But its popularity can make it expensive, especially when you consider its proximity to notoriously pricey places such as Monaco and Cannes.

However, with a bit of planning, it is possible to keep your trip on a tight budget. Follow these simple tips to enjoy a taste of the French Riviera without the big price tag.

Related: Stay cheap at our favorite budget hotels in Nice

Nice budget travel tips

Looking to save a few euros on your French Riviera getaway? Here are 10 ways I saved on my trip.

1. Avoid peak season

May through August is peak season in the south of France, especially August when most of Europe is on vacation. By visiting in September, I took advantage of big savings on my airfare and accommodations but still enjoyed the gorgeous weather. It was also a lot less busy than it would have been had I visited the previous month.

Can’t make it in September? Mid-March to April is also a good time to consider a trip.

Related: When should you book hotels for the best rates?

The lovely view from Lou Souleou Bed & Breakfast. Photo:

2. Book a hotel in a central location

I made life a lot easier, as well as cheaper, by picking out a budget hotel in a good location. Lou Souleou Bed and Breakfast, now a seaview guesthouse, was easy to get to using the airport bus and overlooked the picturesque Promenade des Anglais, where you can find many other budget hotel choices. It was also ideally placed for Cours Saleya and Vieux Nice. That meant that within Nice itself, I didn’t need to take public transport anywhere. I also had the bonus of discovering streets and vistas at my own pace that would have been inaccessible by public transport anyway.

Know your dates? Search over 740 hotels in Nice

The breakfast spread at Lou Souleou can keep you going all day long!

3. Make the most of the free hotel breakfast

Many hotels offer complimentary breakfast — a great way to fuel up for the day ahead. At Lou Souleou, I could pick from fresh bread, homemade crepes, fruit salad, cereals, and yogurt, with a selection of jams, coffee, and orange juice. Meaning it was a long time before I needed to think about splashing out for food again!

Related: Nice hotels under $100 per night

4. Take a free walking tour

I’m a big fan of walking tours to get your head around a place, and in Nice, I took the free tour offered by the Riveria Bar Crawl company. It was a great way of ticking off some of the sights, as well as picking up some insider tips and hints.

5. Use the markets and have a picnic

Eating out could quickly become pricey in Nice. But it’s easy to pick up food for picnics at markets and supermarkets. I enjoyed delicious fresh food from the outdoor market Cours Saleya and supplemented it with pieces from the supermarkets. These are surprisingly plentiful — there’s a large Monoprix on the main avenue Jean Medecin, for example.

What’s more is that Nice is brilliant for picnic spots — enjoy your meal on one of the famous blue chairs overlooking the beach or on the beach itself. You can also have a picnic with the picturesque views from the Parc du Chateau.

A shop making socca, a local specialty and popular street food in Nice. Photo: Passion Leica

6. Enjoy Nice’s street food

Another way to refuel on a budget is to take advantage of Nice’s street food. Pissaladière — a tart/pizza topped with anchovies, olives, and onions — was a great way to fill an empty stomach. I also enjoyed socca — a chickpea flour-based pancake. You can pick up a plate for only €3 from Chez Rene Socca in the Old Town.

7. Invest in a museum pass

The region’s link to modern art was one of the reasons I wanted to visit the south of France, and destinations such as the Matisse Museum were high up on my to-do list. I made a significant saving by investing in a 7-day Musées de Nice pass for €20, allowing me access to 13 museums. With the entrance to the Matisse Museum alone costing €10, this worked out as a great value.

Relaxing on one of Nice’s beautiful beaches. Photo: Frances Ambler

8. Avoid private beaches

You could enjoy Nice’s beaches from the comfort of a sun lounger, but it would cost you up to €20 a day. On the other hand, the public beaches are completely free — you just need to come prepared for the pebbles! Many hotels and hostels loan out inflatable mattresses for the beach. I also found that by taking a short train ride, I found much quieter public beaches, including the luxury of a sand beach near Antibes!

