158 Best Sights in The French Riviera, France

As Cours Saleya is the heart of the Vieille Ville, so this impressive and broad square is the heart of the entire city. It's framed by early-17th-century, Italian-style arcaded buildings, their facades stuccoed in rich red ocher. The lively and boisterous space hosts an event—from Carnaval to the Christmas market—at least once a month, and Promenade du Paillon runs through it. Nespresso has a boutique here if you need a free coffee to perk you up.

Not far from the Commune quarter, the Old Town invites you to explore its streets lined by a mix of shops, galleries, restaurants, and bakeries. Aim to wind up on Place Nationale, the site of the Roman forum. It's a pleasant place for a drink under the hackberry trees, which allow for the right amount of shade in summer and sunshine in winter.

Across from Cours Saleya, the Riviera's largest private beach (it's closed November through March, though its restaurant remains open for lunch year-round) is one of Nice's nicest; you can gain access by renting a pricey lounger for the day via phone. The beach itself is stony, so wear water shoes. If there are jellyfish sightings, you'll see a written warning of "méduse" on a beach board; ditto for strong winds. Steps from Beau Rivage on the Prom is Nice's own Statue of Liberty (look carefully, as she's only 4½ feet tall). Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; showers; toilets. Best for: sunset; swimming.

This sandy beach west of Juan-les-Pins is popular thanks to its size and is thus also known as La Grande Plage. It offers a mix of public and private sections. The private areas provide amenities such as sun loungers, chairs, and umbrellas, typically available for daily rental fees. The beach is family-friendly, with gentle slopes into the Mediterranean Sea, making it suitable for swimmers of all levels. The surrounding area features a variety of cafés, restaurants, and shops. Amenities: showers; toilets. Best for: swimming.

This family-friendly haven with a 2 km (1¼-mile) sandy beach is in the 333-acre Base Nature François Léotard and is backed by nature reserve lands rather than by a main road, though there is parking nearby. In addition to picnic, play, and fitness areas there are accessible pathways (including those good for cycling), showers, and restrooms equipped for those with disabilities. Areas for swimming and those reserved for watersports are sign posted. Amenities: lifeguards (in summer); parking (fee in summer); showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: swimming; walking; windsurfing.

Nestled in the village of Agay, a 15-minute drive northeast of Saint-Raphaël, this tranquil sandy stretch is popular with locals and has stunning views of Cap Dramont. Less crowded than city beaches and more sheltered from the wind, it's an ideal spot for a peaceful swim. Amenities: food and drink; showers; toilets. Best for: swimming; walking; sunset.

This sandy public beach at the edge of town has lifeguards (mid-June–mid-September), as well as free showers and toilets. You can rent loungers nearby. Amenities: lifeguards; parking (no fee); showers; toilets. Best for: swimming.

Thanks to its perfect oval bay, the finest, softest sand on the Riviera, magnificent views that stretch out to Antibes, and relatively calm waters, this northeast-facing beach is a real jewel—and the first in the country to impose a "No Selfie" zone (albeit for only a season). Getting the Gucci-clad spillover from the Hôtel du Cap–Eden Roc, the high-end private beach clubs here open onto the sand. Quieter folk stick to the public section at the other end. There are also two snack bars. Amenities: food and drink; parking (no fee); showers; toilets. Best for: swimming.

Sandy shores and free parking make this public beach popular with families and, when the east wind blows, with windsurfers, too. It was a key site in the 1944 Allied landings of World War II. An M4 Sherman DD tank, unearthed in 2011, stands at the entrance to the car park as a poignant reminder of its wartime past. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards (in summer); parking (free); showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: swimming; walking; windsurfing.

This picturesque sandy beach is divided into four distinct zones. The family-friendly area, closest to the St-Aygulf parking lot, features three small bays sheltered by dams. The naturist zone lies close to the heart of the protected Villepey Ponds natural area. For pet owners, the dog-friendly section is toward the Argens River. At the Fréjus end, swimming is prohibited in the dedicated kitesurfing zone. Amenities: parking (fee in summer); toilets; showers; water sports. Best for: swimming; nudists; windsurfing.

At the southern base of the Citadelle and past the cemetery, the closest public beach to the town of St-Tropez is easily accessible on foot (it's part of the coastal walkway, or sentier du littoral) and the most family-friendly. At the east end, you can rent loungers (€30 plus extra for an umbrella) from the restaurant Les Graniers. There are no public toilets or showers, but if you are a client of the restaurant you can use its facilities. Amenities: food and drink; parking (no fee). Best for: swimming.

