Nice and Antibes

Met by the guide at Nice airport, with a short stop outside the Hippodrome de la Côte d’Azur, France’s second-largest racecourse, laid out between the runway and the sea. Check in at Cagnes-sur-Mer and rest. At dusk, up to the medieval village of Haut-de-Cagnes: cobbled lanes under flowering walls, and the top of the old village as the sun goes, the Mediterranean on one side and the Alps on the other. Dinner can be on the castle terrace at Château Le Cagnard (meal not included).

Nice Airport · Hippodrome de la Côte d’Azur · Cagnes-sur-Mer · Haut-de-Cagnes

Along the coast to Antibes and straight into the Marché Provençal while it is still a market, then the Picasso Museum in the castle on the sea wall, the old town and Port Vauban. The guide takes a little-known path up onto the ramparts: open sea, the masts of the port and the snow on the Alps in one view. Lunch in Antibes. In the afternoon, Cannes: the Croisette on foot and the red-carpet steps of the Palais des Festivals. Dinner back in the fishing quarter of Cros-de-Cagnes.

Marché Provençal · Picasso Museum · Antibes old town · Port Vauban · the ramparts · the Croisette · Palais des Festivals

Check out of Cagnes in the morning; the bags stay in the car all day. East by the corniche roads to Monaco and up onto the Rock: the Oceanographic Museum, the changing of the guard at the Prince’s Palace and the cathedral. Lunch at Le Salon Rose inside the Monte-Carlo Casino (meal not included). In the afternoon, the Prince’s private car collection and the Grand Prix circuit at legal speed, with the Bond theme playing as the car leaves the tunnel. Into Nice by evening, to a boutique hotel in the antiques quarter between the old town and the port.

The corniche · Monaco-Ville · Oceanographic Museum · Prince’s Palace · Monte-Carlo Casino · the Prince’s car collection · the F1 circuit

The Cours Saleya flower market first, then the lanes of Vieux Nice with the guide. Up Castle Hill by the old Art Deco lift for the whole Baie des Anges. In the afternoon, the Villa and Gardens Ephrussi de Rothschild at Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, with lunch at the villa. Late in the day, a tasting of Bellet wine at Château de Crémat in the hills behind Nice, and dinner can be at Le Plongeoir, on its rock in the sea (meal not included).

Cours Saleya · Vieux Nice · Castle Hill · Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild · Château de Crémat

The Marché de la Libération, where Nice buys its food. The guide brings a tasting list, socca and pissaladière eaten standing up, and a pan-bagnat for lunch. Last shopping in the afternoon, and the private car to the airport, timed to the flight.

Marché de la Libération · socca · pissaladière · pan-bagnat · Nice Airport