9. Explore the area by public transport

Public transport along the Côte d’Azur is a real bargain, with bus fares at a flat rate of just €1.50 within the region and train tickets not exceeding more than €10. That makes more expensive destinations such as Monaco and Cannes accessible for day trips. It also opens up lesser-visited parts of the coastline for exploration.

One of the favorite days of my trip was when I took the train to Roquebrune-Cap-Martin (€4) and walked the path along the coastline to picturesque Menton. From there, I even walked onto Italy — before taking the train back for just €9.

Related: Cheapo day trips from Nice

10. Enjoying the free entertainment!

I could have rushed around ticking off the “must-dos”, but I really enjoyed allowing myself to take in the sights and sounds of Nice itself. From the skaters, runners and street performers to the atmospheric twists and turns of Vieux Nice, there was more than plenty to soak up for free — making for a relaxing visit, as well as a cheap one!

Have you been to Nice? Tell us your favorite things to do in the comments.

Photo credits: Booking.com

The post Nice, France Budget Travel: 10 ways to save appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

It certainly can’t compete with Spain, Portugal, or Slovenia when it comes to value for euros spent.

But all things considered, this tiny principality known for its glamorous casinos, the Grand Prix, and Princess Grace (may she rest in peace) is worth a stop on your European itinerary.

More French Riviera tips:
• 10 Ways to save on a vacation to Nice
• Menton: A French Riviera gem
• A Budget guide to Marseilles

Budget travel tips for Monaco

Fortunately, while it’s not exactly cheap, it doesn’t have to break the bank, either. Read on for a few of our best tips on saving in Monaco.

1. Go off-season

Timing your visit carefully can save Cheapos big on accommodation and flights into Nice (the nearest airport). For the biggest savings, plan your trip between November and March, avoiding the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

We found flights to Nice from New York (JFK) as low as $497 for week-long trips in November. From Nice, it is just a short train ride to Monaco. Search for cheap flights to Europe.

2. Bring your walking shoes

At .75 square miles, Monaco is tiny. So skip the bus or cab, and do your exploring on foot. Your wallet will thank you. Just remember to bring a change of shoes if you plan to go to a casino or club, as most require more formal footwear (no flip flops or sneakers).

If you do get tired, don’t stress hopping on a bus — at around €2 a trip or €5 for an unlimited pass, it’s very affordable to get around. An even better way to travel is on the water. Grab the Bateau Bus, a water taxi that will take you from Monte Carlo to the Old Town.

3. Free things to do

Believe it or not, there’s plenty on offer in Monaco that will cost you the bargain price of zero euros. Our favorite things to do in Monaco include:

• Sunbathing at Larvotto Beach
• Snapping shots of sweeping views of the coast from the Rock (Monaco’s Old Town)
• Searching Princess Grace’s Rose Garden for surprising blooms
• Listening to the organ music at Saint Nicolas Cathedral (where Princess Grace is buried)
• Gawking at yachts in the port
• People-watching outside the casinos

4. Get away from Monte Carlo

When it comes to eating, drinking, and sleeping, the further you get away from Monaco’s main tourist and administrative district (home to its casinos), the lower the prices.

The Hotel de France has basic but clean single rooms from €95 — but they’re typically sold out very far in advance. Generally, visitors to Monaco can expect to spend $120+ per night on a private room anywhere near Monte Carlo. Search for more Monaco accommodations.

For cheaper accommodation, you’ll probably have to leave Monaco altogether, but never fear; France is a diamond’s throw away. Try one of these hotels in Nice.

5. Make it a day trip

Keep your budget in check by limiting your stay. Tacking Monaco on to a vacation in Nice is a particular budget-savvy option. Hotels cost around half the price — you can stay somewhere comfortable for around $80 per night.

Transportation between Nice and Monte Carlo is also very cheap. Via bus, it’s 45 minutes and costs €2. Or, for the fastest trip overland, go by rail. The €5 train journey takes about 20 minutes. Just keep an eye on transit schedules to and from your accommodation — trust us when we say you won’t be up for the taxi fare to home-sweet-hotel.

