Best French Riviera Towns for Families: My Favorites After 20 Years
I’ve been schlepping my family around the French Riviera for more than 20 years, starting when my daughter was six.
We’ve done it by train, car, and boat, with lots of walking too. Along the way, I’ve learned that some French Riviera towns simply work better for families than others.
The Côte d’Azur may conjure images of movie stars stepping off yachts, champagne-fueled beach clubs, and Ferraris circling Casino Square. All of that exists.
But so do sandy beaches, inexpensive trains, markets piled with fruit, museums that don’t require an entire day, and restaurants where no one looks horrified when you arrive with children.
Better yet, no two towns feel quite the same. One might tempt you with beaches and gelato, another with art and grand villas, and another with markets and a food scene just ripe for budding gourmets.
These seven are the French Riviera towns I’d recommend most for families, whether you’re traveling with little kids, teenagers, adult children, grandparents, or some ambitious combination of all of them.
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Why I keep coming back to the French Riviera
When we moved from California (by way of Florida) to Brussels, Belgium, I knew sunny days would be something I’d miss. I loved living in Brussels, but I craved blue skies and warm weather, especially during Northern Europe’s long grey winters.
So, we started heading south, like geese!
I’ve always been a Francophile, and my husband loves being near water, so the French Riviera made sense for family vacations. And because Europe is so easy to travel around, we could get to the south of France by plane, train, or car.
Nice, Grasse, Lorgues, Avignon, Cassis, Marseille, and small villages whose names escape me—we’ve stayed in them all.
But one day we drove to Sainte-Maxime to pick up the keys to another at a real estate office, and we felt it—the light, the seaside setting, the outdoor dining, even in winter.
The air was cold, but the sun felt warm on our shoulders. Families filled the brasseries. The church bells rang on the hour. Sailboats bobbed in the harbor, and a little navette crisscrossed the bay, taking visitors to Saint-Tropez. It was un vrai coup de cœur—love at first sight.
My daughter was just six when we bought a small village house just up the road from that real estate office, and Sainte-Maxime has been our most permanent address.
We have returned every year since, replenishing and fortifying our family memory bank.
We’ve also used it as a base to explore the French Riviera.
What families will Appreciate About the French Riviera
One of the Riviera’s greatest family-travel advantages is decidedly unglamorous: public transportation.
Much of the coast is connected by the TER regional train network, making it possible to base yourself in one town and explore several others without renting a car. Nice, Antibes, Monaco, Beaulieu-sur-Mer and Menton are all on the coastal rail line.
You can have breakfast in Nice, lunch in Monaco, and gelato in Menton without getting in a car. I don’t mind driving, but with kids and luggage in tow, it’s nice not to have to navigate toll booths, roundabouts, and parking pay machines, too.
👉Travel Tip: I love the apps Omio or Trainline for booking rail travel in Europe. I can search scehdules, buy tickets, and have them all in one place keeping things organized at easy.
Add calm Mediterranean water, pedestrian city centers, outdoor dining, parks, beaches, and enough gelato shops to negotiate your way through at least one museum or art gallery, and the French Riviera becomes surprisingly attractive for families.
Most importantly- Europe, and in particular the French Riviera, is just a family-friendly place.
It’s expected that kids will scream with glee on the beach (or anxiety), dine with you at night, drip ice cream down their arms, and sit down in the middle of the sidewalk when they’re tired and hot.
C’est la vie. And it’s a good kind of vie at that.
7 Best French Riviera Towns for Families
This is by no means a comprehensive list.
There are many, many more villages, towns, and cities that might appeal to you.
But after 22 years of exploring (my daughter is now 28), these are places that have never failed me when planning a great family vacation to the French Riviera.
Pick what’s best for your family’s travel style and vacation wishes, and you won’t be disappointed.
1. Nice: Best for First-Time Family Trips
If you’re visiting the French Riviera for the first time, Nice is one of the easiest places to call home.
