Featured holiday Nice and Mougins two centre holiday Cote d'Azur

Fly to Nice and take a taxi to your centrally located hotel, at the end of the Promenade des Anglais and overlooking the sea.

You have two full days to enjoy the flavours of Nice or to explore nearby. There are plenty of cultural and active things to do both in Nice and nearby. Spend an afternoon walking along the Promenade des Anglais, which runs parallel to one of the most beautiful beaches in France, the Baie des Anges. Well-known for its artistic and cultural connections, Nice has over 20 museums and galleries, including the Musée Matisse, the Palais Lascaris, and several archaeological and historical museums. For something more modern, take a tour of the city’s 13 examples of street art, painted by internationally renowned artists, or simply tour the architecture and atmosphere of the town to the soundtrack of the street jazz music. The Marche aux Fleurs Cours Saleya is the site of some of Nice’s best markets, selling flowers, fruit, and vegetables, as well as other local delicacies. Be sure to seek out and try some Socca, a pancake or crêpe made from chickpea flower, or Pissaladière, a kind of pizza topped with onions, olive, garlic, and anchovies. Wander round the Marché Artisanal Nocturne, lit atmospherically by the buildings around it, which runs from 18:30 to 00:30 every night apart from Monday, and displays the work of Nice’s local artists. A self-guided tour of the city will bring you to Queen Victoria’s Ancien Hôtel Régina, the Basilique Notre Dame, Le Cadran Solaire (a sundial which you operate using your own shadow), and the small squares of the Old Town. Take lunch on one of the café terraces. Voted the Green City of the Mediterranean, Nice has many hidden gardens ready to be explored; large or small, they are all perfectly maintained. For those looking for a more active experience of the Nice landscape, climb the Colline du Château, or head outside the city on one of the many trails that take you along the hillside, through oak woods and olive groves, to the hamlets and neighbourhoods of Bellet, the origin of Nice’s famous Bellet wine. 

Today collect your hire-car from the centre of Nice or from the airport if you prefer and then drive to your second stay in Mougins. It’s only a drive of about thirty minutes but we recommend using the car to explore the hinterland to the coast on the way. There are the hill-top villages of Vence and St Paul de Vence with a heady mixture of perfume producers, artworks and restaurants to visit. Or, an alternative is to take the coastal road into Antibes and Juan les Pins.

You have two full days based in Mougins, with a chance to relax in the village and visiting the Museum of Classical Art, a photography centre, Le Lavoir with exhibitions and performing arts throughout the year. About 15 minutes by car is the seaside resort of Cannes. Here you can walk along the Path of the Stars, relax on the Boulevard de la Croisette, or take a boat trip to the nearby islands of Sainte-Marguerite and Saint-Honorat. In Cannes, the historic food market of Forville is open every morning from Tuesday to Sunday. On Mondays the food market is replaced by a flea market offering antiques and second-hand trinkets. Further inland from Mougins is the perfume village of Grasse where the fields grow flowers such as tuberose, jasmine, iris, geraniums and roses. Visit the perfume Museum Fragonard and the international museum of perfume. A market is held in Grasse on Wednesdays and Saturdays in the Place aux Herbes.

Today, drive yourself back to Nice airport, about 30 minutes’ drive away, for your return flight to London.