Monte Carlo

Located 800 meters high above the cobalt seas and seeming built into the mountainside, Eze is an exceptionally scenic village with spectacular panoramic views. Its steep cobblestone streets are lined with stone houses and shops bedecked with colorful window boxes and walls covered with cascades of bougainvillea. After a brief tour of the village, with time for photos, you’ll head to the lab-like factory of the famed Parfumerie Fragonard.

From tiny Monaco, travel the coastal road to the French Riviera’s biggest city and of its most scenic villages. As you enter Nice, your guide will begin the narrated portion of the drive. Admire the rocky beach of Baie des Anges on one side of the palm-lined Promenade des Anglais and the grand buildings on the other, the grand Hotel Negresco, with its extravagant Belle Epoque façade, among them. The route will focus on key city landmarks, including the Russian Orthodox Church, before stopping near Vieux Nice.

Traveling the highway from Monaco, St-Paul de Vence is visible from afar, perched high above the rolling countryside. It is among the few fortress towns that once dotted the French Riviera to survive into the modern era with its medieval appearance intact. In the 1920s, the village was discovered by painters such as Modigliani and Bonnard, whose informal gatherings evolved into a larger artistic community here. Your visit begins just outside the medieval fortifications, at the Fondation Maeght, the private museum opened by publishers and art dealers Aimé and Marguerite Maeght in 1964.