This small, popular public beach—on the west coast of Cap d'Antibes, north of Port de l'Olivette—offers stunning views of the Esterel mountains and the Îles de Lérins, with a picturesque tower in the shallows that attracts the Instagram crowd for that all important sunset shot. It's best accessed by bus or on foot from Juan-les-Pins as there is limited paid parking. Amenities: toilets; showers. Best for: swimming; sunset.

Situated between Cap des Salins and Point du Capon, this 600-meter public white-sand beach is the gateway to a stretch of Pampelonne Beach and its beach clubs, although it's more exposed to the wind and the sea can quickly become rough. It's lined by huge umbrella-pine trees, and you can rent loungers from the beach's private section. To the left, by the coastal path, is a quieter cove. Amenities: parking (no fee); showers; toilets. Best for: swimming.

Named after the Allied landings that took place in the area in August 1944, this is a sand-on-top-of-red-stone beach has great views of the Île d'Or, a private island. From town, head northeast toward Agay until you reach Le Dramont, where you'll see signs for the beach. Amenities: lifeguards; parking (no fee); toilets. Best for: swimming.

Situated between the casino and Cannes la Bocca, this public sand beach is one of the most beautiful in Mandelieu. Nearby are restaurants and a nautical center. If the views of the Îles de Lérins grow old, head to the neighboring Robinson beach and play some volleyball. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; showers; toilets. Best for: swimming.

You can rent a sunbed at the city's main (and largest) sandy beach, which also has access for people with disabilities. There are lots of cafés nearby, and, from the Old Port, you can take the Bateaux Bleus shuttle to St-Tropez. Amenities: lifeguards; parking (fee); showers; toilets. Best for: sunset; swimming; walking.

Situated in the heart of Juan-les-Pins, this municipal beach operates from June 1 to September 15. It offers sun loungers (limit of two per person) for a daily rate of €11 and has access and amenities for people with mobility issues. Amenities: food and drink; showers; toilets. Best for: swimming.

Here you'll find a sandy beach with calm waters and superb views, all without the hefty price tag of a private beach. Lockers are available, and chairs and umbrellas can be rented at a reduced cost. The beach is right next to the Palais Des Festivals and hosts nightly film screenings during the Cannes Film Festival, when the area is renamed "Salle de Sable." Amenities: lifeguards (in summer) toilets; showers. Best for: swimming; sunsets.

Situated at the east end of La Croisette, close to Port Canto, this municipal sandy beach has around 200 beach chairs, which can be rented by the day (€9) or half-day (€6.50). There is also a ramp and a lift for access. From mid-June to mid-September, you can reserve your beach spot online via the Mairie de Cannes ticket service ( mairiedecannes.tickeasy.com). Amenities: lifeguards (in summer); toilets; showers. Best for: swimming.

Almost at the end of the promenade and in front of Old Town, this basic stony stretch is a popular spot, with a melange of tourists and locals of all ages all day. In summer it has sandy volleyball courts. Keep an eye out for jellyfish. Amenities: lifeguards (seasonal); toilets. Best for: snorkeling; sunrise; sunset; swimming.

Locals come early—with umbrellas, chairs, and coolers in tow—to these two sizable public beaches around the halfway point of the promenade. As both are stone beaches with occasional jellyfish, water shoes are best for getting in and out of the sea. Lenval is a no-smoking beach with pay-to-use underground hot showers, toilets, and lockers, as well as portable toilets in the summer; it has no lifeguards or first aid station. These are, however, provided at neighboring Magnan, which is wider and lower than street level. This area is less touristy, so expect to see topless torsos. Amenities: lifeguards (Magnan, seasonal); showers; toilets. Best for: sunrise; swimming. When the winds pick up, this area can be dangerous, so watch for the warning flags, and avoid swimming for 24 hours after a storm.

In 1750, the Duke of Savoy ordered a port to be dug to shelter the approach of the city's maritime traffic. It's still a safe harbor for freighters, fishing boats, and yachts, and its redevelopment has made it easier to take in the area's Genoese architecture or peruse the antiques at the Puces de Nice emporium and other shops along Rue Robilant, near the large Port Lympia parking lot. From June to mid-October (daily 10–7), the free shuttle boat Lou Passagin ferries you across the port from the Quai Lunel to Quai d’Entrecasteaux. 

