Gîtes and Villas in the French Riviera

The French Riviera stretches along the Mediterranean coast from the Italian border westward, taking in Nice, Monaco, Cannes and the hill villages perched above the sea. The coastline delivers exactly what British holidaymakers expect — umbrella pines, pastel shutters, yachts in the harbour — but it's more lived-in than the postcards suggest, with working markets, year-round residents and centuries of history beyond the Belle Époque glamour.

Self-catering here means you can shop at dawn in Nice's flower market, cook fish bought that morning, and time your day around the light rather than restaurant bookings. The region suits families after beaches, couples exploring hilltop villages, and anyone who wants a base for both coast and hinterland without the rhythm of a resort hotel.

About the French Riviera

The Riviera became fashionable in the nineteenth century when British aristocrats wintered here for their health, long before sunbathing was invented. Nice was part of Italy until 1860, which explains the Italianate architecture and the local socca — a chickpea pancake sold hot from street ovens. Monaco, an independent principality barely larger than a postage stamp, clings to its rock with a palace, a casino and surprising verticality. Cannes, synonymous with its annual film festival, remains a working town outside May.

Inland, villages like Èze cling to clifftops, their medieval cores intact and their views vertiginous. The character here is Mediterranean but not entirely French — you're close enough to Italy to hear the accent shift, and the cuisine borrows as liberally from Liguria as from Provence. Staying in self-catering rentals in the area gives you a domestic foothold in a region that can otherwise feel relentlessly touristic. You'll have a kitchen for the tomatoes and peaches bought at morning markets, and a terrace for the late light that painters have always prized.

Things to do in the French Riviera

The Prince's Palace of Monaco sits atop the rock where the Grimaldi family has ruled since the thirteenth century, with a changing of the guard each morning and state apartments open in summer. Below it, the Musée océanographique de Monaco occupies a belle époque clifftop building with aquariums, whale skeletons and Jacques Cousteau's old research displayed across several floors. In Nice, the Colline du Château is a public park on the ruins of an eleventh-century citadel, offering panoramic views over the Baie des Anges and shaded paths through pines and waterfalls.

The Casino de Monte-Carlo remains the Riviera's most photographed building, its Second Empire façade and gaming rooms attracting visitors who come as much to look as to play. Èze Village is a medieval settlement restored and pedestrianised, perched 400 metres above the sea with a cactus garden at its summit. The Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, a pink palazzo on the Cap Ferrat peninsula, houses the art and furniture collections of Béatrice de Rothschild within nine themed gardens overlooking the bay. For twentieth-century art, the Marc Chagall National Museum in Nice holds the largest public collection of his work, and the Matisse Museum nearby traces his evolution through paintings, drawings and paper cut-outs.

Food & drink

Niçoise cuisine is a category unto itself — salade niçoise properly contains no cooked vegetables, just tomatoes, anchovies, olives and hard-boiled eggs; pissaladière is an onion tart topped with anchovies; and pan bagnat is the same salad stuffed into a roll and pressed. The Marché Aux Fleurs - Cours Saleya - Nice runs every morning except Monday, selling flowers, vegetables, olive oil and cheese under ochre arcades in the old town.

The hinterland produces wines under the Bellet appellation, mostly white and rosé from vineyards above Nice. Socca, sold from stalls and shopfronts, is best eaten hot, crisp-edged and dusted with black pepper. If you're provisioning from supermarkets, the CAP3000 shopping mall north of Nice offers a large selection, though the daily markets give you better tomatoes and a clearer sense of what's in season.

Getting there

Nice Côte d'Azur airport sits 21 kilometres from central Nice, with frequent low-cost and scheduled flights from British airports. From there, the coastal train and bus network connects Nice, Monaco, Cannes and the towns in between. Driving from Calais takes around ten hours if you push straight through, though most break the journey overnight. Paris Gare du Nord is 691 kilometres away — the TGV reaches Nice in under six hours, making it feasible to arrive by Eurostar and onward train. Marseille Provence airport, 144 kilometres west, is another option if Nice flights don't suit, with the A8 autoroute linking the two cities.