Want to sleep closer and see Monaco’s glitz and glamour after dark? Look at accommodations in Beausoleil (within walking distance of the casinos) and Menton, France (about 5 miles away from Monte Carlo), starting at $40 per night.

6. Stick to Wi-Fi on your phone

Turn the roaming off on your smartphone and go with Wi-Fi only. Monaco is an outlier when it comes to cell service, and most providers don’t include it as part of Europe-wide roaming. In a space of around 20 minutes, this writer wracked up more than €60 in roaming fees even with an Orange Go Europe plan.

Related: How to buy and use a a SIM Card in Europe | The tops SIM Cards for a trip to France

7. Sip and nibble at happy hour

Skip overpriced convenience food aimed at tourists. Instead, grab a snack at a supermarket or pack a lunch to keep up your energy between sightseeing.

Then, after day-trippers have left but before you head back to wherever you’re sleeping, splurge on happy hour drinks and snacks (usually until 8:30 pm) or a fixed-price multi-course dinner in the Old Town for around €15-20.

The post Monaco on the Cheap: 7 Ways to save on the French Riviera appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Hints of Italy

Menton hints of Italy even before you cross the border, with its bilingual street names and Italian-style architecture. Curiously, the town only became French in 1860, having historically been part of Monaco until in 1848 it seceded from the Principality in a spat over taxes on lemon exports. Menton then enjoyed a brief fling as an independent republic before throwing in its lot with the Kingdom of Sardinia and eventually joining France.

Mentonasques are quick to remind visitors even today that Menton is in France merely by choice, and the town’s window shutters in that distinctive Ligurian green are a reminder that this most Italianate of French Riviera towns still has a part of its heart in Italy.

Menton’s health resort history

Climb up to the cemetery high above the Old Town and you will quickly discover how Menton established its credentials in Riviera tourism. A hundred years ago, Menton was one of Europe’s premier health resorts, with thousands of northern Europeans taking their bronchial bacilli to sunny Menton to try and rid their lungs of tuberculosis. The crowded cemetery, full of those who died of consumption, attests to the fact that a few months of indolence in Menton did not always guarantee recuperation. Russians, Germans, English and Irish share the same burial ground, all victims of a disease that indiscriminately struck down poets and philosophers, counts and colonels.

The pulmonary pilgrims of yesterday have been replaced by a new generation of traveler, often anxious to find the quieter side of the Riviera. Menton is always a great stopover on routes from Provence to Genoa —made easy by the frequency of trains along this stretch of coast. Both westbound towards Nice and eastbound into Italy, trains generally run twice hourly.

Exploring the town

But with direct daily TGV services from Paris (and a useful direct overnight train, too), Menton is a place worth visiting in its own right. Our best Menton days have involved nothing more demanding than wandering around the produce stalls in the Moorish market on the waterfront and then drifting from café to café.

Our favorite local curiosity is the “salle de mariage” (wedding hall) in Menton’s City Hall, which is a striking piece of interior design by French artist and film director Jean Cocteau. Further afield, the attractive mountain town of Sospel is reached by direct bus from Menton. And the stunning Giardini Botanici Hanbury (Hanbury Gardens), just over the border in Italy, which we featured last year on EuroCheapo, are only four miles east of the city.

The post Menton, France: A Riviera gem appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Since I didn’t have a yacht to travel the coast (it was in the shop, of course!), I took the next best thing: the €1 Ligne d’Azur bus.

What’s that you say about €1?

That’s right. One euro gets you anywhere from Cannes to Montecarlo, and everywhere in between (price is per trip). So, for pennies, I hobnobbed from Nice to Monaco and had time to visit Cannes along the way.

At this price, you can’t exactly expect hors d’oeuvres to be served, but all buses are air conditioned, have comfy seats, and big windows from which to watch the view as you glide by. And, get this – the locals use them like they would public transport. In fact, during my ride to Montecarlo, an older woman asked me if we had gotten on the express. My elementary French was good enough to understand the question and say yes.

