Great Beaches around Nice

21 Tuesday Oct 2014

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Cap D'Ail, Eze, Great Beaches, Nice, Paloma

La Reserve Maya from the water

La Reserve Maya – Cap d’Ail

Wonderful beach club in a very protected cove. Hard to get to, many come by boat. The best way to arrive is by train. Get off at the Cap d’Ail stop, walk under the tracks and turn right and follow the path for about 5-10 minutes. If you come by bus it is a long walk down (and even longer walking up). Not much parking if you bring a car. Great beach for lounging and swimming. Great restaurant and bar.

Paloma Beach – Cap Ferrat

Summer season

This is probably our favorite beach club, and perhaps favorite beach. Doesn’t seem to get really over-crowded as Cap Ferrat is a little out of the way. Restaurant is only open during the summer, so otherwise pack a lunch or eat before or after in the port down next door of St. Jean. Our favorite dish is the Loup (fish) for two. It is quite well protected from the wind and has great views looking back at Eze on the hillside. There are usually some very nice mega-yachts moored in front as well. You can get there by car (best way) or the #81 bus which stops in St. Jean and you just have to walk about 10 minutes to get to it. You may want to do a Cap Ferrat hike beforehand, you’ll enjoy the swim that much more.

Eze Beach

A couple of restaurants on this beach that actually is right across from Paloma Beach on the main shoreline (Cap Ferrat is nearly an island). Best way to get here is by train, as there’s a stop right at it and it’s an easy walk down to the water. Not a deep beach, but good for swimming. Bono lives just down the beach from here.

Villefranche

There are two beaches in Villefranche to enjoy, one in town and the other in the port. The one in the port can be seen in the photo above to the left. It is usually frequented mostly by locals so not as busy as the one in town. The beach is similar to that of Nice, it is made up of pebbles, where the one in Nice Centre is more of a sandy beach. In the port there’s a great restaurant that serves mostly locals and has good prices; La Baleine Joyeuse.

Nice Centre beach can get crowded as it is so close to town and a train stop. There’s a snack stand that sells stuff like hamburgers, hotdogs and ice cream (and some cocktails), or you may prefer to visit one of the restaurants next door in Villefranche. Long walk down from the bus stop, lots of parking if you take a car.

Plage de Passable

This is the second public beach on Cap Ferrat, on the opposite side of Paloma Beach. If you look closely at the panoramic above, just to the left of center, you’ll see a beach on the other side, on the peninsula of Cap Ferrat. That’s Plage de Passable. You get off the #81 bus at the Rothschild Mansion garden museum and walk down. There’s a beach club open during the summer, quite a bit of room and good for swimming as it is quite protected.

Castel – Nice Promenade

Nice Promenade des Anglais

This is the beach club that is at the far westerly end of the Nice beach, where the water tends to be a little more protected, at least during an easterly wind. We’ve tried a number of the beach clubs along here and like this one the best. But it isn’t open all year round. I know, it can’t be seen in this photo (it would be in the lower left corner), but next time I’m there I’ll get a new photo.

Plateau de Cavillore Hike at Gourdon, France

12 Sunday Oct 2014

Posted by johnyouden in France, Nice

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Gourdon, Great Hikes, Nice

On top of the bluff view

We’ve covered most of the coastal walks around Nice, and now have begun to search out hikes that are in the hills behind Cote d’Azur. Our first was behind the hilltop town of Gourdon, where there’s a bluff that overlooks the town and provides a very panoramic view of the coast and Mediterranean.

The name of the trail (you can see if snaking up in the photo above to the left) is the Plateau de Cavillore and it is accessible right from the parking lot below the entrance to Gourdon. Cross the street and look for the sign a little ways up highway RD12, about 50 meters. Continue to follow the signs and look for the yellow markings that mark the trail. It takes about an hour to get to the top and the hike up is about 300 meters in elevation and three kilometers in distance. It is marked as a “medium” level hike.

Looking down at Gourdon

On your return be sure to have lunch at the Taverne Provencale, which is in Gourdon and has wonderful panoramic views from most tables. Walk right through Gourdon’s main street to the end to get to it. Our favorite meal is the Salade Chèvre Chaud (Hot goat cheese salad), which is the best we’ve ever had; very unique and their house specialty.

