Tips for visiting the French Riviera with Kids. I have always been intrigued by the French Riviera. I am attracted by the promise of shopping for designer labels, rubbing shoulders with glamorous people, daydreaming about the gigantic yachts and nosing around the luxury homes in the French Riviera. All whilst sitting on the promenade sipping an expresso watching the world go by. Its a completely different world to school runs, commuting into the city, sibling squabbles and cold cups of tea.
In May half term we got the opportunity to visit the South of France. Instantly romantic film inspired pictures of Cannes, St Tropez and Monaco appeared in my mind. However, having never visited the French Riviera before I wondered whether there would be enough for children to do. Yet the promise of the sun and endless days spent at the beach was too much of a draw for us to resist. Okay, so there wasn’t really any glamour or sophistication going on with the kids in tow. But we did have a great time which I have written about in our Holiday Diary. While there we also learnt a few useful tips which I am sharing here in case you are also inspired to take a road trip.
Tips for visiting the French Riviera with Kids
Driving Down
We decided to catch the Euro Tunnel and drive down through the beautiful French countryside. With an almost six-year-old and a just two-year-old I think many people thought we were a bit insane. However, it worked really well, except for the flat tyre. The plan was to stop overnight to break up the driving. We ended up stopping twice on the way down (because of the flat) and once on the way back up. Not only did this break the journey up into manageable chunks of around six hours each. But also it meant we got to experience other areas too. The kids let off steam and we didn’t need to survive on service station food, which was pretty pricey.
Phone Signal & Internet
In our experience phone signals and the internet can be patchy at best. With this in mind make sure you do your research first. We assumed the weather would be glorious the whole time, unfortunately as it was Spring it wasn’t. So it’s worth having a few kid-friendly activities up your sleeve if the weather is a little stormy and the day at the beach won’t cut it.
Private Beaches
In some of the more popular areas beaches can be private. Looking o the map it can look like there is a large beach but it has private gated houses on it. We found this when we visited St Raphael. Also, a number of the towns will have beachfront bars and charge for you to use their sunbeams. We did manage to find public beaches which seemed to normally be around the port areas. This was great for the boys as they loved looking at all the expensive boats especially in Monaco and Cannes.
READ MORE – Things to do in Cannes with Kids
Restaurant Opening Times
We discovered that even by historic tourist sites such as the amphitheatre in Arles that restaurants generally do not open until 7 pm. In that instance, we had decided to eat around five. There were cafes open selling coffee and cake but all of the restaurants were shut until seven. In the end, we decided to eat back at our accommodation but I would have much preferred to eat out as for me that’s part of what holidays are about. In hindsight, a substantial lunch and an evening snack would work better. Should we be lucky enough to visit the French Riverina again we will definitely be bearing this in mind for future day trips. Hungry kids are not a joy!
Take Tyre Weald
If like us, you like the flexibility that a car brings you then make sure you pack some tyre weald. We had two flat tyres while away which meant we lost a couple of days to breakdowns. We do an inordinate amount of driving in the UK and so the thought that we may lose a tyre while abroad never entered my head. However now whenever we take the car on a long journey I will make sure we have some tyre weald in the boot.
Have you visited the French Riviera with children? If so what would your tips be?
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28 Responses
Some great tip! I must admit, I have never been to France but would love to go there one day!
The buildings are so pretty!!!! I just can’t get over their beautiful colors. #BloggerClubUK
Such a beautiful place to visit. Would love to go one day 🙂
I would love to visit there! #bloggerclubUK
Lovely place to visit with the kids, great tips to take into consideration if we ever plan a trip to France.
Believe it or not, despite having studied in France in the late 80’s and living in Paris for five years in the early 90’s, I’ve not been back since 2005! Hoping to rectify that by joining hubby on his biz trip later this year to Toulouse. But I’ll be doing it with a 14, 11 and 8yo so a ‘bit’ older than your two! #bloggerclubuk
I’ve never been to the French Riviera, it looks absolutely stunning.
We love the South of France and go down quite often and tend to stay around Sanary Sur Mer which is a small French seaside town. It’s great for kids as it’s right on the beach and there are always lots of organised activities for kids going on and a lovely carousel on the beachfront promenade. They also have a Rose wine festival in May when the whole town is decorated pink.
Amazing place to see and holiday – never actually been – soon i hope
Some great tips. Looks like a lovely break – Never been, but would love to!
Great ideas
…my sister is in France at the moment with her little one….they made sure they downloaded some programmes onto the tablet for him in case the internet is no good and he gets bored ?
I hope to be going to te French Riviera next year with my boyfriend and this has given me some really good ideas!! 🙂
We found the dinner time difficult in Sardinia too. Culturally it is normal for many Europeans To eat late. The French Riviera is beautiful but I haven’t visited with children. Paying for beds can be expensive but we found camping places a better option. #BloggerClubUK
Oh this looks like such a beautiful place #BloggerClubUK
Very useful to know about the private beaches. I have that funny tyre foam stuff and it is very handy, very handy indeed! #bloggerclubuk
I’ve always though the South of France looked very romantic, I probably would visit somewhere like here for a getaway with my husband when the kids were older but you never know, we might decide to take them one day, thanks for the tips
Shame about the flat tyres. We are not used to so much driving so about 2 hours is the limit before we need a rest. I would love to see more of France and the Riviera looks beautiful #bloggerclubuk
Love France we are much more familiar with the north #bloggerclubuk
I’ve never been to France but some great tips here . Would love to go someday
it sounds like a wonderful place to visit with or without the kids
Shame you couldn’t eat out when you wanted to – I agree that is a big part of a holiday and never really understand how people wait until very late at night to eat.
Wow, it looks gorgeous there! Great tips, thanks for sharing. We’re going to northern France in August and we’re a bit nervous about keeping our two (nearly 2 and 5yrs old) entertained the whole way. Did you take iPads for the car journey and download films. I think we’re going to try that. Fingers crossed it keeps them happy!
Looks a beautiful place to go – better add it to my places to go list!
Lovely views , the water looks beautiful I’d love to visit one day
Another travel post that makes me want to hop on a plane or train and go there immediately to soak up the beauty of far flung paces. Thank you.
I have never been out of the country (unless you class Wales) and France is one of the places I would love to go first when I leave our shores. Now we have kids travelling is always going to be a challenge but the tips you have given are definitley handy to make trips to the French Riviera easier for parents like us.
looks a beautiful place
That is very, very helpful advice, thank you. It’s not an area I’ve ever been to, but on other trips across Europe I’ve found that taking one’s time by adding overnight stops is well worth it. There’s always something to see, wherever you take a break.