The Mini Rough Guide to Nice, Cannes & Monte Carlo (Travel Guide eBook)

By Rough Guides

This pocket-sized travel guide to Nice, Cannes & Monte Carlo is a convenient, quick-reference companion to discovering what to do, what to see and how to get around the destination. It covers top attractions like Promenade des Anglais, La Croisette, the Musee Matisse, Zplage, The Vieux Port, as well as hidden gems, including Cap d'Ail and Royal Fort. Our Nice, Cannes & Monte Carlo guide book will save you time and enhance your exploration of this fascinating region. This Nice, Cannes & Monte Carlo travel guide has been fully updated post-COVID-19. 

This Mini Rough Guide to NICE, CANNES & MONTE CARLO covers: Nice; Cannes; Monaco; Excursions.

In this guide book to Nice, Cannes & Monte Carlo you will find: 

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EVERY TYPE OF TRAVELLER 
Experiences selected for every kind of trip to Nice, Cannes & Monte Carlo, from cultural explorations in Vieux Nice to family activities in child-friendly places, like Colline du Chateau or chilled-out breaks in popular tourist areas, like Mougins.

TOP TEN ATTRACTIONS
This Nice, Cannes & Monte Carlo travel guide covers the destination’s top ten attractions not to miss, including Chapelle Bellini, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Promenade des Anglais, La Croisette and a Perfect Day itinerary suggestions.

COMPACT FORMAT
Compact, concise, and packed with essential information, with a sharp design and colour-coded sections, this guide book to Nice, Cannes & Monte Carlo is the perfect on-the-move companion when you’re exploring Monaco.

HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL INSIGHTS
Includes an insightful overview of landscape, history and culture of Nice, Cannes & Monte Carlo.

WHAT TO DO
Detailed description of entertainment, shopping, nightlife, festivals and events, and children’s activities.

PRACTICAL MAPS
Handy colour maps on the inside cover flaps of this travel guide to Nice, Cannes & Monte Carlo will help you find your way around.

PRACTICAL TRAVEL INFORMATION
Practical information on eating out, including a handy glossary and detailed restaurant listings, as well as a comprehensive A–Z of travel tips on everything from getting around to health and tourist information.

STRIKING PICTURES
Inspirational colour photography throughout.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Insight Guides
• Release date: Apr 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9781839059193

Rough Guides

Rough Guides are written by expert authors who are passionate about both writing and travel. They have detailed knowledge of the areas they write about--having either traveled extensively or lived there--and their expertise shines through on every page. It's priceless information, delivered with wit and insight, providing the down-to-earth, honest read that is the hallmark of Rough Guides.

Book preview

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HOW TO USE THIS E-BOOK

Getting Around this e-Book

This Rough Guide Mini e-book is designed to inspire you and help you plan for your visit to Nice, Cannes & Monte Carlo, and is also the perfect on-the-ground companion for your trip.

The guide begins with our selection of Highlights, plus a Perfect Itinerary feature to help you plan an unforgettable trip. The Introduction and History and Culture chapters give the lowdown on Nice, Cannes & Monte Carlo, past and present, while the Out and About chapter is a comprehensive guide to all the best sights. You will find ideas for getting active in Things to Do, while the Food and Drink chapter introduces you to the local cuisine and gives listings of our favourite restaurants by area. Travel Essentials offers just that; practical information to help you plan your trip. Finally, Where to Stay provides a special selection of hotels for every budget.

In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.

Maps

All key attractions and sights in Nice, Cannes & Monte Carlo are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map], tap once to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.

Images

You’ll find lots of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of Nice, Cannes & Monte Carlo. Simply double-tap an image to see it in full-screen.

About Rough Guides:

Published in 1982, the first Rough Guide – to Greece – was created by Mark Ellingham and a small group of friends who couldn’t find a guidebook to meet their needs. Combining a contemporary, journalistic style with a thoroughly practical approach to travellers’ needs, the immediate success of the book spawned a series that rapidly covered dozens of destinations. These days, Rough Guides include recommendations from budget to luxury and cover more than 120 destinations worldwide, all regularly updated by our team of ever curious, roaming writers. These Rough Guide Minis may be small, but they are packed with information and inspiration and offer amazing value for money.

© 2023 Apa Digital AG and Apa Publications (UK) Ltd.

Table of Contents

10 Things Not To Miss

A Perfect Day In Cannes

Overview

Architectural Heritage

Cities Of Contrast

Image Makeover

A Greener Future

History And Culture

Beginnings

Counts Versus Consulats

Wars And Revolution

Winter Visitors

Reunification And Regeneration

War And Post-War

Out And About

Nice

Vieux Nice

The Colline du Château

The Vieux Port

Promenade du Paillon

Promenade des Arts

The New Town

Western Nice

North of the Station

Cimiez

Cannes

La Croisette

The Vieux Port and Marché Forville

Le Suquet

La Croix des Gardes

Le Cannet

La Californie

The Iles de Lérins

Monaco

Monte Carlo

La Condamine

Monaco-Ville

Fontvieille

Moneghetti

Excursions

Cagnes-sur-Mer

Mougins

The Estérel

Things To Do

Shopping

What To Buy Where

Food And Wine

Arts And Entertainment

Performing Arts

Rock And Jazz

Nightlife

Casinos

Sports And Activities

Beaches And Swimming

Sailing And Water Sports

Diving

Golf

Gyms And Fitness

Skiing

Tennis And Squash

Spectator Sports

Children

Food And Drink

Regional Specialities

Vegetable Heaven

Fish And Meat

Cheese And Desserts

Where To Eat

What To Drink

To Help You Order...

