Travel With Me: Nice & Monaco

Happy Sunday everybody,

This time last week I was exploring the beautiful streets of Nice and today I'm writing a blog post all about it for you all to enjoy.

We went on a short break to Nice last week (4 days, 3 nights) and had such an amazing time, it's definitely a place that I would recommend to everybody to visit. I know you're probably thinking, South of France? that's got to be pretty expensive BUT quite surprisingly, we managed to do it for a really good price and I'll be spilling all of the details so you can also bag yourself a bargain!

Flights and Accommodation
We booked our flights and accommodation separately as that seemed like the best deal. We used SkyScanner to book our flights. We ended up flying from Gatwick and our flight was at 6am on Saturday morning. Early flights are definitely a preference for us as this allowed us to have a full three days. The night before out flight, we stayed at an Airbnb which is always great, as it's cheaper than a hotel and you can also leave your car there for a very small fee. Another bonus is that the people we stayed with also gave us a lift to the airport in the very early hours of the morning.

Whilst Airbnb is great to use in the UK, we have always been a bit sceptical to use it abroad however, we did end up booking an apartment in Nice. The apartment we stayed in was small but had everything we needed and it was still probably bigger than a hotel room. It was in a very central location - ten minutes walk from the beach and the train station. It was also right in the middle of the shopping area. The apartment also had a kitchen which was great as we were able to have breakfast there which saved us some money.

Things to do in Nice
We had three full days, two of which we spent in Nice itself. There were lots of things to see and do.

Promenade des Anglais beach
As the weather was gorgeous, we spent a lot of time at the beach. Be warned, the beach is a stony one and the stones are very hot. There were restaurants that were offering sun beds and umbrella's but the price of these were around €48 for the day, which I personally wouldn't want to spend. We ended up buying an umbrella which cost €12 and of course, we had our beach towels to lay on. If you're anything like me and you can't lay on the beach too long anyway, this would suit you just fine. We particularly liked a little cove area on the edge of the seafront where the sea was the most clear and you could watch the daring locals jumping in the sea from some rather high rocks.

The promenade itself is beautiful and very long, so it was a really nice walk both during the day and in the evening. There are also seats everywhere, so you can sit and look out onto the sea. During the evening, there were lots of entertainers around and the place was just alive.

Port Lympia
The port is a must-see for me, I think all ports are so beautiful and I love looking at all the boats. We ventured round to the port during the day and there were lots of little restaurants around and ended up having lunch there looking out on to all the boats. You can also rent a boat out for around €99 for two hours, I think if we were there for longer we would have loved to do that.

Le Parc du Chateau
This park is located on a mountain on the edge of the promenade. We decided to climb up here in the evening which was definitely the best idea as it was way too hot in the day time. You can get some really amazing views of the city from here as well as the port. Don't be put off by the climb, as the views at the top are so worth it. Plus, if you do get too hot there's water fountain to cool you down.

 

Avenue Jean Medecin 
The city is not short of shops, this beautiful street has lots of shops for everyone to enjoy - and yes, THERE IS A SEPHORA!!! This area was always lively and leads on to a Place Garibaldi - a square with lots of restaurants, street performers and just general entertainment. From here you can also access the old town, which again was always filled with people and lots of restaurants, perfect for an evening meal.

Food & Drink
 Usually before we go away, I do some research to find the best food places but for this trip, we decided to play it by ear. Mostly, we ate at your every day places which probably aren't worth mentioning but there was one place that we both did really love, this was called Le Movida. This tapas restaurant is situated on the Promenade and the seats look out on to the sea front so expect gorgeous views. Le Movida is a great place both for not only lunch/dinner but for some cocktails. We opted for a meat platter which was amazing and for the massive portion that we had, it was only €27 - which is not bad at all.

 

Monaco
As part of our trip to Nice, we also decided that we would spend the day in Monaco. This was only a 20 minute train journey which cost €15 for a return ticket for both. I believe you can also get a bus (which goes from the Port) to Monaco which takes slightly longer but has amazing views.

Monaco's train station is sat at the top a hill so you have to walk your way down the port and the main restaurant area. Coming down from the train station (and back up) is a really good opportunity to see the whole of Monaco - after all, everyone loves a birds eye view from above.

There are quite a few ports in Monaco, Port Hercule being the main one. In general, Monaco is just a really nice place to have a stroll around and admire all the expensive cars, luxurious boats and beautiful views.

We were expecting to spend an awful lot of money on food in Monaco but we stumbled across a very nice burger shack called Grubers, located very close to Port Hercule. This was a perfect lunch spot and they did a deal where you can get a burger, drink and side for around €11 for a small €14 for a large. The burgers were very tasty and great for the price so I would definitely recommend this.

 

Overall, we spent around £350 each on the trip itself so I hope I've inspired some of you to travel to the South of France - after all, it doesn't have to break the bank and it can be done on a budget. I hope this post was an enjoyable one.

Anastasiya X