The south of France is a dreamy coastal strip with breathtaking towns and beautiful cities. Whether to the east or west of Nice, there are incredible views, delicious restaurants and impressive hotels.
Here, the French Riviera consists of intriguing small towns and villages right up to the Italian border. Rich families from both France and elsewhere spend an amazing time in these villages for a couple of months every year. Nice is a truly unforgettable destination thanks to its turquoise blue sea, sandy beaches, elegant streets, delicious food and vibrant nightlife, so make sure you start your French Riviera tour from there. And with the city on the Mediterranean, the cold weather of northern France is nowhere to be found here. And, as I noted above, there’s beauty all around the area: Head out 50 km in either direction from Nice’s airport and you’re bound to find somewhere beautiful. The only issue is there’s never enough time to truly experience every single town on the French Riviera, but if you can, do try and take in Cap Ferrat, Villefrenche, Monaco, Menton, Saint Paul-de- Vence, Grasse, Antibes and Cannes.
LA PETITE MAISON
My favorite restaurant in Nice is La Petite Maison. Foodies will know it’s an amazing restaurant. It has given franchises, with branches in London, Dubai, Beirut and Istanbul, but the one in Nice is the original. The passionate Madame Nicole opened La Petite Maison, and she now runs it with her daughter and sister. I’ve had the chance to go to a few La Petite Maisons around the world; they’re all nice, but the one in Nice is something else, especially as Madame Nicole’s presence in the restaurant creates a different kind of spirit. Another good aspect of the restaurant is that they have live music on Friday and Saturday nights from 10:30 p.m. to midnight. Thankfully, though, it’s not noisy or disturbing at all. There are no mics or speakers – just a couple of musicians making music between the tables. Whatever you do, take some time to dine at La Petite Maison when you’re in Nice. And if you’re going there for lunch, you can enjoy the terrace; the terrace is also a good choice for dinner on warm summer nights.
LA VOILE D’OR
Head out east from Nice, and you’ll soon come to Cap Ferrat, where my favorite hotel is La Voile d’Or, a small place by the sea. Now, most beaches in the area are public, but La Voile d’Or’s visitors can get exclusive access to the hotel’s beach, meaning it’s never that crowded. And because the wind typically blows from the coast to the sea, the water is always brilliant. The hotel’s restaurant, meanwhile, is also a favorite of mine.
LA MERE GERMAIN
Along the coastal strip, Villefrenche-sur-Mer comes after Cap Ferrat. Villefrenche is a stunningly beautiful village with an amazing coastline and numerous restaurants. In fact, Villefrenche is a modern fishing village, meaning the Côte d’Azur’s best fish are in town. My favorite restaurant here is La Mère Germain (est. 1938), which has delicious food and wonderful service. Run by the founding family’s fourth generation, La Mère Germain is growing day by day – by the time they reach their centennial in 2038, they might have taken up the whole coastline. While La Mère Germain is always full of people waiting to get in, the neighboring restaurants are mostly empty. The establishment owes this success to its two bosses, who happen to be brothers as well. At La Mère Germain, they do all the jobs without letting their egos get in the way. After Villefrenche-sur-Mer, our next stop is the Principality of Monaco. It’s a small country, but you can also think of it as a large company with a king as its CEO. Invest in a good real estate opportunity and say goodbye to income tax with a Monaco passport – a great way to head to Europe or the U.S. with ease if your present passport doesn’t afford you such an opportunity
HOTEL DE PARIS
It’s no surprise that there are many restaurants in this grandiose country. You’re spoiled for choice, but the best one is Hôtel de Paris, which boasts more than a few stars. Alain Ducasse is on the scene with his restaurant, Le Louis XV, for those willing to part with a pretty penny by the end of the night. You even have a chance to see the great man himself often at this restaurant, as well as the newest dishes and the oldest tasting menu. If you want to come here and pay “less,” the place is also open at noon. But if you’re not in the habit of spending money at a threestarred restaurant, Café de Paris, right across from Le Louis XV offers good fare for a tenth of the cost. Just don’t order Café de Paris steak, because there isn’t any! They removed it from the menu a long time ago, but apparently, the news hasn’t traveled far because there’s always at least one person at every table that wants to order it. As for me, I can’t really fathom why they don’t include such a popular dish on their menu. And here’s another useful tip for Monaco: carry your passport with you if you want to cheer up with a little bit of wine and fun at the casino.
HOSTELLERIE JEROME
La Turbie is a very small beautiful village uphill from the coast. There is a famous little hotel there with an extraordinary restaurant: Hostellerie Jerome. You should either visit La Turbie for a few hours and have lunch at Jerome and go back. But be careful with the wine, as the wine list is extraordinary and tempting. Or, go there for dinner and indulge yourself to the wine list with the extraordinary food and sleep at the hotel after dinner. Next morning enjoy a Michelin star breakfast at the hotel or a smaller one at one of the beautiful cafes of the village square. You will be happy either way to enjoy some countryside silence after the buzz of Cote d’Azur.
