The French Riviera

The French Riviera

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The French Riviera

6 Days Starting and ending in St Pancras International

Visiting: France

Tour operator:

Rail Discoveries

Tour code:

22NRS

Guide Type:

Fully Guided

Interests:

Rail Tours

Tour Overview

Explore the sights of Nice and visit some of the French Riviera's most picturesque resorts, including Antibes and Cannes, before getting to know hidden Villefranche-sur-Mer and iconic Monaco.

Highlights

  • Visit the seaside towns of Antibes, Cannes and Villefrance-sur-Mer, with time to explore these gems of the French Riviera at your own pace.

  • Explore Nice, the French Riviera’s most famous city with a local guide, stopping at the city’s traditional antique market and sampling socca, a regional specialty.

  • Enjoy a walking tour of Monaco, seeing the famous casino in Monte Carlo as well as the changing of the guards at the Prince’s Palace.

Itinerary

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Day 1 - London & Nice


Begin your holiday at our Rail Discoveries' dedicated Departure
Office in London St Pancras where you will meet the rest of your
group and your Tour Manager. Depart on the direct Eurostar to Paris
before changing trains onto the high speed service to Nice arriving
in the early evening. Here you stay at the Hôtel Monsigny. This
recently renovated establishment is located right next to the
city's equivalent of Covent Garden. 


Day 2 - Guided tour of Nice


This morning, enjoy a guided walking tour of Nice. There are
many attractions to admire, including the cathedral and main
shopping area, as well as the Massena, St Francis, and Garabaldi
Squares. There's also a stop at Cours Saleya, just behind the
Promenade des Anglais, where you have time to look around the
traditional antique market. Your tour ends at the rustic Renne
Socca for a tasting of socca, a local pancake made from chickpea
flour. Following the tour, your afternoon is free to continue
exploring at your own pace. The Old Town consists of a network of
intriguing passageways and small courtyards, filled with quaint
shops and inviting cafés. Or perhaps take a stroll along the
Promenade des Anglais itself and enjoy marvellous views of the
glittering Mediterranean Sea.


Day 3 - Antibes and Cannes


Discover the charming harbour town of Antibes by train today.
Here you have time to visit the bustling marketplace, where you can
sample a wide array of local produce, or the Picasso Museum,
formerly Château Grimaldi. Built on the foundations of an ancient
Greek settlement, it's now the only museum in the world dedicated
to the works of Picasso, and enjoys a scenic perch overlooking the
coastline. You might also like to visit the well-preserved Fort
Carré, a citadel commanding panoramic sea views.



This afternoon, continue by rail to Cannes, famous for its
annual film festival. After time to relax on one of the palm-tree
lined beaches, why not make a visit to one of the town's
fascinating museums? There are plenty to choose from, including the
Musée d'Art et d'Histoire de Provence and the Musée International
de la Parfumerie. Later, return to Nice by rail for dinner in a
local restaurant.


Days 4-5 - Nice & Villefranche-sur-Mer


Enjoy a relaxed day in Nice. You could spend an hour or two at
the Musee National Marc Chagall or Matisse Museum, or head to the
beach with your favourite book.



Travel by rail to pretty Villefranche-sur-Mer on Day
5
. Hugging a hillside that sweeps down to a wide, deep bay
between Monaco and Nice on south-east France's beautiful Cote
d'Azur, this pretty town has long been a popular holiday resort
thanks to its sunny Mediterranean climate, sandy beaches, excellent
restaurants and picturesque setting.



Although inhabited since prehistoric times,
Villefranche-sur-Mer's natural harbour, the deepest on any
Mediterranean coast, proved useful both to the ancient Greeks and
later the Romans who established settlements here. Today tourism
continues to sustain the economy here; its harbour is the most
visited by cruise ships of any in France. You could perhaps make
the most of the laid-back atmosphere here and relax in one of the
pavement bistros overlooking the tranquil water, before exploring
the Old Town


Day 6 - Walking tour of Monaco


Take a coach trip along the spectacular coastline to the tiny
principality of Monaco. We visit Monte Carlo, home of the
world-renowned casino, before a guided walking tour that includes
the changing of the guard ceremony at the Prince's Palace. Settled
by the ancient Greeks in the 6th century, Monaco was claimed as a
Genoese colony in the 12th century, and later owned by the Italian
Grimaldi dynasty. France regained control of the principality
during the French Revolution, and in 1863 Monaco's first casino was
built. The arrival of the railway in 1868 also boosted visitors,
confirming the city's reputation as the resort of choice for the
rich and famous.


