Since the past 1.5 years has seen some pretty big trips (South Africa, India, Antarctica), my next few are going to seem small in comparison, but that is completely on purpose, as they still let me experience new things and countries while saving money and time off. That’s how I came to spend 4 full days (plus 2 travel days) in the south of France.
Flights were cheap from Madrid to Nice (and with Iberia for a change!), which is in the middle between Cannes (45-minute train ride) and Monaco (20-minute train ride). My first day I went to Cannes, then spent a rainy day in Nice, then spent the third day in Monaco, and the fourth and final day I went to the village of Cagnes to the Renoir museum, located in the house where he spent the final years of his life.
Cannes: while it is probably buzzing with tourism during the summer (the same of which can be said for the whole of the French Riviera), in February Cannes was dead, which is how I prefer my trips to be. I walked around the port, through the center, and up to the Church of Notre Dame de la Esperanza, which boasted a beautiful view of the sea and city as well as the Castre museum, a collection of items mostly stolen from other countries. I did see an Artemisia Gentileschi though, which was very exciting! A 15-minute ferry ride from Cannes lie the Lerins islands, two of which are visitable. I chose to go to Saint Marguerite (the other is Saint Honorat). The island is mostly greenery, with expansive trails, but there is also a museum, originally a state prison, which to be honest, was more than a little depressing.
Nice: Nice probably had the most things to see out of the three places, including three art museums (another devoted to Matisse is temporarily closed), an Orthodox cathedral, castle ruins up on a hill with stunning views of the sea, the old town, the Catholic cathedral, and a long promenade along the sea. Its city center was charming and nice to stroll in, and there were plenty of cheaper, more authentic boulangeries as long as you took the time to look. I made the mistake of paying 7 euros for a latte because it was raining—don’t make the same mistake as me!
Monaco: The most looked-forward-to part of my trip (indeed, the reason for going at all!) was Monaco, because it is considered its own country, even though it is completely surrounded by France and the Mediterranean and uses the euro. There are two museums there, the National Museum (history and art) and the New National Museum (contemporary art), as well as the Casino, the port, and the old town, which includes the cathedral and the Prince’s Palace. Monaco is very hilly, and no matter which way you went, you could not avoid going up and down at least a couple of times. It was a nice way to spend a day, especially because it was the first day of sunny weather.
Cagnes was a bonus because I usually try to give myself an extra day to see anything I didn’t have the chance to in the previous days, but this time all three places were easily done in a day, and by chance I had seen the Renoir museum on the map. It was 1-hour bus ride, and while the grounds of the museum are stunning, the museum itself was a bit empty, although there were quite a few of Renoir’s paintings that of course you can’t see anywhere else.
I would strongly recommend visiting the French Riviera in the off-season, because it was definitely more expensive than I expected, and I can’t imagine how much the prices probably soar as the seasons change!