5 Best Sights in The French Riviera, France

Shaded by plane trees and sheltering a sandy pétanque field, this is a little piece of Provence in a big, glitzy resort town. Every morning except Monday, a flower market paints the square in vivid colors, and, during the weekend arts-and-crafts market (10–6), you can find paintings of flowers. The antiques market shares the space on Saturday and the first Sunday of every month.

To visit old Antibes, stroll the Cours Masséna, where every day from 6 am to 1 pm (except Monday September–May) a sheltered Provençal market tempts you with lemons, olives, and hand-stuffed sausages. Here both vendors and shoppers take breaks in the shoebox cafés flanking one side. Painters, sculptors, and other artists take over at 3 pm every day (except Monday mid-June–September and Friday, Saturday, and Sunday October–mid-June). From Port Vauban, you'll find the cours by passing through an arched gateway beneath the ramparts and following Rue Aubernon to the old Portail de l'Orme, built of quarried Roman stone and enlarged in the Middle Ages.

Between the lively pedestrian Rue St-Michel and the waterfront, the marvelous Marché Couvert (Les Halles) is considered one of the best (but pricey) food markets in France. Its Belle Époque facade is decorated in jewel-tone ceramics, and it's equally colorful and appealing inside, where, each day, some 30 merchants sell homemade bread (one gluten-free) and mountains of cheese, oils, fruit, and Italian delicacies daily (be sure to try the local dish, barbbajuans, a fritter stuffed with Swiss chard and ricotta). On Saturday, there is a clothing market outside at Place Fornari. Across from the market, the Italian Café Sini sells to-die-for apricot croissants and mouthwatering pizzas.

Opened in 1934, this market still draws the chefs, connoisseurs, and voyeurs of Cannes every morning (except Monday, when there's a flea market). You'll see showy displays of still-flipping fish from some 25 local boats alongside glossy local vegetables piled high; cheeses carried down from the mountains; and sausages, olives, charcuterie, oysters, and flower stands. The whole scene gets hosed down by 1 pm, so don't linger too long over breakfast. The nearby Café de l'Horlage ( 7 rue du Marché Forville) is a good spot to relax after browsing.

Just a couple of blocks east of the train station along Rue Jean Jaurès, you can pick up fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as clothes, shoes, belts, and bags at the city's second covered market that's a little less upscale than the Marché Forville. While in the neighborhood, visit the nearby Asian and kosher shops, or stop in for one of the creamiest cappuccinos this side of Italy at Volupté ( 32 rue Hoche Closed Sun.).