And if you’re returning to the French Riviera for the 10th time, I believe the same is true.
When time is limited and you want to make the most of your vacation time, Nice really does make sense.
It offers a wide variety of activities & accommodations that the whole family will enjoy, plus you can get anywhere from here by car, bus, tram, and day trips by train.
The region’s main airport (NCE) is there; the city has three train stations and offers an array of hotels and Airbnbs, grocery stores and markets, parks and outdoor restaurants, and public and private beaches.
It’s easy to unpack once in Nice. The city is also big enough that different generations can find their own fun. Beaches for some, food tours for others, museums, day trips, and boat rides for all.
You name it, there’s a good chance you’ll find it in Nice.
Where to Eat
Start in Vieux Nice and the Cours Saleya market, or sign up for an edible tour to taste some must-eat specialties of the French Riviera. The area is also loaded with casual cafés and restaurants.
My daughter loved eating gelato at Fenocchio on Place Rossetti , a really popular place often with a line-up, in a scenic square.
What to Do
The city is also one of the Riviera’s art capitals. The Matisse Museum and Marc Chagall National Museum are manageable enough to pair with something else (and provide a welcome air-conditioned break in summer).
Nice’s beaches are a highlight for visitors, and the gorgeous turquoise Mediterranean Sea is edged by the Promenade des Anglais, a 5-mile-long path along the seashore, great for strollers, runners, and sunset watchers.
However, the adjacent beach is not sandy.
Instead, it has gray, smooth pebbles called galets. While there is a lot of open space to plop down on a towel, it’s not overly comfortable.
Private beach clubs take some of the ‘pain’ out of a beach day with loungers, umbrellas, restaurants, showers, and bathrooms. I like Le Galet for families.
It opens early, and as we know, sometimes kids are up at the crack of dawn. The food is great too, with something for every taste bud.
Where to Stay
There are a ton of choices in Nice, but I’m all about convenience when it comes to travel, especially to big cities.
I think Hotel Amour Nice ticks a lot of boxes. It’s got different room sizes, including some that connect to other rooms, making it ideal for families.
The hotel is also not massive, only 38 rooms, so you get a sense of personal touch here, rather than a generic hotel chain.
Hotel Amour Nice has a rooftop pool and an on-site restaurant serving breakfast, lunch, dinner, and afternoon snacks, which is helpful when you need to keep hunger from turning into hangry.
👉 Bonus: they have their own private beach club (Hotel Amour Plage), open from 9 a.m., just a few blocks away from the hotel.
Lastly, its location in the heart of Nice means you can easily catch a taxi or tram to various attractions or book guided tours of the city.
2. Sainte-Maxime: Best for an Easy Beach Vacation
I admit to some bias here.
I’ve been coming to Sainte-Maxime for more than 20 years, and it’s one of the places where I’ve watched family travel evolve firsthand, from traveling with a young daughter to returning with a fully grown one.
The town has always felt like a less flashy sibling of Saint-Tropez. just across the gulf, with family-friendly restaurants and beaches, waterfront rides, and easygoing dress codes.
Don’t get me wrong…I LOVE the over-the-topness of Saint-Tropez, and for small children, Sainte-Maxime is a great fit. It has sandy beaches right in town, a covered food market, casual restaurants, lots of kid-friendly waterfront rides, and a little tourist train tour of the village, too.
When a change of scenery is called for, Aqualand Sainte-Maxime delivers summer fun with wave pools and adrenaline-pumping water slides just a few minutes from town. My daughter loved this place when she was young.
As she got older, it was boat rides to Saint-Tropez that excited her—for lunch, shopping, night-clubbing, and the twice-weekly Provencal market that happens all year long.
Les Bateaux Verts ferries cross the gulf to Saint-Tropez in roughly 15 minutes during summer. And you can also take excursions further afield from Sainte Maxime too, to Porquerolles Island for example.
Where to Eat?
