France
8
 DAYS IN 
France

South of France was an extension of my family trip to Morocco. It has been on my list since I went to Paris in 2022, and it was all I expected and more. France was so pleasant with its distinct architecture and warm color palette.

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I planned to cover Côte d’Azur, which didn’t include Lyon, but since my mum insisted, I squeezed a day and a half into an already tight itinerary. I’m glad we went because it’s such a fantastic place where I wish to live someday. One or two days were enough to cover Lyon, but with its proximity to Geneva, Annecy, and everything else in Rhone-Alps, it could be an itinerary on its own.

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Marseille was another place that we thought a lot about. I wanted to visit it, but its dangerous reputation precedes itself, and it has been a hit or miss for many who visit. Since we were traveling from Lyon to Nice and had to pass Marseille, we decided to stop for a day to explore. We were fortunate to have a smooth sailing experience, and I loved the ruggedness and charm of Marseille.

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TRANSPORT | We booked SNCF through Trainline from Lyon to Marseille (a 2-hour trip) and Nice to Monaco (a 30-minute journey). We then rented a car from Marseille because we thought driving along the coast to Nice and nearby cities like Eze and Monaco was a good idea. It wasn’t as car-friendly as we expected, and since the train was much more convenient, we returned the car early.

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DOING THINGS DIFFERENTLY | I would have skipped renting a car. Instead of driving to Calanques National Park and onwards to Nice, I would have taken a ferry tour to Calanques National Park and then taken the SNCF to Nice. We also arrived 2 weeks before Lavender season (mid-June to mid-July), so that was something that we missed out on. Also, note to self that booking an Airbnb with few reviews is not worth it.

 

HIGHLIGHTS | Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Eze

Day 1 & 2: Lyon

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MUR DES CANUTS

BASILICA OF NOTRE DAME OF FOURVIÈRE

THÉÂTRE GALLO ROMAIN DE LYON-FOURVIÈRE

ODEON OF LYON

JARDIN DES CURIOSITÉS

JARDIN DU MUSÉE DES CONFLUENCES

PARC DE LA TÊTE D'OR

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First stop: Lyon!

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The airport taxi was our first unexpected expense. We arrived late the night before and couldn’t get an Uber. The price for a taxi was almost the price of the train for five people, so we paid around 80 euros (night rate) to get to the city center.

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Lyon was never on my list of places to go, but I loved it thoroughly. It was small and contained, yet adequate, filled with fantastic food and extensive transport. I remember walking along the Rhone River and seeing so many people hanging out and enjoying themselves on a weekday evening. Isn’t that what life should be? Lyon is so much of what I envision in my future.

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We started our day with a highly-rated bakery, Boulangerie Saint Paul, and a Lyon walking tour - Paul’s tour was the only tour I could find for Lyon, so it wasn’t a surprise when 40 people turned up for the tour. He held two tours on alternate days, and we had the City Tour of Lyon. Super informative about Lyonnaise culture, including the protests, murals, and of course, Lyon's Traboules (hidden passageways).

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As the gastronomy capital, we had to eat good food, which means a lunch set menu at Michelin guide restaurant Cercle Rouge. So good. Wish I had stayed long enough to try all the restaurants in Lyon.

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The Basilica of Notre Dame of Fourvière was super cool, I’d never heard of two churches one upon the other, and it sat atop the hill, giving an incredible view of the city.

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Our tour guide recommended Jardin des Curiosités, a small and discreet park, but its charm lies in having the best view of Lyon, and it’s just a fantastic place to end the day with. Technically, we ended the day with ice cream at Glacier Terre adélice LYON (also recommended by our tour guide) to try some of their 100 flavors of ice cream. So good.

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We had another half day before we headed to Marseille (not including that 2-hour wait at the train station because the train was delayed) - I wanted to visit Parc de la Tête d'Or because it was highly recommended by many people in Lyon, which even had a zoo incorporated into the park. Unfortunately, we met a friend of ours elsewhere and missed out. Will have to come back!!

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Also, Lyon holds many events, including The Fourvière Nights, which have events almost every night in June and July. Worth a look!

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WE STAYED AT an Airbnb at Quai Lassagne. It was in a great location close to the metro, Old Town, and the city center, and also happened to be the only place I found that could accommodate five people (booked late…). The only odd thing was that the “second bedroom” was an elevated partition in the middle of the house, so it wasn’t the most convenient.

