Honeymoon in France

Guest post by karenj

Map tips: each color represents a different day. Click a marker to learn more about the spot, and click the star in the map header to save the entire map under Your Places in Google Maps.

For our honeymoon, my husband and I traveled to France for 12 days. The trip started out a bit bumpy because our flight was delayed, which resulted in us missing one whole day in Paris (which was most unfortunate since we were only going to be in Paris for 2 days)!

Day 1: Paris

After arriving in Paris a day late, we had to see the Eiffel Tower at night, since it would be our only night in Paris!

Day 2: Paris

• Notre Dame
• Arc de Triomphe

Our only day in Paris was spent getting around town as quickly as possible to see as much as we could. We did manage to go up the Eiffel Tower half-way, see Notre Dame, and the Arc De Triomphe. All other sites, like the Louvre, were seen only in passing. Later in the afternoon we boarded a train to Nice.

Day 3: Nice

• Promenade des Anglais
• Castle Hill
• Old Nice
• Cours Saleya
• Place Massena

We spent our first full day in Nice taking in all the sites – everything was in walking distance, which is my favorite kind of traveling! I particularly enjoyed the Old Town area of Nice, but the beach and the Promenada des Anglais were also quite appealing.

Day 4: Cannes

• La Croisette
• Palais des Festivals
• Musée de la Castre
• Île Sainte-Marguerite

Our next day in Nice we took the train to Cannes. We enjoyed walking around the Palais des Festivals and seeing all the celebrity handprints. Walking along La Croisette was also a treat – I particularly enjoyed having lunch right on the beach! We toured the Musee de la Castre, and then took the ferry to Ill Saint-Marguerite to see where the Man in the Iron Mask was held. A perfect day trip from Nice!

Day 5: Villefranche-sur-Mer

The next day we packed up from our hotel in Nice and took the train to the small town of Villefranche sur Mer, where we had rented an apartment for a week. The apartment was called Le Petit Bijou and I could not imagine anything better than this apartment. This was the perfect way to spend time on the French Riviera! The apartment was well-located, within walking distance to many restaurants and to the train station. We were able to do some grocery shopping and really get comfortable for a week. Villefranche sur Mer is a cruise ship port, so there was a lot of great people watching every time a ship docked (which we could see right from our apartment balcony!).

Day 6: Villefranche-sur-Mer

The next day there was rain. Lots of rain. We left the apartment to get some food, but otherwise spent the day napping and watching some lovely British TV.

Day 7: Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild

The next day was still raining, but we didn’t want to spend another day inside, so we took the bus to St. Jean Cap Ferrat which is the next town over (but not accessible via train). We toured the Villa & Jardins Ephrussi de Rothschild, which was a site to see! It was still raining buckets, but the gardens were well worth the wet clothes.

Day 8: Èze

• The Exotic Garden
• Parfumerie Fragonard

The next day we took the bus to Eze. This was my favorite town in the French Riviera ! It is built up on a mountain, and is a perfect medieval community. We checked out the gardens and also the Fragonard Perfume Museum. The perfume-making process is fascinating.

Day 9: Monaco

• Monte-Carlo Casino
• Musée océanographique de Monaco
• Prince’s Palace of Monaco
• Monaco Cathedral

The next day we took the train to Monte Carlo. It’s everything I expected it to be – fancy, posh, and beautiful. We enjoyed popping our heads in the casino and also seeing the changing of the guards at the palace. The cathedral is another must-see. For the heck of it we also went to the Musee Oceanographique de Monaco, which was fun but not a must-do. Walking around the harbor and checking out the yachts was another highlight.

Day 10: Antibes

• Musée Picasso
• Fort Carré
• Le Nomade

A day trip to Antibes was worth it just to see the Picasso Museum! We also enjoyed Le Nomade statue.

Day 11: Menton

• Museum Jean Cocteau The Bastion
• La Chapelle des Pénitents-Blancs

Our last day was spent traveling to Menton. Another great location to take in lunch on the beach, and an easy day trip from Villefranche Sur Mer. We flew home the next day.

As a sidenote, we ate dinner every night in Villefranche Sur Mer. There were a plethora of restaurants to pick from, and we thoroughly enjoyed each one. It would be a hard to pick a favorite! We did quite enjoy the Vietnamese restaurant we tried, but all of the Mediterranean fish and pasta were also outstanding at the more ‘traditional’ restaurants we tried. Villefranche sur Mer also has a nice little beach. Even though we were there in late October/early November, the weather was warm and sunny (for the most part) as the mountains provide a semi-tropical climate. Some attractions in the area close for the season in the beginning of November, but we didn’t find it to be too big of a problem.

Traveled in October 2012