MIRAZUR
The last stop before Italy is Menton, the home of the world’s best restaurants, Mirazur. Heading up the restaurant is an Argentine chef who cooks French dishes. If you want ironed cotton tablecloth like me, they’ll immediately bring one to you. If you don’t, you’ll be eating at a wooden table. And given the location, you won’t be surprised to hear that it has an unreal view. Mirazur was selected as the best restaurant in the world this year.
LA FIGUIER DU SAINT ESPRIT
Back in the other direction, to the west of Nice, is Antibes. Le Figuier du Saint Esprit is a restaurant managed by Christian Morisset, a famous mustachioed chef who has worked in two or three Michelin-starred restaurants along the Côte d’Azure. After Morisset decided to start his own business two years ago, he established this restaurant in a village called Saint Esprit, serving up delicious French meals and high-quality wine. Morisset himself is in the kitchen while his wife organizes the service. And to allow diners to know what is happening in the kitchen, he put up a big-screen television on the wall for the customers. There’s so much going on in the kitchen come rush hour that you’ll hardly talk to those at your table. Consciously, though, he decided to keep this place at a single star, although that obviously doesn’t mean it is short on any quality. The restaurant was built around a fig tree located in the very middle – the very fig tree after which the restaurant is named (and from which you can still eat if you so desire). French restaurants are generally closed on Sundays and Mondays, but Christian Morisset opens on those days, closing only on Tuesdays. Though perhaps less well-known than other places along the French Riviera, Le Figuier du Saint Esprit is certainly worth a trip thanks to its delicious food and great atmosphere.
CANNES
Back on the road, it’s time to head to Cannes – the summer playground for the rich. Come Easter, houses that sit empty for six months of the year start to fill up once more. And by July or August, it’s nearly impossible to walk on the street. It’s also so crowded that the beaches are full, regardless of the time of day, meaning that if your hotel’s own private beach is full, there will most certainly be no room at the public beach. The best time to come here, accordingly, is in September and October. By fall, however, the restaurants have become more spoiled, and the waiters are more than a little tired. I reckon the best time to come is at the beginning of June, right after the Cannes Film Festival. More than that, you can even see that Turkish is competing with Russian in its quest to become the second language on the streets of Cannes if you wait for school to end before coming.
LE PARK 45
My favorite restaurant in Cannes is Le Park 45, which has one Michelin star at a location somewhat removed from the street noise. Le Park 45 also has a head waiter who is French but who spent his childhood in Istanbul, so you’ll love hearing him speak Turkish if you happen to know it. And best of all, if you have a good wine with you, bring it along, as you’ll only have to pay a small corkage fee. And while you’re in Cannes, make sure you have a few snacks and a glass of wine on the terrace of the Carlton in the afternoon.
COLOMBE D’OR
Continuing a bit more to the west toward the mountains, we arrive at Saint-Paul-de-Vence to eat at Colombe d’Or. Tables with white tablecloths in the garden are at your service when the weather’s nice. But it’s not a problem if it starts to rain while you’re eating, as there are tables available inside as well.
CHATEAU SAINT MARTIN
In Saint-Paul-de-Vence there is a hotel called Château Saint Martin. Beautiful and expensive, it’s not a place that you need to stay in, but it is a must in terms of lunch or dinner. For me, it’s a place imbued with special meaning, as I celebrated my 40th birthday in this hotel, as well as my 60th. If all goes well, I hope to celebrate my 80th here as well, and maybe even my 100th!
VIEUX NICE
If you’re in Nice on a Sunday, definitely visit a marketplace. Skip the hotel breakfast and head for Vieux Nice, the old center where the town was formed a thousand years ago. Covered with stone buildings, there’s a big marketplace in the middle of buildings. The market is open seven days a week, but Sunday is the big day when farmers from nearby villages sell their fresh products, from eggs to tomatoes, mushrooms and cheese. The market opens at 8 a.m. and closes at 1 p.m., as there’s nothing left by that time. Coincidentally, all Nice- Istanbul flights are after 1 p.m., so you could, theoretically, do your weekly grocery shopping in Vieux Nice, hop on a plane back to Istanbul and enjoy fresh ingredients from the Riviera all week long. I prefer to buy cheese, zucchini blossoms, baby asparagus and mushrooms. Cafes and restaurants also abound in the marketplace, so you can dig into breakfast in one of them after a bout of shopping (although I myself prefer to pick up food and eat as I stroll the market before hitting up a cafe for coffee or tea). Whatever the case, I can’t imagine being in Nice on a Sunday and not going there.
SOCCA/PISSALADIERE
One of the most enjoyable things to do while you’re strolling the market is to eat Socca cooked by a middle-aged lady in the market. Socca is a type of pancake made with olive oil and chickpea flour. First, you turn the dough into a liquid and then pour it into an iron plate in a thin layer. After cooking it, you take it out, put it into a roll and serve. The specialty pizza from Nice has nothing but the olive oil in its dough, along with fried onion on top – there are no other ingredients involved. It’s actually a delicious food for the poor. When in Nice, definitely try a piece of this vegetarian pizza.