Best Beaches (Plages)

Ask anyone who has been to the riviera, or even those planning on visiting it, and they are most likely to wax on about beaches first. The riviera is known for its beaches, be they resort beaches or public ones, and although many of the smaller ones have less-than-ideal locations, like next to a train track or sandwiched between tall buildings, of the ones that remain beautiful and visit-worthy, nearly everyone has a favorite.

Sandy Beaches

One of the most famous cities on the riviera "Nice" is not one of the many cities famous for its beaches. While the boardwalk of Nice is lovely for a walk - indeed, the boulevard running alongside the shore is known as the Promenade des Anglais - the beach is made up of small stones, a trait that many of the riviera beaches share. There are several sandy beaches, however, which are man-made.

One of the best sandy beaches is along the shore that runs from Cannes to Antibes. This shore is dotted with private beaches, but the public beaches along this stretch are just as beautiful, and many of them sport snack stands, volleyball courts and sidewalk cafés where you can get a citron pressé (fresh-squeezed lemonade) and look out onto the beach.

In Juan-les-Pins, not far from Cannes and Antibes, you will find a small public beach with the added advantage of having a large parking lot nearby. Like the public beaches in Cannes and Antibes, the beach in Juan-les-Pins gets impossibly crowded in the summertime.

Exclusive Beaches

This overcrowding of public beaches is why many who can afford it turn to the exclusive private beaches. These are especially prevalent in the richer towns like Antibes, Cannes and Saint-Tropez, where you can pay a small fortune for the chance to sun on a lounge chair and have drinks brought to your side.

One of the best and most famous exclusive beaches on the riviera is Nikki beach in Cannes, owned by the club of the same name. Getting a chair at this beach is an involved process requiring reservations more than a week in advance, but if you want to catch a glimpse of stars during the film festival, getting a spot here is your best bet. If you're not willing to shell out the cash during the day, try reserving a table at dinnertime at one of the restaurants that sets up a beachside dining room in the summer, like L'Annex on the Croisette.

Nudist Beaches

If you're feeling a little daring, try one of the nudist beaches. While nearly every beach in France has topless women sunning on it, only a select few feature people baring it all. These beaches are surprisingly easy to find once you know where to look: one can be found at the very end of the Croisette in Cannes, where nudists are amongst the first to brave the beaches as the weather starts to grow warm. Others exist in Cap Ferrat (Plage Saint-Jean, Plage de Passable), Nice (Pointe de la Cuisse) and Fréjus (Plage de Vénus), as well as in several other riviera cities.

In Saint-Tropez, Tahiti beach is famous for those who choose to grace the sand wearing little or nothing at all: Brigitte Bardot started the trend with itty-bitty bikinis back in the 60s, a trend which has blossomed since then, and you'd be hard-pressed to find someone wearing more than a skimpy bikini bottom at this beach.