Chèvre Chaud Salad at Taverne Provencale

To get to Gourdon, take the A8 out of Nice, over the bridge and the exit for La Colle sur Loup. From there take the D6, following the signs marked for Gourdon. You may want to take the other route back, which passes through Grasse. The drive both ways is a great one, especially in the fall when the leaves are turning color.

Gorge-du-Loup

Gourdon

Gourdon and view

Gourdon walkways

Gourdon

Nice Apartment – C’est finis!

29 Wednesday May 2013

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Apartment, Nice

Our spring project was the purchase and renovation of an apartment in the central part of Nice, France. We returned to Nice from Mexico in January, with really no intention of buying a place in Nice, but we were getting tired of living out of suitcases and moving from one rental apartment to another. We knew we eventually wanted to get a place in France, we just weren’t sure where, although Nice was looking better and better. Well, we ended up finding a for sale by owners that offered all we were looking for, so we went for it. Continue reading →

Well, so much for the nomadic style of life…

09 Tuesday Apr 2013

Posted by johnyouden in France

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Nice

Early last year I wrote about the new nomadic lifestyle we were undertaking in a post. Well, it didn’t last long. Last month we purchased an apartment in Nice, France and it looks like we’ll be spending a lot more time here. Nice is just a wonderful place with the Mediterranean in front, Alps behind and Italy right next door. The weather is probably the best in France. The town people are friendly, transportation services are great and currently it is undergoing some super infrastructure projects that will really make Nice shine in the near future. It’s actually an exciting time to be here.

The apartment is right in the heart of Nice so we can walk everywhere, and do. We recently took possession and began renovations last week. It was a three bedroom but we have removed a wall between two of the bedrooms to create one large one. We also removed a wall between the livingroom/dining room and the kitchen creating a larger living area. Renovations should take about a month so we should be moved in by mid’ May. So far the purchase and renovation process has been relatively hassle-free. We went to our first HOA meeting last week and it seems homeowner’s associations everywhere, in Canada, USA or Mexico (where we’ve been in HOAs) deal with the same problems. It was the same here, except it was in French.

Facade of apartment building

Livingroom before

Bedroom before

Hallway before

Hallway between bedrooms, before

Livingroom demolition

Between bedrooms wall demolition

Back to Auron

12 Tuesday Feb 2013

Posted by johnyouden in France

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Auron, France, Nice, skiing

Auron

We returned to Auron in mid’ February of 2013, but this time to ski not just to visit. We arrived on a Monday and it had been snowing all the night before and continued all the way up. We took the bus, which was a good idea as there were a lot of cars along the side of the road, and we reached Auron in 2.5 hours. When it cleared up in the afternoon we had more than 15 cm. of new snow on the hill. We took an afternoon pass (US$20), and enjoyed fresh power and sunshine. The next day they opened the other side of the mountain; so more fresh powder and even more sunshine. Not a cloud in the sky by mid’ afternoon.

Auron has 8 black runs, 17 reds, 15 blues and 2 greens. The reds are more like blue runs though, and the blues like greens. For their greens, you are probably not moving at all. Not many blacks and no double-diamonds unless you ski the bowl of Dome.

Auron is not a big place, but it sure makes it easy to get around and onto the hill. We stayed at Las Donnas, which was less than a 100 yards from the lift, and used the ski rental equipment of ?, which was just 20 yards from the main lift. The main lift, and the only way to get to the hill, is by taking a short gondola ride across a ravine. On the other side you meet up with another gondola which takes you to the top of Las Donnas. There are two primary peaks to ski; Las Donnas and Sauma Longue.

Hotel Las Donnas has been around since 1935. Nothing fancy, walls are paper thin, but the location is great with views looking over the hill. And the food and service is very good. We’d go back.

TIP: Weekends are busy with people coming up from Nice. And Wednesday’s is a holiday for school kids so the hill is full of kids getting ski classes. Keep that in mind and book accordingly.

