French Riviera with Kids
The French Riviera. The Cote d’Azur. The peace, calm, beaches, great food. And kids? We spent a week of our family’s trip around the world in Cagnes-sur-mer along the French Riviera with kids. It was a family-friendly destination and has a lot to offer for kids! Here are the top 5 activities that we recommend for the French Riviera with kids:
1. Visit the aquarium in Monaco: Musée Océanographique de Monaco
The train runs along the coast of France throughout the Cote d’Azur. It is easy to hop on and visit Monaco for a day! Many people think about the Monte Carlo Casino, the fancy cars, the mega-yachts: none of that is the best part of Monaco. We spent our afternoon in the aquarium, and it was awesome! They have a wide range of tropical fish, sea turtles, and some cool things we had never seen. It was interactive, informative, and should be at the top of your list when in the French Riviera with kids.
2. Choose your beach wisely: stones or sand?
The beach is an obvious part of any trip along the beautiful coast of France. Jon has a long history of hating sand: it gets in everything and is hard to eradicate. However, the beaches between Antibes and Nice tend to be gravel. They call it stone: whatever. Apparently, they like it. Yes, it is nice (pun intended) to not get sandy. But unless you hate your feet, we would recommend staying further south along the French Riviera. The beaches south of Antibes tend to be sand. We found the water clearer (could have been a coincidence with the weather pattern) and the overall beaches much more enjoyable with kids.
3. Hike along the Le Sentier du Littoral, Cap d’Antibes
This trail follows the southern jut of Antibes into the Mediterranean Sea and is breathtaking. It can be a difficult path at times, with lots of stairs and narrow passages. However, bring your good shoes and do it! Our kids loved exploring the rocks and watching the waves crash and shoot water into the air. The scenic views are worth the effort. You can find out more about our visit here.
4. Canyon Forest
Jon and Brandon took a boy’s excursion to Canyon Forest. The minimum age to participate was 8, so Abigail missed out. It was a 45-minute walk from our Airbnb in Cagnes-sur-mer and worth every step. By late September, the activities are only open on the weekends or we would have done more. They offer canyoning tours like we did in Malaga, outdoor laser tag (already sold out for our day), and adventure courses through the trees. After doing via ferrata in Malaga, Jon decided to take on the hardest ropes course Brandon could attempt (one level up had a 16 year age limit.) It was a challenge, but awesome. Multiple difficult challenges were rewarded with fun zip-line rides. They utilize a unique safety harness system so that you go through the tree-top adventure without a guide. Because Jon and Brandon were on the harder course, they had the entire route to themselves, increasing the value of the experience.
5. Climb to Château-musée Grimaldi: maybe skip the actual museum tour.
The views from the top of Grimaldi Castle are fantastic. It is by far the highest point in Cagnes-sur-mer. We walked to the top and enjoyed the square around the entrance for a bit. There is a small playground, which our kids always love. If you are traveling in the French Riviera with kids, plan to stop at playgrounds when you see them. It was a nice reward for a challenging climb. We then progressed to walk through the castle, which is set up with exhibits as a contemporary art museum. It was really weird. Granted, we are not an artistic family. We choose action over observation at every opportunity, but if given the chance for a do-over, we would have skipped the actual exhibits and gone straight to the roof. The actual rooftop is open as a panoramic viewpoint and is stunning.
There you have it: our top 5 activities to do in the French Riviera with kids.
If you have questions or tips for traveling to the French Riviera with kids, let us know!
