The French Riviera in 3 to 8 Days

The French Riviera in 3 to 8 Days

This is the Riviera of Hollywood lore, a land of sunglasses, convertibles, and palm trees lording it over indigo surf. From glamorous St-Tropez and Cannes through picturesque Antibes to sophisticated Nice, this sprawl of pebble beaches and ocher villas has captivated sun lovers and socialites since the days of the Grand Tour. Artists, too: Renoir, Matisse, Picasso, and Cocteau all reveled in its light and left an impressive legacy of modern art behind them. If you're weary of the coast, it's three quick heel-clicks into another world: just behind the shore lie the golden hill towns of Old Provence: St-Paul, Vence, and Grasse.

3 Days

Base yourself in Antibes, exploring the Cap d'Antibes -- one of the few places in the region where the legend lingers; rich and residential, this 3-km-long (2-mi-long) peninsula is studded with private delights (great villas) and public wonders (the Jardin Thuret). Make a day-trip westward to Cannes, a town that maintains its grand-tour grace and glamour even after the film stars head home from its famous film festival; then stop in Picasso country at Vallauris; or head inland for Vence and St-Paul-de-Vence, two gorgeous hill towns famous for their art treasures (Matisse's Chapelle du Rosaire and the Fondation Maeght among them). On day three explore the museums and Old Town of Nice, where buildings are sumptuously adorned with wedding-cake half-domes and cupolas.

5 Days

Spend your first day and night in St-Tropez, whose fishing-village cachet translates into port-front cafés thick with young gentry affecting nonchalance but peeping furtively over their sunglasses in hope of sighting a film star, then make an excursion up to the hill villages of Ramatuelle and Gassin -- the latter has a fetching medieval ambience. The next day drive the coastal highway N98, stopping to visit Fréjus, home to Roman ruins and a fine cathedral. Still on N98, wind around the dramatic Corniche de l'Estérel and make a triumphant entry into Cannes, straight down La Croisette.

Spend your third morning in Antibes -- be sure to visit the famous Château Grimaldi and Picasso museum -- then head inland for an afternoon in Vence or St-Paul-de-Vence, both good stopovers. Day four could be spent in Nice, full of big-city textures, scents, and history, rich with museums, and colored with its own cuisine and patois. Then escape for a quiet night in St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, a lush peninsula that shelters the lovely gardens of the Musée Ephrussi de Rothschild. On your last day bet your return ticket on the baccarat tables in Monaco.

8 Days

Expand the five-day itinerary with a second night in Cannes so you can make a boat trip to one of the idyllic Iles de Lérins. Spend two nights in Nice so you can take in the Matisse and Chagall museums and see the Baroque churches in the Old Town. Then spend two nights in Menton -- some say this is the most romantic townscape on the Riviera -- so you can visit the market and make an excursion to Roquebrune to see its château and walk the length of the cape.