Holiday Season in the South of France

Written By Kate Stephens

From December 22nd of 2024-January 5th of 2025, I got to spend a fabulous two weeks exploring the South of France! My boyfriend is from Grasse so there I met his entire family over the holidays and got to experience their traditions with them. We went to beautiful, nearby cities and I was taken on first-time adventures like karting, a helicopter ride over the French Riviera, and skiing in the Alps over New Year’s. My hope is that these restaurants and sights scattered around the south can help you fill in the gaps of your own incredible vacation! Check out my vlog of this trip, perhaps while you are getting ready for the day or eating lunch, for even more behind the scenes!

Cities and Communes that we visited:

  • Antibes • Cannes • Èze • Gourdon • Grasse • Isola 2000 Ski Station • Monaco • Nice • Sanremo, Italy •

    • Be sure to explore Monte Carlo in Monaco!

Dining:

Antibes

  • Nacional Trattoria

Cannes

  • Barrel Pub

  • Lucky You Saloon

Isola 2000

  • L’Avalanche

  • La Raclette

Monaco

  • Le Botticelli

Nice

  • ICÔ

  • Maranna




Activities & Sights:

  • Christmas Markets

    • We saw them in Cannes and Monaco!

  • Exotic Garden in Èze

    • We wanted to come here to watch the sunset, but barely missed the closing cutoff. Their hours are 9:00-16:30 from November-March and 9:00-18:30 from April-June and the month of October.

  • Helicopter Tour: Blade

  • Karting

  • La Verrerie de Biot

    • Glass-making factory and free museums.

  • Le Marché de la Truffe

    • The annual Truffle Market in Grasse happened to take place while we were there! While the truffles themselves are quite expensive (€100 per kilogram!), they prepare delicious soup, desserts, chocolat chaud, brie, and more with truffles infused. Most items cost about three-to-five euros. It was a very casual environment that was hosted outside of a beautiful, Michelin star restaurant.

  • Le Musée du Parfum

    • Free entry! We did a quick walk-through at the end of the tour Johan took me on through Grasse’s city centre.

  • Play Padel

    • Find a country club nearby. We booked a court for 90 minutes and it flew by!

  • Visit a Ski Station

    • We stayed in his family’s apartment at Isola 2000.

  • Walk along La Promenade des Anglais in Nice

    • An iconic strip along the beach with amazing restaurants and plenty of shops nearby. All Johan and I did for our late morning-afternoon in Nice was have brunch at Maranna and walk all around this area, it was perfect!

Kate Stephens
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