Whether you approach the waterfront from the train station or park along the Avenue de Verdun, you'll first encounter an awesome expanse of luxury yachts in Port Vauban. It has an underground parking lot and an attractive esplanade from which you can admire one of Europe's oldest and largest ports home to 1,642 berths—including 18 for superyachts of up to 525 feet. It's no wonder the antiques fair and sailing show chose this spot for their events every spring. With the tableau of snowy Alps looming in the background and the formidable medieval block towers of the Fort Carré (Square Fort) guarding entry to the port, it's difficult to find a more dramatic spot to anchor.

The superbly symmetrical island fortress was completed in 1565 and restored in 1967, but can only be admired from afar. Across the Quai Rambaud, which juts into the harbor, a tiny crescent of sand called La Gravette beach offers swimmers one of the last soft spots on the coast before the famous Riviera pebble beaches begin on strands farther east.

Running behind Old Town, this 50-acre park, known as the Coulée Verte (Green Belt), offers a playground for kids, a refuge for adults enjoying free Wi-Fi, and a venue for the city's annual and one-off events. Nice’s green lung is undergoing a major extension set to complete by the end of 2025, stretching from the Promenade des Anglais to the Palais des Expositions. This urban forest will feature over 1,500 newly planted trees, enhancing biodiversity and reducing atmospheric pollutants by an impressive one tonne (approximately 2,200 pounds) annually.

Stroll the length of Menton's famous beachfront along the Promenade du Soleil: broad, white, and studded with palm trees, from Plage du Fossan in front of the covered market Marché des Halles westward to Plage de la Piscine, next to the indoor municipal swimming pool Les Bains du Cap (€7.50 entry). A little farther along the seaside walkway, Le Paradis de la Glace ice-cream parlor is a reward any time of year.

Beaulieu's small beach attracts families with children, and you can rent paddleboards and jet-skis during high season. On the Promenade Maurice-Rouvier, a paved pedestrian path that begins not far from the Villa Kerylos, you can stroll the waterfront, past grand villas and their tropical gardens, all the way to St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. The 30-minute walk winds along the Baie des Fourmis (Bay of Ants)—whose name alludes to the black rocks that appear to be "crawling" up from the sea—and has great views of the sparkling Mediterranean and surrounding mountains.

To get a feel for the territory, start your exploration at the far east end of the Vieille Ville and walk out to the end of the Quai Napoléon III, which juts far out into the water. Above the masts of pleasure boats, all of Menton spreads over the hills, and the mountains of Italy loom behind. This is the place to be at sunrise.

Walk along Quai Suffern where the statue of the Bailli de Suffren, an 18th-century customs official, stands guard. Continue past the quayside streets lined with famous cafés to the Môle Jean Réveille, the harbor wall, where, if the wind isn't too strong, you can walk out for a good view of Ste-Maxime across the sparkling bay, the hills of Estérel, and, on a clear day, the distant Alps. Retrace your steps along the digue to the 15th-century Tour du Portalet, and head onward to the old fishermen's quarter, the Quartier de la Ponche, just east of Quai Jean Jaurès.

Here you can find the Port des Pécheurs (Fishermen's Port), on whose beach Bardot did a star turn in And God Created Woman. Complete with gulf-side harbor, St-Tropez's Old Town is a maze of twisting, narrow streets—designed to break the impact of the mistral—that open to tiny squares with fountains. Trellised jasmine and wrought-iron birdcages hang from the shuttered windows, and many of the tiny streets dead-end at the sea.

The main drag here, Rue de la Ponche, leads into Place l'Hôtel de Ville, landmarked by a mairie (town hall) marked out in typical Tropezienne hues of pink and green. Head up Rue Commandant Guichard to the baroque Église de St-Tropez to pay your respects to the bust and barque of St-Torpes, every day but May 17, when they are carried aloft in the Bravade parade honoring the town's namesake saint.

Despite its civilized airs, Moustiers is another gateway to the Gorges du Verdon, providing the best access to the southern bank and the famous drive along D71 called the Route de la Corniche Sublime. (There's also the scenic 23-km [14-mile] route along the northern ridge, Route des Crêtes along the D23, which starts at Castellane and has no fewer than 14 viewpoints that cut through the ridges of the canyon.)

Breathtaking views over withering drop-offs punctuate this vertiginous road just wide enough for two cars if you all hold your breath. The best of the vistas is called the Balcons de la Mescla, with viewpoints built into the cliff face overlooking the torrential whirlpool where the Verdon and Artuby combine.

Two blocks behind La Croisette lies this attractive high-end shopping street. At its western end is Rue Meynadier, packed with trendy clothing boutiques and fine-food shops. Not far away is the covered Marché Forville, the scene of the animated morning food market. Rue Hoche, behind Rue d'Antibes and down from Galleries Lafayette, has lots of boutiques and cafés.