{"id":37913,"date":"2019-09-11T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2019-09-10T22:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/?p=37913&preview=true&preview_id=37913"},"modified":"2025-02-26T03:03:26","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T16:03:26","slug":"french-riviera-on-a-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/french-riviera-on-a-budget\/","title":{"rendered":"How to do the French Riviera on a budget"},"content":{"rendered":"

The words \u2018French Riviera\u2019 and \u2018budget travel\u2019 don\u2019t usually squeeze into the same sentence. This is the C\u00f4te d’Azur, right? Summer playground for billionaires, movie stars and people with private helicopters.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And a lot of travellers get put off by this razzle-dazzle, thinking they need a superyacht to visit Cannes, Saint-Tropez and the Iles d\u2019Hyeres archipelago. But that\u2019s not really true. You can have a great time on the French Riviera without burning through the Euros.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s our budget travel guide to the French Riviera<\/a>.<\/p>\n

1. Sail small<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"A

Photo by Filip Stoklas.<\/p><\/div>\n

Obviously the best way to see France\u2019s southern beaches is by sea. You can<\/em> hire a car and drive the coastal highway between Marseille and Nice (the D559 is the most scenic route), but you\u2019ll miss the whole point of the C\u00f4te d’Azur: being close to water. There are plenty of smaller chartered yachts that run around Saint-Tropez, Cassis and Antibes, and they\u2019re generally pretty easy on the hip pocket. The best way to save some coin is to join a small group sailing tour<\/a>. You\u2019ll stop in all the major ports, reduce your carbon footprint, and avoid peak season hotel rates (which, as you can imagine, are daylight robbery).<\/p>\n

2. Get a rail card<\/strong><\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re more of the land-lubber type, there\u2019s a great SNCF rail line that runs along the French Riviera. It connects all the big towns, and even stops at quirky villages along the way like Villefranche and Theoule-sur-Mer. The coastal train generally runs every half hour in both directions, and stops around 10pm. Tickets are surprisingly cheap too. A round trip from Nice to Cannes will set you back around 14\u20ac, and SNCF even runs discount tickets for travellers aged between 18 and 27 (just ask about their \u2018carte jeune<\/em>\u2019 rates).<\/p>\n

RELATED: 6 CITIES TO VISIT IN FRANCE BEFORE EVERYONE ELSE DOES<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

3. Be smart with accommodation<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"A

Photo by Alexey D. Vedernikov.<\/p><\/div>\n

If you\u2019re travelling in peak season (August), or even a shoulder month (March, April, October or November), expect to pay a lot<\/em> for C\u00f4te d’Azur accommodation. There\u2019s not a lot of ways around this. Most hotels in the port towns will be charging peak rates, and they\u2019re still<\/em> booked up months in advance. One thing you can do is stay in Nice and just take day trips along the Riviera. You can reach most towns within a couple of hours, avoid notorious money traps like Monaco, and then it\u2019s just a matter of finding one or two budget hotels in Nice.<\/p>\n

CHECK OUT OUR FULL RANGE OF SMALL GROUP ADVENTURES IN FRANCE HERE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

4. Eat local<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"French

Photo by Damien Raggatt.<\/p><\/div>\n

This is good advice for anyone, regardless of budget. In pretty much every French Riviera town, there\u2019s a touristy restaurant strip right along the main harbour. Ignore this. It\u2019s not where the locals eat and the prices are always inflated. Instead, look for local street carts and open-air food markets, especially the ones slinging regional treats like fougasse <\/em>(salty herb bread), socca <\/em>(chickpea pancakes), ni\u00e7oise salad and barbagiuan <\/em>(fried Swiss-cheese fritters). You\u2019ll spot markets almost everywhere. Cannes\u2019 March\u00e9 Forville market<\/a> is open every day (except Mondays), and Nice\u2019s Old Town flower and vegetable market<\/a> is always buzzing in the Cours Saleya. Check local market sites for upcoming timetables. You\u2019ll save a fortune.<\/p>\n

5. Do free stuff<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In a way, the French Riviera is perfect for budget travellers, because all the natural highlights and beaches cost nothing. It\u2019s not like London or New York: you don\u2019t come here to buy tickets and spend money on activities. You come to hike clifftops, laze on the beach and use words like \u2018azure\u2019 \u2013 all of which are free. Here\u2019s a few ideas to get you started. In Nice, hike up to la Colline du Chateau<\/a> for amazing coastal views, then check out the Matisse Museum<\/a> (journalists, teachers, war veterans and kids under 18 get in free). In Cannes, hike to la Croix-des-Gardes<\/a> and then wander the old Le Suquet<\/a> district. If you\u2019re in Monaco, Fort Antoine<\/a>, Monaco Cathedral<\/a> and the Prince\u2019s Palace<\/a> are all completely free.<\/p>\n

RELATED: 8 UNUSUAL ADVENTURES YOU DIDN’T KNOW YOU COULD HAVE IN PARIS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

6. Shop smarter<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Cheese

Photo by Damien Raggatt.<\/p><\/div>\n

If the French Riviera is known for two things, it\u2019s beaches and shopping. In major towns like Nice, Cannes and Saint-Tropez, you\u2019ll find all sorts of high-end designer stores, which obviously aren\u2019t great for the budget traveller (check out La Croisette Boulevard<\/a> in Cannes for a taste of this sort of thing). But if you\u2019re smart with your money, you can still pick up a bargain along the C\u00f4te d’Azur. Most stores in Nice hold big sales in the second half of July. Cannes has an amazing flea market, the famous Forville Market<\/a>, where you can rummage happily for days. In Saint-Tropez, you want to head for the Place des Lices Market<\/a>, which stocks plants, antiques, homewares and local food. Pro tip: haggling isn\u2019t really a thing in southern France, even in the markets. What you see is what you pay.<\/p>\n

7. Stay in smaller towns<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Generally, the most expensive towns along the French Riviera are Cannes, St. Tropez, or Monte Carlo. Nice isn\u2019t quite so bad, thanks to its size. But to really save some coin, look for more obscure options. Little coastal towns like Vence, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Antibes and Grasse. Grasse, in particular, is amazing\u00a0\u2013 tucked up in the Provencal hills\u00a0\u2013 and most travellers zoom straight past it. These smaller towns might have fewer hotels to pick from, but the rates are generally a bit friendlier. If you want to save even more, consider travelling in the off-season, which runs from April to May and October to December. It might not be beach weather, but you\u2019ll get the C\u00f4te d’Azur more or less to yourself.<\/p>\n

We’re a little bit biased, but we think the best way to explore the French Riviera is on a sailing adventure. Check out our range of tours here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Feature photo by\u00a0siebenla, Shutterstock.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The words \u2018French Riviera\u2019 and \u2018budget travel\u2019 don\u2019t usually squeeze into the same sentence. This is the C\u00f4te d’Azur, right? Summer playground for billionaires, movie stars and people with private helicopters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15437,"featured_media":37919,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1313],"tags":[46,62,323],"class_list":["post-37913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guides","tag-europe","tag-france","tag-sailing","ipf_theme-sailing","ipf_region-france"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow To Travel The French Riviera On A Budget | Intrepid Travel Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It's totally possible to have a great time on the French Riviera without burning through the Euros. 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