In Sainte-Maxime, there are many casual brasseries, such as Maison Bianca, that serve food all day. You can’t reserve, but it’s super family-friendly, and if you’re craving a burger, like my husband usually is, this is his spot.
I really like Mamma Mia for good pasta, but for pizza, book a table at La Planque.
For years, the building on a quiet street was my favorite creperie. But for the last few years, it has been a unique pizza spot owned by a guy recently crowned a pizza-making champion in France.
And the pies are good, named for some of his famous rock songs and bands (I like the Red Hot Chili Pepper Pizza), and the beers are brewed in the region.
Where To Stay
When traveling with family, especially during hectic summer travel months, I put convenience at the top of my hotel wish list. When it’s hot, stomachs are growling, and nap time can’t come soon enough, a well-located hotel is priceless.
The Best Western Hotel Matisse is right in the center of town, across from a parking garage, near tons of cafes, a 5-minute walk to the nearest beach and bonus—it has a small pool out back.
This is a 3-star hotel with simple rooms, but I don’t mean this as a negative.
Hotel Matisse is clean and comfortable, and its location in the heart of Sainte-Maxime means you can walk everywhere in minutes.
3. Antibes: Best for Art + Beach
Antibes has been welcoming travelers for a very long time. Ancient Greeks and Romans came here well before Picasso, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and us tourists.
The Old Town remains wrapped in historic stone ramparts overlooking the Mediterranean, with narrow streets and café-filled squares within, and beaches and coastal trails just beyond.
If you’re interested in art, or want to infuse the trip with a little culture, check out the Musée Picasso, housed inside the 14th-century Château Grimaldi right on the sea.
The artist lived and worked here in 1946, and the collection includes paintings, drawings, and ceramics by Picasso, along with works by other modern artists.
📍Got a budding Picasso in the family? Turn a museum visit into something kids can actually get their hands on with this Picasso Museum drawing tour.
A local artist leads you through the museum for inspiration, then takes you outside to create a Picasso-inspired artwork on the streets of Antibes. What a great souvenir!
Beach Days
Antibes has sandy beaches — hallelujah —and lying on them is much more comfortable than in Nice. Plage de la Salis (Salis Beach) is close to town, with soft white sand. It gets packed in the summer, however, so be prepared to stake out a spot early.
It’s a nice sand beach with a stunning view, although it’s not terribly wide and does get super-packed in summer.
Ponteul Beach is another favorite, most because of the views back to the old town and ramparts. It’s predominantly public, but there’s a lovely private beach club called Royal Beach, where you can sit on a comfy lounger, order drinks and admire the surroundings.
Coastal + City Walks
Active families with older children can tackle part or all of the roughly three-mile Tirepoil coastal trail around Cap d’Antibes. It hugs the rocky shoreline past coves and mansions and is one of the prettiest walks in the area. It’s easy , but some parts are on uneven ground.
👉Tip: Start near Plage Keller (also a nice place to eat) and end at Billionaire’s Bay (a good place to jump in the sea).
Want someone else to do the navigating? This 2.5-hour Antibes walking tour with a local guide winds through the Old Town, Provençal Market, cathedral and lesser-known corners of the city before finishing at Port Vauban.
Along the way, you’ll get local stories, food tips and restaurant recommendations—which means less time staring at your phone and more time actually looking at your phone.
Where to Shop
When you need to update your beach read library, be sure to stop by Antibes Books, one of the few English-language bookstores on the French Riviera.
Where to Stay
Did I mention how much I enjoy convenience?
Royal Antibes Hotel is less than a mile from the old town, 10 minutes to the Picasso Museum on foot, and has standard rooms and apartments.
Best of all, it’s the ONLY hotel in Antibes city center located directly on the seafront, with a private beach, too.
For an easy, plug-and-play Antibes family vacation, this is where you need to be.
4. Monaco: Best for Kids Who Like Cars, Sharks and Palaces
Monaco has a reputation for requiring a yacht, a Ferrari, and possibly a trust fund. I can confidently confirm that it doesn’t.
