DAY 1 - ARRIVE IN NICE Fly to Nice, ‘capital’ of the Côte d’Azur. You will be met and transferred to your selected hotel, either the four-star Mercure Notre Dame, or the four-star superior Le Meridien, both centrally-located, for seven nights. Dinner is included on two evenings, if you are staying in the Mercure dinner will be taken at a nearby external restaurant or in the hotel if staying at the Le Meridien. Plus you dine for two additional nights in specially selected local restaurants showcasing French fine dining.
DAY 2 - NICE & VILLA EPHRUSSIE This morning we discover Nice on a guided tour. Named after their goddess of victory, Nike, it was originally an ancient Greek settlement, then Roman and extensive remains are still visible. Famously arcing its way around the Baie des Anges (Bay of Angels) is the iconic palm-lined Promenade des Anglais, backed by fine buildings. One of the highlights is the legendary flower market and its stalls laden with Provençal delicacies. The Place Massena is the heart of old Nice and lined by Venetian-style arches highlighting the city’s Italian heritage. This afternoon we visit the region's finest gardens
and art collection, the extraordinary Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild. It boasts a stupendous yet eclectic mix including medieval and Renaissance works of art, Sèvres porcelain, Fragonard drawings and exceptional carpets and tapestries plus exquisite pieces from the Far East with everything world-class standard.
DAY 3 - MONACO Today we visit incomparable Monaco, home to many of the world’s rich and famous, but there’s so much more to it than that. Our journey takes us along the stunning Moyenne Corniche with steep cliffs of coloured volcanic rocks plunging into the azure waters. We call at Eze, an ancient village perched
precariously atop a limestone outcrop, high above the clear blue waters. As Monaco comes into view, you will see its juxtaposition of elegant palace buildings, Belle Epoque finery, rooftop pools and modern concrete structures hemmed between the sharp blue waters and the dusky green and white of the mountainside. Our guided tour gives you a real insight into its history, the story of its royal family – the Grimaldis - and the key features of its unrivalled Grand Prix circuit. We tour the Old Town – Monaco Ville – a rocky promontory dominated by the magnificent Renaissance-style Royal Palace, which regularly hosted Napoleon. The Old Town is like an open-air museum with picturesque squares and the St. Nicholas Cathedral where royalty are laid to rest. Leaving its royal quarter your tour continues into Monte Carlo, with a drive around the marina.
DAY 4 - FREE DAY Today is a free day to enjoy as you wish. Visit a museum, explore the flower market, have a leisurely lunch, or take a stroll along the Promenade des Anglais like countless others before you.
DAY 5 - GORGES DU LOUP & GRASSE This morning we head inland to delightful Vence, another fortified hilltop settlement, offering astonishing views of the surrounding countryside. Next we explore the spectacular mountain scenery of the ‘Gorges du Loup’, a series of gorges full of cascading rivers, stunning waterfalls and rapids twists from a high mountain plateau to the plains below. Finally, we make our way towards Grasse, the
‘Perfume Capital of the World’. We are guests of the historic Fragonard perfumery where we learn
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about this fascinating traditional art and its history. Heading back to Nice, we pass fields of violets, roses, lavender and a host of other aromatic flowers, the raw materials for the perfumes we have just experienced.
DAY 6 - ANTIBES & ST PAUL DE VENCE This morning we take the short drive to another of the region’s delightful and historic coastal towns, Antibes, the former Greek Antipolis. Seafaring has always been a tradition here ever since ancient galleys sought refuge from the Ligurian hordes and Crusaders left for the Holy Land. There’s plenty more
to interest the visitor here, especially inside the
ancient walls of the Old Town, where Graham Greene once walked along the narrow cobbled lanes. This afternoon brings us to St Paul de Vence, a
fortified medieval hilltop village where Chagall is buried. It has an artists’ community and a restaurant displaying works of art offered in payment by the then impoverished Picasso and Matisse amongst others. Further up the hillside, beyond the village is the Maeght Foundation, displaying modern art by Miro, Chagall and Leger under natural Mediterranean light.
DAY 7 - MENTON Today you’ll discover one of the Riviera’s most delightful towns, a place where wonderful gardens thrive amongst elegant boulevards and shambling medieval cottages. The journey is a scenic delight, showcasing magnificent Menton, nestling between the sheltering slopes of the Alpes Maritimes and the warming sea, half way between Paris and Rome. Menton’s delightful medieval core of rambling cobbled lanes and alleys grew around a 13th century Genoese castle before being ruled by Monaco for nearly 500 years. Today, Menton is rightly famed for its many superb gardens and parks and there’s plenty of time to explore. The Jardins Bioves offer a shady array of citrus trees and the 1,000 year-old Pian olive grove takes you to the origins of the town. Fontana Rosa is one for the romantics, with the Palais Carnoules, has Europe’s most important collection of citrus trees. The Val Rahmeh Exotic Garden was established by Englishman Lord Radcliffe, and packs an incredible combination of plants and trees tumbling down its terraced groves. The medieval town stands sentinel over the bay, centred on the baroque St Michel Basilica with its fine campanile towering above the terracotta roofs. French artist Jean Cocteau dubbed Menton the ‘Pearl of France’ with his Bastion gallery and museum very well worth a visit, France’s most popular secular wedding venue.
DAY 8 - RETURN FLIGHT Today at the appropriate time you will be taken to the airport for your return flight.
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