Before you hop on…

Nice is a major hub and there’s no need buy tickets in advance. Pay on board the bus and head to Juan les Pins, Cape d’Antibes, Antibes, or the lavender-scented Giot. Or, do as I did and visit Montecarlo for an afternoon. Cannes is also on the Ligne d’Azur’s list of bus stops. Otherwise, just hop on the Ligne’s #100 bus (also known as the Monaco Express) from Nice to Montecarlo and vice versa.

Buses leave from Nice’s Gare Routiere.

For more information, visit the Ligne d’Azur’s official web site where fares and schedules are easily accessible. Fares and schedules are available here.

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Its commercial bluster may indeed shock those emerging from a weeklong mountain journey through the Pyrenees. And in fact, some of its commercial business is a bit depressing. Shops selling discounted tobacco, perfume, and jewelry are everywhere. There are also sinister militia shops hawking surveillance devices, riot gear, bb guns, and odd objects expressly designed to hide things—like dummy soup cans that screw apart to reveal a hidden chamber. Are these things even legal?

Let’s table that question for a minute and fight the conventional wisdom regarding the Andorran capital by focusing on its downright interesting attributes.

Looking at Andorra

Andorra’s pleasingly dated bar decor.

The language on the streets is the gorgeous hybrid tongue of Catalan. It’s framed dramatically by stunning jagged peaks that appear to sprout behind every building. It’s got a romantic if very tiny old town and loads of interesting, modern stone architecture. In many ways, it is reminiscent of a medium-sized Swiss city. This is the case even aesthetically, down to the faded, pleasingly dated store signage and bar interiors that pop up here and there.

Beyond shopping, true tourism draws in the capital itself are few. Just outside of Andorra La Vella in the town of Escaldes-Engordany is the enormous Caldea thermal baths complex. Our Cheapo tip: obtain a discounted nighttime admission for €25, a savings of €8 off the standard admission price.

One standout site in the city is the Casa de la Vall, the 16th-century stone house that serves as the seat of government. It’s delightful to consider that such a beautiful small house could serve as a national parliament.

Andorra’s cute Casa de la Vall.

Andorra’s governmental balancing act

Andorra is, truth by told, a bit of an anomaly. It’s in charge of its own affairs but maintains some vestigial attachments to France and Spain. Officially, it is a co-principality, and its two “co-princes” are the French head of state and the Bishop of Urgell, who represents Spain.

(Lest you imagine that France and Spain run the show, know that executive power is the domain of the Andorran government, not the co-princes.) The postage system is operated by its two much larger neighbors, who dutifully produce Andorran stamps; defense, also, is delegated to the giants on either side.

Andorra is not a part of the European Union. It also remains outside of Schengen, the EU’s customs union that de facto blankets most of the other European microstates. On the main road through Andorra there are large mountainside immigration stations—a downright rarity in today’s Western Europe. (Many bus shuttles, however, including the one occupied by your loyal correspondent, are dismissed with a wave at the border crossings. What a disappointment!)

French and Spanish mailboxes side by side.

With neither an airport nor a railway network, Andorra certainly sits off the beaten path. Unlike the other Western European microstates, it isn’t quick to get to by road, either. Andorra is a three to three-and-a-half hour bus journey from both Barcelona and Toulouse.

By way of contrast, Monaco is smack dab in the middle of the Côte d’Azur, Liechtenstein is as close as an hour and a quarter from Zurich, San Marino is a stone’s throw from Rimini, and the Vatican is encircled by Rome. Andorra’s sheer distance makes actually touching down on the ground feel a little bit more like an accomplishment.

Andorra La Vella Hotel Tip

Budget bed fans should check out the clean, quiet, and very affordable Hotel Sant Jordi in Andorra La Vella, where double rooms booked online can be nabbed for as little as €40.

The post Wandering Cheapo: Reappraising Andorra La Vella appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.