French Riviera & Provence Itinerary for 10 Days
The south of France is easily one of the most impressive travel destinations in Europe. Here you’ll find beautiful mountainscapes, stunning coastal views, and plenty of small towns and villages that beckon you to say hello.
If you’re visiting the region, you’ll discover towns that take you back in time, that thrill with outdoor adventures and that offer cultural experiences that you’ll remember for the rest of your life. I loved it a lot, hence I’ve already been there three times!
In a perfect world, you can spend months exploring every stunning spot in the south of France. However, most likely won’t have time to visit each and every town in the region, here’s a list of some of the more popular small towns and villages in the south of France to add to your Provence itinerary.
South of France: Provence & French Riviera Itinerary
Provence Alpes Cote d’Azur
Planning Your Provence & French Riviera Trip
1. Rent a Car in France
While renting a car isn’t an absolute must in the French Riviera, I highly recommend it for Provence. While some places can be seen by train or bus (eg. of some tours here), you’ll miss out on many small towns worth your time if you don’t have a vehicle.
I’m saying this as during my first visit to the south of France I didn’t rent a car and while I was able to enjoy myself (I took this exact tour!), I preferred my second and third trips when I had a car with me (and driving wasn’t actually hard at all) and could explore things at my own pace and freely.
I also stumbled upon some incredible spots that I wouldn’t be able to see on a group tour. You can find the best deal on car rental on Discover Cars.
Personal tip: their car insurance is much cheaper than booking it at the counter, so you might want to book it beforehand.
IMPORTANT: if you pre-book a car from outside of Europe your rental will be significantly cheaper as extra taxes won’t be added based on your computer’s IP. However, this only works if you have a non-EU driver’s license.
read more on: Renting a Car in France
2. Base Yourself Somewhere in Provence and Cote d’Azur Instead of Changing Hotels
It might be tempting to stay in different towns throughout your trip, but it’s not the best idea. Pick one hotel in Provence and one in the French Riviera and explore other spots during the day. Why?
Especially in Provence, big chains of hotels don’t exist and what you can find are family-owned guesthouses. That said, most of the hotels have limited check-in and check-out time, and some even have a curfew.
If you want to check into a different spot every night, you’ll miss out on incredible sunsets and sunrises, so it’s simply not worth it.
- For Provence, the most central town is Aix-en-Provence (book the awesome hotel I’ve stayed at here).
- For the French Riviera, you might want to stay in Nice (check out my favorite hotel) or Antibes.
3. Decide Where Will You Fly To
There are two convenient airports in the area: Marseille and Nice. You could fly into Marseille and fly out of Nice, or fly in and out of Nice if that’s cheaper. Check Skyscanner and find the best possible option.
4. Take Time Into Consideration
Even if you carefully plan your route, you might want to spend more time in some spots, or simply stop on the side of the road and enjoy the view. Don’t go to France to just tick some cute villages of your list, but really enjoy each place and the atmosphere of Provence and French Riviera.