Village of Auron, Hotel Las Donnas

Look at the cabin, gives an idea of how much snow they had

The village of Auron

Auron

Auron Dome & Face

Auron

Auron peaks

Flo & John in Auron

Amazing Chillies…

15 Tuesday Jan 2013

Posted by johnyouden in France, Random

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Nice, Random

Nice has great pizza, I guess it’s because at one time it was actually part of Italy, and not that long ago too. So the other night we went out for pizza (La Voglia, Cours Saleya, Nice). After living in Mexico for so long, it is now hard for me to have pizza without dried chili sprinkled on it. But in France, all they have is this bottle of oil with some full chilies in it, and it is never very hot; all you end up doing is loading your pizza up with oil (yeah, just what a high-cal pizza needs). I was going bring back some dried chili from Mexico, but forgot.

So on the table that night they bring out the bottle of oil, but this one has hardly any chilies in it, just these small things at the bottom of the bottle. So I asked, and surprisingly, received, dried chili on its own. Different though than I’m used to, they were small but were not ground up yet. So I grabbed a few and ground them up in my hands over the pizza.

First mistake. Continue reading →

Great Walks in Nice, France

13 Thursday Dec 2012

Posted by johnyouden in France

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Cap Ferrat, Great Walks, Nice, Walks

Nice to Villefrance Walk

If you’re in Nice, here’s some great walks you should consider doing:

Promenade Anglais Walk: A no brainer and a great casual walk on the promenade that runs the length of Nice from the airport to Vieux Nice. You can catch a bus back or make the long walk back. It’s nearly a 5 km walk.
Nice to Villefranche Shoreline Walk: This walk begins in the port of Nice at the southerly end, where the ferries dock and leave from. You’ll see a sign for the Nice Yacht Club with a walkway next to it, take this up to Blvd. Franck Pillate. Walk south and you’ll pass the Chateau des Anglais (built back in 1856 by Englishman Robert Smith, this fairtale castle is now used for private apartments. You’ll come to a pathway on your right that leads down along the shore, just past the Hopital d’Anglais bus stop. Take this and enjoy a wonderful seaside promenade, although it is a little more challenging than the first half of the balade; more ups and downs. It was also under repair at the end of 2012, working on the railings and bridges. You can follow this now right into Villefranche along the water. Then you can walk the highway back, take the small bus #82 from the port to get you onto the highway and then #81 or #100, or take the train back.
Cap Ferrat Walk – Promenade des Fossettes: Take the #81 bus to Cap Ferrat and get off at the small town/port of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. Follow Av. Jean Mermoz through town, past the port and past the restaurant La Voile d’Or, to where it intersects with Av. Claude Vignon. Across the street you’ll see a pathway the Promenade des Fossettes. Short but nice oceanside walk, that makes a circle around the point. On the way back you’ll find Paloma Beach, bring your bathing suit to cool off. For the longer walk, visit this link.
Mont Boron to Villefranche Walk: Best way to take this walk is to take the #14 bus from the port in Nice, up to the top of Mont Boron. It’s the last stop. You can walk over into Villefranche or down the front back down to the port of Nice. Both paths are quite nice with great viewpoints.
Mala to Monaco: Very pleasant walk along the coast, easy to do and some great views. There’s some places to have picnics as well along the way, with tables and benches.

Here’s a couple of links from a Cote d’Azur blog I recently discovered, with quite detailed descriptions of walks around Nice, and actually around French Riviera:

Exploring Nice
Around Old Town Nice

Cap Ferrat Walk

Nice to Villefranche Walk

Monaco Walk

Monaco

Walk to Monaco

Walk to Monao

Monaco Walk

Nice Promenade des Anglais

Nice to Villefranche – Citadel

Nice to Villefrance Walk

Cap Ferrat Walk

Nice Promenade Walk

Nice to Villefranche

Nice to Villefranche Walk

Cap Ferrat Walk

Cap Ferrat Coastal Walk

08 Thursday Nov 2012

Posted by johnyouden in France

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Cap Ferrat, Great Walks, Nice, Walks

This is a great walk/hike that is actually divided into two parts, one easier and shorter than the other. In some ways these are a continuation of the Promenade des Anglais and Nice/VilleFranche walks – you could actually do them all in a line (but I wouldn’t try to do it in one day).

The shorter is easier, takes less than a 1/2 hour to do and is known as Promenade des Fossette. To get to both of these take the #81 bus from Nice to Cap Ferrat and get off at the small town/port of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. Follow Av. Jean Mermoz through the town, past the port to where it intersects with Av. Claude Vignon. Across the street you’ll see a park and the pathway for the Promenade des Fossettes. Short but nice oceanside walk, that makes a circle around the point. On the way back you’ll find Paloma Beach, bring your bathing suit to cool off. By the way, there’s a restaurant with a great terrace overlooking the port with very reasonable prices (6 euros for a 50 cl. pichet of red, wine or rosé) called the Seaside Cafe. Pizza, pasta and daily specials.

