For the past five years, we have been visiting easy hiking destinations on the Riviera. Since then, we have published roughly 100 posts on trails and day trips in the area, and that is counting the French side of the coast alone – while we are still adding new ideas and suggestions on a regular basis.
For people who are not familiar with the area, the result must be fairly confusing: so many opportunities, so little time. Where are they supposed to start?
Choice Easy Scenic Hikes in the French Riviera
Today’s post is designed to help these visitors to plan their holiday. Here are six hikes and walks that offer a little bit of everything to everyone, ranging from the moderately easy to the very easy, from the urban to the mildly wild, from the mountainous back country to the sub-tropical coast.
All of these hikes are short (under 10 km), trailheads are easy to reach and trail ends easy to get away from. Feel free to do them all, but the idea is to provide you with a choice of various spices for your holiday: add one or two for a richer, more flavourful travel experience. (Just click on each title for more information about the chosen hikes.)
Tête du chien
Generally speaking, the order of the hikes on this list does not reflect any personal preference, but this one is the exception.
If you are new to the area and only have the time for a single walk in the region, I would recommend to walk all the way up the Tête du Chien rock which overlooks Monaco and the entire eastern section of the French Riviera.
You are guaranteed to get great views and a good impression of the landscape between coast and high mountains.
On your arrival in La Turbie (where the walk ends), you can also visit the village and the Trophée des Alpes, the most important Roman monument in the entire area.
If you do this hike, do it early on your trip – for the simple reason that for the rest of your stay, you will see theTête du Chien a lot. It is the most prominent feature of the coast line between Nice and the Italian border.
And you will not be able to see it without thinking: I was there and stood on top of that rock. Made it, Ma: top of the Riviera.
Beaulieu to Eze-sur-Mer
The most picturesque element of the coastal landscape is the Saint Ferrat peninsula east of Nice, and this walk into the hills above Beaulieu-sur-Mer is designed to provide you with a kaleidoscope of forever changing Saint Ferrat views and perspectives …
… before, higher up the hills, the view opens up to include the neighbouring bay of Villefranche and the entire coast all the way to Nice and beyond.
Views of the French Riviera do not get much better than this. On top of that, the walk offers a good blend of different landscapes: from the subtropical lushness of the coast to the semi-arid maquis near the top of the hill and typically Mediterranean forests on the trail’s descent to Eze-sur-Mer.
Monaco Gardens
One place that every visitor of the region wants to see is Monaco. Unlike some people I know, I have never tried to dissuade any friend of ours from making the trip: not least because I believe that such an excursion can be a highly interesting, entertaining and culturally enriching experience particularly if you are of a mildly cynical disposition.
I would, however, always send friends on their way with three pieces of advice: 1.) Be prepared to not find what you are looking for; 2.) Do not be judgmental, for the measure you give shall be the measure you will get. And 3.) visit the Jardins Exotiques.
This is how Monaco looks best: from afar. After all, in its own way, Monaco is as beautiful as Vernazza or Portofino, those other gems of the Ligurian Sea.
Please note that the walk up to the Jardins Exotiques is only a short stroll and that the visit will leave you plenty of time for some sightseeing around town, perhaps taking in one or two more Monaco gardens or completing a lap of the Formula One race.
Villefranche sur Mer
Villefranche-sur-Mer is another Riviera destination that is on most people’s list. They see the village and the picturesque harbour from the train, and you can tell them as many times as you want that they have already enjoyed the best that Villefranche has to offer: which is the view from afar across the bay, they still want to go.
But here is the rub: unless you fancy being pushed around by hordes of cruise ship passengers (its deep harbour makes Villefranche an ideal landing point) and overpaying for poorly and hastily prepared restaurant food, there is only a limited number of things to do in town.
Fortunately, Villefranche comes attached to one of the better easy hikes in the area which leads you through picturesque village lanes (Villefranche is small, but the few streets it has are undeniably pretty) …
… through equally attractive scenery …
… to the Mont Alban fortress and back. And there will still be time for a cup of coffee or an ice cream by the seaside afterwards (go on then, you know you want it).
Gorbio to Saint Agnes
Any list of suggestions for hiking trips, like our choice easy scenic hikes in the French Riviera, should include at least one walk higher up the mountains.
There are several options, but the hike from Gorbio to St Agnès ticks all the boxes, sometimes spectacularly so, and serves as a perfect introduction to the barren, rocky and often quite lonely world of the Alpes Maritimes.
Of all the walks we have done in the region, this was the one that felt most solitary. We did not see a human being all day – come to think of it, not even an animal, a goat or a donkey. It’s pretty lonely up there in the clouds.
A word of warning: you must be ready for a certain degree of physical effort, walking uphill for much of the way from Gorbio (altitude: 300 metres) to St Agnès (800 metres). Also bear in mind that buses from St Agnès to Menton circulate rather infrequently (roughly every two hours).
The Wild West of the French Riviera
This walk is a bit further out, particularly when you are based on the eastern side of the Riviera near Nice.
The train ride to the trailhead at Theoule-sur-Mer will take you approx. two hours, but you will be rewarded by being introduced to an entirely different side of the Riviera, which is characterized by frequently dramatic formations of red rocks.
And while the landscape is more dramatic than elsewhere along the coast, life around here is far more quiet and tranquil, making this the ideal daytrip to get away from the hustle and bustle of the resort towns further to the east.
In Nice, we highly recommend Chez Palmyre in the Old Town – small (you might want to make a reservation), “authentic” and good value. Still in the Old Town, there is a hole-in-the-wall place on the corner of Rue Miralheti and Rue Pairoliere (just off Place Garibaldi), called Specialites Nicoises Socca, where the Socca is actually better than in the famous stall on the Place Saleya where only the tourists go. (Socca is best eaten straight off the pan, which means: immediately, not after a 10-minute bicycle transport through narrow lanes and dense pedestrian traffic in the Old Town.)
On the other end of the scale, there is La Reserve which you will stumble upon when walking on the far side of the Port. Or, if you really want to splash out, go to Mirazur in Menton, the area’s latest 3-star restaurant. Expensive, but not crazily so, and well worth it. (Reservation per Internet obligatory.)
Thanks for your thoughtful comments on the “pignes” train ride, will follow your guidance. On walks around Nice you do not mention the cap Ferrat walk which looked interesting and was on my list as we are staying in the Port (in a garret) for all April so thought walk the headland and then the cap. We will be daily trying the promenade although coming from the Port we will be going the other way. Your walks are good, do you also do anywhere good places to eat or does that take you off course?
Thanks for your sweet comment, Margaret.
Best time of the year for a visit: April to May, mid-September to late October. If you are unlucky, you may encounter a day or even two of rain, but temperatures will be pleasant, while summers are reliably dry but also reliably hot.
Your limit is 18 km? That’s a lot more than we have been daring to do for years, and neither of us has a history of cardiac problems. Respect!
We hope you find some inspiration for your trip on our website and have a lovely stay!
It looks like our trip will be next year now …..but your information is great ..and we plan to do some of the hikes …..hiking and photography are our passion ..and I really wish we were there now …what is the best month to do these hikes as too hot I think would be a little uncomfortable ….seeing as I am the pack horse as I will not allow hubby to carry too much …he has had 2 heart attacks and Angina in the last 10 years …so our limit is around 18 km ……hills are not a problem so long as we stop for rests ….Again ..love your hikes …..