Menu Reader

Where To Eat

Nice

Cannes

Monaco

Excursions

Cagnes-sur-Mer

Mougins

The Estérel

Vence

Villefranche-sur-Mer

A–Z Travel Tips

A

Accommodation

Airport

B

Bicycle Hire

Budgeting for Your Trip

C

Car Hire

Climate

Clothing

Crime and safety

D

Driving

E

Electricity

Embassies and Consulates

Emergencies

G

Getting There

Guides and Tours

H

Health and Medical Care

L

Language

LGBTQ Travellers

M

Maps

Media

Money

O

Opening Times

P

Police

Post Offices

Public Holidays

R

Religion

T

Telephones

Time Zones

Tipping

Toilets

Tourist Information

Transport

V

Visas and entry Requirements

W

Websites and Internet Access

Y

Youth Hostels

Where To Stay

Nice

Cannes

Monaco

Excursions

Cagnes-sur-mer

Mougins

The Estérel

Vence

Villefranche-sur-Mer

10 THINGS NOT TO MISS

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1. Colline du Château

Nothing remains of the medieval citadel, but glorious views of Nice abound. For more information, click here.

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2. Mougins

This picture-perfect hilltop village is a must-visit for foodies. For more information, click here.

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3. Musée Matisse

Nice is home to this unmissable collection from all stages of the artist’s career. For more information, click here.

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4. La Croisette

The animated seafront promenade at Cannes is perfect for watching the world go by. For more information, click here.

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5. Promenade des Anglais

The legendary footpath epitomises the elegance of Belle Epoque Nice. For more information, click here.

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6. Casino de Monte Carlo

The ultimate symbol of Monaco glamour since 1863. For more information, click here.

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7. Marché Forville

Cannes’ colourful feast of wonderful Riviera produce. For more information, click here.

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8. Palais Princier

Monaco’s hilltop palace is compact and quaint with wonderful views over the coast. For more information, click here.

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9. Vieux Nice

An atmospheric Italianate maze of narrow streets and coloured campaniles. For more information, click here.

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10. Iles de Lérins

Escape the Cannes crowds and make the trip across the bay to these forested islands. For more information, click here.

A Perfect DAY IN CANNES

9.00am

Breakfast. Instead of having breakfast in your hotel, head to Café Lenôtre (63 rue d’Antibes, www.lenotre.com) for a croissant and a café crème (milky coffee) or, if you’re on a tight budget, grab a pavement seat outside one of the boulangeries on rue Meynadier.

9.30am

At the market. Rub shoulders with top chefs while you check out the wonderful local produce – look out for courgette flowers and Mediterranean fish – at Marché Forville, one of the most animated and colourful markets on the Riviera.

10.00am

Up the hill. Walk up cobbled rue St-Antoine in Cannes’ old town, Le Suquet, and head to Musée des Explorations du Monde to see its collections of primitive art and musical instruments. On the way, don’t forget to admire the views across the bay.

11.00am

Retail therapy. Browse the high street and designer shops along rue d’Antibes and rue du Commandant André to pick out something stylish to wear for your night out on the town.

12.30pm

Lunch. Take the boat from the port over to Ile Saint-Honorat and enjoy a waterside lunch with panoramic views across the coast at La Tonnelle restaurant (http://tonnelle-abbayedelerins.fr). Visit the Abbaye de Lérins, home to 30 Cistercian monks, and buy some of their wine, liqueurs or lavender honey to take home.

3.00pm

On the beach. Back on the continent, head to five-star Hotel Martinez, one of the most iconic hotels in Cannes. A makeover in 2018 saw it ditch its pool and focus on a swanky private beach club. If sipping cocktails alongside celebs and the international jetset is out of your reach, opt for the sandy public beach, Plage du Midi, west of the port.

7.00pm

Apéro time. Once you’ve showered and changed back at your hotel, take a stroll along La Croisette, admiring the designer clothes boutiques and high-end jewellery shops on the way, and turn into rue des Frères Pradignac for a pre-dinner cocktail at La Belle Epoque, mixologists par excellence.

8.30pm

Dinner is served. Take your table at Table 22 (www.restaurantmantel.com) in rue St-Antoine to try some delicious Mediterranean cuisine cooked by Noël Mantel and his Dutch wife. Fish fans can also head to Astoux et Brun (for more information, click here) near the port to savour some seafood.

10.30pm

On the town. There’s only one place to be seen partying in Cannes and that’s Le Bâoli at the eastern end of La Croisette – at least, if the doormen think you’re cool enough to get in. If not, try Chrystie, a bit of an institution in glamourous Cannes.

Overview

Nice, Cannes, Monaco. The three names alone evoke many of the myths of the Côte d’Azur, each endowed with grandiose architecture and spectacular natural settings: the Baie de Cannes with the backdrop of the red Estérel mountains to the west, Nissa la Bella (Beautiful Nice) sitting on the glorious curve of the Baie des Anges (Bay of Angels), or the crazy piled-up tower blocks of wealthy Monaco, clustered between sea and the white limestone crags of the Alpine foothills.

The gentle Mediterranean climate made the French Riviera a magnet for the aristocratic winter visitors of the Belle Epoque, and its quality of light attracted the likes of Matisse, Picasso, Bonnard, de Staël and countless other artists during the 20th century. Today, mild sunny winters interspersed by just a few chilly days, crisp spring sunlight and the guarantee of hot summers with an azure-blue sea on your doorstep continue to draw tourists from the world over.

These are active year-round cities. Nice is the administrative capital of the Alpes-Maritimes département, with a dynamic cultural scene, a university, a hi-tech science park at Sophia Antipolis and a boxfresh Unesco World Heritage City inscription. Cannes glories in film-star kudos yet resounds to