2. Glamorous French Riviera Itinerary
Best For: classic French Riviera icons, sightseeing, and beach club scenes
Combine visits to Cannes, Saint-Tropez, Monaco, and Cap Ferrat for a mix of historic grand hotels, yacht harbors, and some of the coast’s most famous beach scenes, dining, and shopping.
3. Hilltop Village Itinerary
Best For: art lovers, photographers, and quieter countryside scenery
Combine Èze, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Mougins, and Biot to explore medieval streets, artist studios, sculpture gardens, and some of the Riviera’s best-kept secrets.
4. Train the French Riviera from Nice to Menton
Best For: train-based day trips or overnights from Nice with dramatic views
Follow the TER trainline and the dramatic eastern French Riviera coastline from Nice to Villefranche-sur-Mer, Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, and Menton, stopping along the way or spending the night to enjoy villa visits, coastal hikes, and long, lingering lunches with a view. Trains also go to Antibes, Cannes and Théoule-sur-Mer and Saint-Raphael.
For easy booking, I usually check schedules and routes on the Trainline app. first because it makes comparing French Riviera train journeys much easier. You can also book on the Trainline website and print tickets if you don’t want your phone out all the time.
📍Although trains connect many towns along the French Riviera, some travelers will still prefer the flexibility of having a car. If you decide to rent one, picking up at Nice Côte d’Azur Airport often offers the best selection and rates.
I’ve found Auto Europe especially useful for comparing options across multiple providers—including a growing number of automatic transmission vehicles—so it’s a good place to check availability before your trip.