I’ve been bringing my daughter to Monaco for years, and some of the things we’ve enjoyed most are surprisingly inexpensive or free.
The principality is compact and less than 30 minutes by train from Nice. Once you’re there, air-conditioned buses, public elevators, and escalators make getting around with kids surprisingly easy.
Do not underestimate those elevators. Monaco may be tiny, but it’s not flat.
What to Do
The Oceanographic Museum is one of the great family attractions on the French Riviera, with aquariums, sharks, sea turtles, and exhibits devoted to the marine world.
The museum is just a few minutes’ walk from the Prince’s Palace, parts of which can be visited. There is also a changing of the guard each morning at 11:55 on the square in front of the palace.
Car lovers should head to the Collection of Cars of H.S.H. the Prince of Monaco, where roughly 100 vehicles range from vintage Rolls-Royces and royal limousines to Ferraris, Formula 1 cars and Monte Carlo Rally legends.
Where to Eat
For lunch, skip the glamorous dining room and go where locals go: the Condamine Market. Order fresh pasta, sushi, or barbajuan, Monaco’s traditional fried pastry filled with Swiss chard and cheese.
Larvotto Beach is worth checking out too, if only for the calm water, safe for swimming with young children. There are public beaches, but also a few private clubs and restaurants.
I particularly like La Note Bleue. It’s been there for a while, and they have dialed in the right rhythm and vibe that make it feel like a living room by the sea, with fresh seafood, live bands, and music all summer long.
Umbrellas and sun chairs are available for rent (you can book online), and La Note Bleue is open for breakfast — something I always appreciated with a kid who was an early riser.
5. Menton: Best for a French Vacation With an Italian Accent
Menton is arguably one of the most picturesque towns on the Côte d’Azur, known for its 19th-century Italianate buildings painted in cheery pink, yellow and orange pastels.
The whole place feels distinctly French, with an irresistible splash of Italy —no surprise given its location just a few miles from the border and its easy access from Nice by train — about 45 minutes.
For families, the town has a particularly winning combination: beach + pasta + pizza + gelato. And let’s be honest, sometimes planning a day out with kids doesn’t need to be more complicated than that.
Where to Shop
The town is known for its lemons and citrus, and various shops make it easy to pick up a zesty souvenir —a lemon-motif tablecloth, lemon preserves, lemon cookies, lemon-infused olive oil, etc— along Rue Saint-Michel, Menton’s central pedestrian old-town street.
The 19th-century covered marketplace is home to lots of lemons, of course, but it’s also a great place to pick up picnic staples, and is open daily from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Beach Day
The wide and pebbly Plage des Sablettes sits along the Quai Bonaparte below the old town and has shallow water, nearby showers and restrooms, and one of the prettiest views back toward Menton.
📍If you’re staying in Nice and want even more convenience, a private tour (with pick-up in Nice and a stop in Monaco) can be a convenient way to get everyone from point A to point B without worrying about trains.
The French Riviera is popular during summer, but if there’s any lure to visit in February, it’s the village of Menton when the Fête du Citron transforms the city with parades, music, costumes, and enormous floats created from tons of lemons and oranges. It’s wonderfully zany.
Where to Eat
The undisputed hero restaurant in Menton is Mirazur, helmed by chef Mauro Colagreco. It holds three Michelin stars, has been voted the world’s best restaurant, and features a biodynamic, nature-inspired tasting menu priced at around €450 per person. Yowza!
6. Saint-Paul-de-Vence: Best for Sneaking Some Art Into the Vacation
Eventually, everyone needs a day away from the beach (and to see something besides another inflatable unicorn).
Enter the perched village of Saint-Paul-de-Vence.
About 10 miles from Nice, this medieval hilltop village center, surrounded by medieval ramparts, is entirely pedestrianized, inviting visitors to follow the footsteps of artists who lived and worked here.