The second intermediate walk takes you around a larger part of the Cap Ferrat peninsula (actually the majority of it) and is called the Chemin de la Carriere. You can continue or begin from the park mentioned above by following Av. Claude Vignon. Turn left on Av. de la Puncia and then right on Chemin de la Carriere. There’s a gate but you just have to walk along it. This path takes nearly two hours but offers some great viewpoints, wonderful places to picnic and even to swim. When the trail ends you can walk back up to the roadway (keep turning left) and there’s a bus stop when you reach the main road, right in front of the Rothschild’s Gardens.

Cote D’Azur Sentiers

Cap Ferrat

Port of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat

Map of Cap Ferrat Walking Trails

Motorbiking around Nice, Cote d’Azur

27 Thursday Sep 2012

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Cote d'Azur, Eze, Motorbike, Nice

: View from above Eze, looking back towards Nice on D2564

We enjoying renting scooters or motorbikes to get around easier and to see more. In late September, while renting a place in Vieux Ville de Nice, we rented a 125cc scooter and headed east from Nice toward Menton. Along the way we passed through Villefranche, toured around Cap Ferret viewing the spectacular homes and mansions, Monaco with its towering highrises and luxurious casinos, and port filled with superyachts, and finally Menton which is a favorite of ours. We rented it at noon and kept it for 24 hours and ended up costing, including fuel, less than 90 dollars. What a deal.

At Cap Ferret we stopped at the port for a bit, and then went up Av. Jean Mermoz to Paloma Beach. There is an excellent pathway here around part of the point, an arm of it, called the Promenade des Foussettes. Takes you right around one of the points of Ferret and is quite picturesque. There is also the Rothschild mansion on the Cap, and you can turn the gardens. On the Cap is also the summer home of Leopoldo of Belgium.

From Cap Ferret we continued along the road/highway closest to the shoreline (D6098) through small towns such as Beaulieu-Sur-Mer, Cap d’Ail and then Monaco. We drove up and down a number of the streets in Monaco, saw the Casino and the Strip, but the highrises and the compactness of all the buildings gave us claustrophobia and we moved on.

Next stop was Menton. A lovely seaside retirement town. Not overly built, no huge high-rises, a nice beach and port and quaint town with its’ winding streets. We enjoy going over to Menton for lunch and a swim, either driving or taking the train.

The next day we left at 9AM and headed up into the hills behind Nice. We took highway D2564 going east towards Eze. This road is also called the Av. des Diables Bleus (the Blue Devils) and passes above Eze providing some spectacular views of the Cote d’Azur coastline and Eze. When going up, you’ll see a turnoff to Eze at D46, but keep going to get the dramatic views. You’ll comes to D45 and you can take this back down to Eze, or go back down to D46, which has also some great views of Eze as you snake back and forth down this steep road.

Eze is a dramatic cliff top town with spectacular views of the coast. To see the best views you’ll need to purchase a ticket into the garden area. It costs 6 euros but is well worth it. The garden itself is full of all types of cacti and well labelled in both French and English. As well, you’ll find information about the history of Eze. It can get crowded with people, as most of the cruise ship people are taken here, and every bus tour as well seems to end up here. On our second visit we went around 10:30 and it was much better.

View from above Eze, looking back towards Nice on D2564

View from Eze Gardens

Eze Cactus Gardens

View from Eze Gardens

Nice, France

06 Thursday Oct 2011

Posted by johnyouden in France

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Cap Ferrat, Cote d'Azur, Great Walks, Nice, Pebbles, Villafranche

Nice’s famous shoreline and promenade

One of our favorite places in Frances, although we have many. This place has been on the top of our list when we consider where we’d like to have a home in France later in life. Weather is quite pleasant most of the time, its a nice size, right on the Mediterranean and very close to Italy. Excellent transportation and easy to get around, even on foot. All bus rides cost 1 euro, so you can ride from Nice to Menton or Monaco, for just one euro. Same for the tram, just a euro. Trains run along the coast and into Italy and also are very reasonable. You really don’t need (or want) a car long the coast, take the bus or train. Save the car for exploring some of the villages behind Nice, such as St. Paul de Vence or St. Agnes.

