French Riviera & Monaco and their great houses
The Riviera keeps its great houses where the coast is steepest, from Monte-Carlo to Saint-Tropez.
The Riviera keeps its great houses where the coast is steepest, from Monte-Carlo to Saint-Tropez. They stand on Place du Casino in Monaco and on the cliff above it, at the tips of Cap-Ferrat and Cap d'Antibes, on the Croisette in Cannes and the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, in the village of Èze on its rock, and on the far side of the Estérel, in the pines above Saint-Tropez and the beach at Pampelonne. We looked at every serious address from Menton to the Gulf of Saint-Tropez and kept only those whose service holds up to the view from the terrace. Six hold five-star standing; the thirteen beside them are four-star addresses, listed at exactly the tier they hold. Nineteen made the cut.
Luxury hotels in French Riviera & Monaco
19 hotels
“Because the Société des Bains de Mer has kept its palace of 1864 on Place du Casino, with the Thermes Marins spa below – and it holds five-star standing.”
From our editors · Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo
The neighborhoods
Monaco & Monte-Carlo
The principality, with three of the nineteen hotels on the slope above the harbor of Port Hercule. Place du Casino and the Carré d'Or are on that slope, and across the water stands the Rock of Monaco-Ville, with the Prince's Palace and the Oceanographic Museum. Larvotto beach lies to the east, and the Grand Prix circuit runs through the streets between.
Cap-Ferrat, Èze & Roquebrune-Cap-Martin
The corniches east of Nice, with four of the nineteen hotels on either side of Monaco. They take in the cape of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat and its villas, Beaulieu-sur-Mer in the bay behind it and the village of Èze on its rock above the Moyenne Corniche. Roquebrune-Cap-Martin lies on the far side of Monaco, toward Menton.
Le Negresco · Nice, Cannes & Cap d'Antibes — Spielvogel · CC BY-SA 4.0Nice, Cannes & Cap d'Antibes
The Baie des Anges and the coast west of it, with six of the nineteen hotels. Nice and the Promenade des Anglais come first, then Cap d'Antibes between Antibes and Juan-les-Pins, and Cannes and the Croisette facing the Îles de Lérins. The hill villages of Saint-Paul-de-Vence and Vence lie twenty minutes inland.
Saint-Tropez, Ramatuelle & the Gulf
The peninsula at the western end of the Riviera, with six of the nineteen hotels. Saint-Tropez and its Vieux Port sit on the gulf, with Place des Lices and the Citadelle above it. The beach of Pampelonne lies on the open sea below the hill village of Ramatuelle, and La Croix-Valmer and the beach of Gigaro are on the south side of the cape.
Good to know
Which are the five-star hotels on the French Riviera & Monaco?
Six. The five-star hotels we list on the French Riviera & Monaco are Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo, on Place du Casino in Monaco; Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, at the tip of Cap d'Antibes; Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat, A Four Seasons Hotel, at the tip of Cap-Ferrat; Carlton Cannes, a Regent Hotel, on the Croisette; The Maybourne Riviera, on the cliff above Roquebrune-Cap-Martin; and La Réserve Ramatuelle, on the hill above Pampelonne. Alongside them we keep thirteen four-star addresses, each listed at exactly the tier it holds: Cheval Blanc St-Tropez; Airelles Saint-Tropez, Château de la Messardière; Le Negresco; Château de la Chèvre d'Or; Château Eza; Le Domaine du Mas de Pierre; Château Saint-Martin & Spa; Hotel Byblos Saint-Tropez; Hôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo; Hôtel Barrière Le Majestic Cannes; Lily of the Valley; Château de Valmer; and Hotel Metropole Monte-Carlo. Each has its own page, reached from the list above, with a concierge behind every stay.
Which part of the Riviera should I stay in?
The coast runs about 150 kilometers from Menton to Saint-Tropez, and the choice is between four stretches. Monaco is the principality – Place du Casino, the harbor of Port Hercule and the Rock – with Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo, Hôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo and Hotel Metropole Monte-Carlo within a few minutes of each other. East of Nice the corniches hold Cap-Ferrat and its villas, Èze on its rock 400 meters above the water and Roquebrune-Cap-Martin beyond Monaco – Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat, Château de la Chèvre d'Or, Château Eza and The Maybourne Riviera. Nice, Cannes and Cap d'Antibes are the city, the Croisette and the cape between them – Le Negresco, Carlton Cannes, Hôtel Barrière Le Majestic Cannes and Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, with Le Domaine du Mas de Pierre and Château Saint-Martin & Spa in the hills of Saint-Paul-de-Vence and Vence, twenty minutes inland. Saint-Tropez is the peninsula at the western end, a separate trip – Cheval Blanc St-Tropez, Hotel Byblos Saint-Tropez and Château de la Messardière in and above the town, La Réserve Ramatuelle over Pampelonne, Lily of the Valley and Château de Valmer at La Croix-Valmer. Choose Monaco for the season's events and a year-round house; the capes for the sea at the door; Cannes and Nice for the promenade and the airport close by; Saint-Tropez for the beaches and the summer.
When is the best season for the Riviera, and what closes in winter?
May, June and September are the weeks to aim for – warm enough to swim, the beaches and the coast road not yet full, the evenings long. July and August are hot and crowded, on the road to Saint-Tropez above all. Two weeks in May fill Cannes and Monaco years ahead: the Festival de Cannes in the middle of the month and the Monaco Grand Prix at the end of it; the Monaco Yacht Show does the same in late September, and Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez close the sailing year in early October. Winter is mild and quiet – the Nice Carnival in February, the lemon festival at Menton in February and March – but most houses outside Monaco, Nice and Cannes close for it, roughly from November to the spring: the concierge confirms each hotel's opening dates for your stay.
How do I get to the Riviera, and do I need a car?
Nice Côte d'Azur airport, on the shore at the western end of the Promenade des Anglais, is the gateway to the whole coast. From it, Nice is about a quarter of an hour by car, Cannes and Cap d'Antibes about half an hour, Cap-Ferrat and Èze about half an hour, Monaco about forty minutes by road or seven by helicopter; the coastal train runs from Cannes through Nice, Beaulieu and Èze-sur-Mer to Monaco and Menton. Saint-Tropez has no railway and is a different journey – around two hours by car from Nice, longer in summer, or a helicopter or a boat. In Monaco, Nice and Cannes you will not need a car: the promenades, the old towns and the harbors are on foot, and the hotel arranges a driver for the rest. For the capes, the hill villages and the Saint-Tropez peninsula a driver or a car is useful, and the hotels arrange either.
How do I reserve a stay?
Search your dates on the hotel's page to see reference rates, then send the concierge a request. The concierge confirms exact rates and availability with you before anything is booked, and any payment and its timing are set out before you confirm.