Day 7 - Nice & London


After breakfast, transfer to the station and take the highspeed
train to Paris. Here, connect with the Eurostar back to London St
Pancras.


What's Included

  • 3* Hotel accommodation

  • 6 nights' hotel accommodation

  • Standard Class Rail

show more

Accommodation

  • Hotel Monsigny, Nice

Reviews of this operator

Jeannette Elrick (Google Reviewer)  

Very good tours, knowledgeable and...

30-Sep-2023

Very good tours, knowledgeable and friendly Tour Managers. The hotel was very good and the locations visited were excellent. The heritage railways are interesting and lovely to travel on whether hauled by steam or diesel.

Mike Martin (Google Reviewer)  

Seeing so many negative reviews...

29-May-2019

Seeing so many negative reviews of Rail Discoveries makes you wonder if we have been travelling with the same company for the past 7 years or so! Excelent holidays, good hotels, superb tour managers-what else could you ask for? However it pays to look closely at the brochure -if there are a lot of coach trips, then we usually do NOT book ( please note ,the guy who complained about the Scottish holiday with little train-travel-it's there in the itinerary). Having said that, we ARE travelling to Scotland for just such a holiday this autumn, and we know exactly what to expect, and nothing more. The train-travel to Scotland we treat as part of our rail holiday. As for comments about the food in some hotels, we have been underwhelmed by some-and delighted with others. As someone said, if you want better food, spend more and go with sister company Great Rail-as we have done in the past, and will do again. And if you don't like a hotel( we had a ghastly one in America-now removed from the tour, thank heavens)-take your comments to the company. They do listen. So please be assured, thousands of happy travellers book with rail Discoveries, and we have only met one couple out of hundreds we have travelled with who were not happy( with the food)-ALL the others on the tour were delighted with it! You can't please everyone.....

Sandra Castle (Google Reviewer)  

We thoroughly enjoyed The Charming...

23-Sep-2024

We thoroughly enjoyed The Charming Dordogne tour. A good tour manager 'Tony', lovely hotel with lots of space to relax and chat with fellow travellers and a nice sized swimming pool for a bit of excersise. The restaurant just a few steps down the road provided pleasant food, good service and wine and coffee thrown in aswell. Our coach driver for the week was very knowledgeable and helpful, pointing out sights of interest, plus we had a couple of free days to explore the village with it's interesting museum and exhibition centre. I would definitely recommend this holiday

Karen She (Google Reviewer)  

A well-priced escorted tour of...

10-Aug-2022

A well-priced escorted tour of Switzerland with an excellent guide, Graham Carter. Hats off to Graham for his patience and cheerful leadership of our group of 36 with various levels of mobility and agility. A last minute change of hotel was a bit of a surprise and some of our group were disappointed with the substitution but we found it to be a nice tourist class 3 star with a good choice of buffet style meals. It needs to be remembered before you book that this is an active holiday. There are many train changes, steps and hills. Overall a good holiday but you need to be fairly agile to get the most out of the experience. Luckily we are!

Jan Walker (Google Reviewer)  

We booked the Catalan holiday...

18-Jul-2023

We booked the Catalan holiday in January having been told that we would get an early booking discount of £50 each with the holiday costing £1049pp. I have just been sent an email offering a flash sale with the same holiday advertised at £849! I assume we will now be offered the same price and I look forward to a refund of £400.

John Skelton (Google Reviewer)  

Very bad customer services. Cancelled...

18-May-2023

Very bad customer services. Cancelled one of the rail trip which was replaced by a trip by coach of Carisle, lovely that Carisle is!. So far no reason for the cancellation, no apology or compensation. Wrecked the holiday!. Company can't own up to their own mistakes and will blame someone else particularly their clients. Don't touch them with a barge pole!

David Tilston (Google Reviewer)  

Very disappointed. Booked Isle of...

17-Jan-2023

Very disappointed. Booked Isle of Man last year and dates got changed. Accepted the alternative dates offered and did enjoy the holiday. Booked the Glacier Express, Switzerland, this year for a special anniversary . Holiday was cancelled (despite being told that it would be very unlikely that it would be cancelled) and alternative dates offered unsuitable. If I wanted to go at a specific time I would not use this company again. There seem to be different companies offering these holidays but they are the same operator based in York.

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