Things To Do in Nice

Promenade Anglais Walk: A no brainer and a great casual walk on the promenade that runs the length of Nice from the airport to Vieux Nice. You can catch a bus back or make the long walk back. It’s nearly a 5 km walk.
Swim at the beach. There are public areas but you may want to make a day of it and try out one of the private clubs. They provide the lounge chairs, umbrella, drink service and lunch is available.
Walk up the hill to the Parc du Chateau – great views! There are stairs at the end of the Promenade as the highway makes its way around the cliffside and to the port, by the Hotel Suisse. Number of viewpoints on the way up, looking back at Nice and the Promenade, and also to the east towards the port. Good place for a picnic as well.
Visit the Fort du Mont Alban. There’s a town bus that will take you there. Can’t remember the number but its marked on the map, or ask a driver. Good views from up here as well. When you head back down the road, on your left will be a municipal park that has a path that zig-zags down the hillside (you can see it on Google Maps). Fun trail to take that leads you to the other side of the hill and into Villefranche-sur-Mer. Bring your bathing suit with you and enjoy the beach here. To get back you just have to walk up a bit to the train station and take it back to Nice.
Mont Boron Trail: This takes you to the top of Mont Boron, walk through the treed park, and then back down, with some nice view points and nice home/apartment buildings to view. Walk along the port towards where the ferries load. On the left you’ll see the small Nice Yacht Club with stairs beside it. Take these up to Bd. Stalingrad, cross the street and continue on the small path that leads up to Bd. Winston Churchill. Follow it until you see where it meets Montée Saint Aignon, there’s a path to take on the left. Follow it up, pass across Bd. Carnot, continue on the path to your left. Continue following it straight up the hill, all the way to you reach the Mont Boron bus stop on top. Here you’ll also see a path leading down. To return, follow it to a viewpoint looking back at Nice. Across the road is another viewpoint and a trail to follow. Follow it until you find a trail branching off to the right. Take this until it meets up with rue Forestiere. Follow it down, cross Bd. Carnot (again) and the path continues on the other side of the road. Follow it right down to Bd. Frank Pillate and follow it back to where you began. Takes about an hour and just over two miles long.
Nice Old Town Market at Cours Selaya. Wonderful market open in the mornings, which becomes restaurant space in the evenings
Old Town. Plenty of shops and restaurants and wonderfully restored buildings reached by narrow streets.
Nice to Villefranche Shoreline Walk: This walk begins in the port of Nice at the southerly end, where the ferries dock and leave from. You’ll see a sign for the Nice Yacht Club with a walkway next to it, take this up to Blvd. Franck Pillate. Walk south and you’ll pass the Chateau des Anglais (built back in 1856 by Englishman Robert Smith, this fairtale castle is now used for private apartments. You’ll come to a pathway on your right that leads down along the shore. Take this and enjoy a wonderful seaside promenade. Be on the lookout for a sign that directs you back up to the highway (a lot of steps, more than 250 I’m told). The trail does go a little further, but not much as it reaches the cliffs. When you reach the highway, continue south along it until you again see a sign for a path taking you back along the water. You can follow this now right into Villefranche. You can walk the highway back, take the bus (#81 or #100) or even the train.
Cap Ferrat Walk – Promenade des Fossettes and or Chemin de la Carriere: Take the #81 bus to Cap Ferrat and get off at the small town/port of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. Follow Av. Jean Mermoz to where it intersects with Av. Claude Vignon. Across the street you’ll see a pathway the Promenade des Fossettes. Short but nice oceanside walk, that makes a circle around the point. On the way back you’ll find Paloma Beach, bring your bathing suit to cool off.

Few Favorite Restaurants

La Petite Syrah Small, quaint, limited menu but what they have it great, along with a wonderful wine selection (it is also a wine store). Good prices as well. 13, rue Cassini.
Villa d’Este Situated on rue Massena pedestrian street, doesn’t look big from the outside but is huge inside, upstairs seating as well. Excellent Italian cuisine; pizzas, pastas and seafood. Huge servings and decent prices. 6, rue Massena.