Marc Chagall called Saint-Paul de Vence home for nearly 20 years, and the village remains one of the French Riviera’s great artistic destinations.
👉For more places to soak up art on the French Riviera, see my guide.
Wander leisurely through galleries and shops. And for some good family fun, book a pétanque lesson through the tourist office or stop at Place de Gaulle, where locals regularly play beneath the plane trees.
Where To Stay
Picasso, Chagall, Miró, and others famously exchanged artwork for meals and lodging, and many of those works remain on the walls. You can reserve for lunch or dinner, or wander the village for more casual finds.
Just a few minutes from Saint-Paul-de-Vence, family-friendly Hotel Les Bastides Saint Paul is a three-star choice with air conditioning and a pool, a great way to cool off after a day of exploring.
If you arrive by car, parking is free. Woot!
Where to Eat
La Colombe d’Or, just outside the medieval ramparts, is a legendary, family-run art hotel and restaurant famous for its museum-quality 20th-century art collection amassed when penniless masters like Picasso and Matisse paid for meals and lodging with their work.
Traditional Provençal and classic French country dishes are served family-style in a rustic indoor dining room or on the shaded garden terrace.
7. Beaulieu-sur-Mer: Best for Multigenerational Families + Villa Visits
The French Riviera loves a hill. Beaulieu-sur-Mer, mercifully, does not.
Just a short train ride from Nice, this small seaside town has Belle Époque architecture, palm-lined promenades, grand villas, and a quieter vibe than other Cote d’Azur towns.
And it’s relatively flat, which matters when you’re pushing a stroller, traveling with grandparents, or simply don’t want every outing to become an unscheduled StairMaster session.
-minute ride from theThe train station sits right in town too, making it easy for a day trip from Nice for lunch or a visit to the public Plage de Baie des Fourmis. It’s just a 10-12 minute ride from Nice-Ville or Nice Riquier stations.
What to Do
I never tire of visiting Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild. It’s stunning and a peek into the Belle Époque era. Tour the pink villa, its art and furnishings, and the nine themed gardens, musical fountains, and Mediterranean views.
And there’s a tearoom. Never underestimate the motivational power of pastry.
For older kids interested in ancient history, Villa Kérylos offers something completely different.
Built in the early 1900s as an elaborate recreation of an ancient Greek nobleman’s home, the waterfront villa is filled with mosaics, marble columns, frescoes, and courtyards.
Where To Eat
An iconic French Riviera restaurant, African Queen offers a friendly and elegant atmosphere overlooking the harbor, open from noon until 11 p.m.
Even though it’s not on the water, I like Maonas for its fresh pasta and wood-fired pizza menu, as well as French Riviera specialties such as Panisse.
Where to Stay
La Réserve de Beaulieu is exceptional and a splurge, but if you want a place for everyone and are celebrating something special, this is heaven.
What’s not to love about it? I don’t know. It’s got 39 rooms, suites, and villas, an amazing seaside location, a Michelin-star restaurant, a spa, and a pool.
And, if you do decide you want to explore more beaches on the French Riviera, the train station is a 5-minute walk.
Which French Riviera Town Is Best for Your Family?
After more than 20 years of doing this, I don’t think there’s one “Best” French Riviera town for every family.
For a first trip and the easiest transportation, I’d choose Nice.
For a relaxed sandy-beach vacation with easy access to swanky Saint-Tropez, Sainte-Maxime is hard to beat.
For families who want beach time mixed with nature walks, art, and history, Antibes is a go-to.
For kids fascinated by cars, marine life and the novelty of visiting the world’s second-smallest country, try Monaco.
For pasta, gelato, and a little taste of Italy, la dolce vita of Menton ticks all the boxes.
You get the idea. And the great thing about the French Riviera is that you don’t necessarily need to pick just one.
The trains, boats, and short distances make it easy to try something new without having to relocate every few days. Pick a good home base, leave some space in the itinerary, and go exploring.
