We got to the south of France and were immediately just WOW’d. It is really really gorgeous here. The color of the water is insane, the streets of Nice are beautiful, and everywhere you go there is more to explore. It wasn’t quite summer when we arrived, but you can tell immediately that they really sell the summer vacation here. It’s always summer in the French Riviera.

There are tons of “beach clubs” on the rocks at the edge of the water. They’ve got beach lounge chairs and umbrellas and they’ll serve you drinks and snacks. We’re definitely too frugal to take advantage of this, but if I was more of a spender, I would have taken advantage. The beaches in Nice are all rock, which kind of sucks to walk on, sit on, stand on, etc. It’s fine if you have a towel, once you’re parked somewhere, but I do think that the umbrella clubs would be a nice way to escape that a bit…

The public beaches are pretty wonderful though. They’re kind of packed, but it didn’t matter. Everybody has their own bubble of space and you get to just lie there, relax, and look out at the ocean. It didn’t get old for me at all.

If you wander down the beach and head towards the Castel, which I’ll share a picture of another day, you can climb a TON of stairs up into the park. The view from the top is pretty spectacular and definitely worth the climb. We also brought a picnic, which was a stellar idea, so that we had something to munch on while we hung out and appreciated the view. There are lots of people playing on the grass, lying around, studying, eating lunch… It’s a pretty typical park in the sunshine and it was wonderful.

Seriously though. The water here is UNREAL. I couldn’t get enough.

That view again… I wasn’t kidding when I said it was stunning. I swear it’s one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen, and that’s coming from a California girl! The beaches are really different here, though. We have so many iconic coastal cliffs in California and then here it was just city, rocks, turquoise ocean. I really loved it.

One of the funny things is that Sam isn’t as much of a beach person as me. So I saw this and swooned and never ever wanted to leave the beach and he enjoyed it, reveled in it, and then wanted to do something else.

On our very last day in Nice (we wanted to extend, but had already booked our next place, unfortunately), Sam really wanted to head up into the hills and see their Chagall museum. Obviously Chagall is fantastic, has some beautiful art, and totally sees the world in a wonderful way. I do love him. But at this point in our travels, I was just burned out on museums and so for the first time since we had met up in Rome, Sam and I actually split up. I spent the last day at the beach, inhaling salt air, enjoying a fresh breeze, and just hanging out in my swimsuit. Sam joined the old ladies and gents at the museum where he reported being the youngest one by at least thirty years. Hah!

And so there ya go! If you’re heading to France, definitely spend some time in Nice. We loved it a LOT, ate plenty of good food, drank some delicious French wine, and generally enjoyed it more than both Marseille and Aix-en-Provence, which is saying something!

That turquoise ocean, tho… <3