Day 3 & 4: Marseille 

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LA VIEILLE CHARITÉ

CATHÉDRALE BASILIQUE SAINTE-MARIE-MAJEURE, DIT « LA MAJOR »

PALAIS LONGCHAMP

BASILICA OF NOTRE-DAME OF LA GARDE

MUCEM - MUSEUM OF CIVILIZATIONS OF EUROPE AND THE MEDITERRANEAN

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Marseille was a concern because it had such a bad reputation. Tons of stuff on Reddit on the dangers, and so many friends of friends had stories of their things getting stolen and cars getting broken into. We were super cautious with our luggage, stayed within popular areas, didn’t go out late, and didn’t rent a car (there’s no need for a car in Marseille). We didn’t have any issues and had a great time! France doesn’t have an excellent reputation regarding pickpocketing, so I don’t think it was a dealbreaker.

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People either loved or hated Marseille (mostly hate from all those bad experiences). It was rugged, messy, and loud, and I loved every part. It had a vibe like Naples and was so awesome to immerse in.

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Marseille was a quick 2-hour ride from Lyon via the SNCF, and everything was super convenient - Marseille’s downtown was relatively small, so we could easily walk to the port where we stayed.

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The Marseille walking tour was a good introduction because there’s so much Greek history and influence that shaped the city as it is today, and how it has transformed over the past decade. I also learned about Marseille’s famed soap industry, which was cool.

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One of my highlights was Splendido - I chanced upon it during the walking tour, and we were lucky to get a seat without reservations. I only found out it was under Big Mamma after I arrived (I had Circolo Populare in London, and I had a reservation for Pink Mamma in Paris, which was canceled because the kitchen caught fire). Anyway, amazing!!!

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For the next day, instead of taking the SNCF high-speed train, we thought it was a good idea to rent a car so we could drive along the coast (not worth it), stop over at Calanques (not worth it), and visit St Tropez (not worth it). So many spots in Calanques (Sormiou, Morgiou, etc.) were inaccessible by car (they blocked the entrances) unless you had a reservation at one of the restaurants at that specific spot. It would have been much better to take a Calanque National Park boat tour from the Marseille ports and then take the train to Nice. Also, the traffic?? So bad. Our half-day itinerary became full because we took a 5-hour car ride instead of a 2-hour train ride.

WE STAYED AT an Airbnb loft close to the port, which was great because we were in the middle of all the attractions and the hustle and bustle of everything.

Day 5 - 8: Nice

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We had four full days in Nice, splitting each day for Nice, Antibes, Eze, and Monaco.

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Nice

A Nice walking tour helped to get an orientation of the city and recommendations of where to go and eat. Nice had super good vibes - it felt vibrant, lively, and relaxing. We learned about the markets in Nice from our tour, and it was nice to walk through the vintage markets, the flower markets, and the food (pesto!) market.

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Also, for those interested in dinner with a view, book Le Pleongoir early!

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Monaco

We went to Monaco to check a country off our list! But other than that, I thought Monaco was just fine. Seeing the casinos, luxury shops, and cars was cool, but that was about it. Monaco was easy to get to, tickets could be bought at the train station, but so many people were going to Monaco that it congested the gates and the ticket booths, so it was easier to buy via Trainline. 

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I had initially planned to combine Eze and Monaco in a day - both were super chill and we took around half a day for each - but it was a train to and from Monaco, and a bus to and from Eze. No time savings combining both cities into one trip compared to going back to Nice each time, so we just split it up and took our time. 

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Eze

Eze is a medieval village between Nice and Monaco, and it was pretty cool. There wasn’t anything specific to see, but getting transported to the Middle Ages was nice. 

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Antibes

Antibes was something we picked on the spot. We didn’t have anything in mind to do, and Antibes was great because it was easy to just get a ticket at the train station, and it was only 20 minutes away. We didn’t have anything specific to look for at Antibe, but wandering around a small town full of cafes and shops was nice. 

 

WE STAYED AT an Airbnb, which ended up becoming a whole situation. We booked late, and there were limited choices - and we found one that looked good but had very few reviews. When we went there, it was small, dusty, and had glass shards on the floor. We tried to leave early (at the risk of having nowhere to stay), but the host became highly disrespectful, and the whole situation became uncivil. We had to get the Airbnb team to intervene, but they were slow, and we had to stay a night.

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Our host kicked us out before the Airbnb team came up with a solution (unfortunately, they handled it poorly and slowly). Note to self, don’t book Airbnbs with few reviews!

We were lucky a new apartment had opened up (antithesis of what we just learned lol, but we had no choice) where we were their first guests, and thank goodness it was a lovely apartment in a great location. Staying between Nice-Ville train station and the beach was optimal, so it was easy to access Nice while being close to the train station to get to the neighboring towns.