Provence & the French Riviera: attractions & sights guide
A stop-by-stop guide to the best things to see along the Provence & the French Riviera route — 7 destinations, their must-see sights and how to drive between them.
Plan this route with EuroDrive Scout — tolls, vignettes, ZTL alerts, fuel & parking →
Lyon
Lyon is France's third-largest city, set at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers in southeastern France. Long regarded as the country's culinary capital, it pairs Renaissance architecture in Vieux Lyon, a UNESCO World Heritage quarter, with a dense network of hidden passageways called traboules, once used by the city's silk workers to move goods through the rain.
Top attractions in Lyon
Vieux Lyon
A UNESCO World Heritage Renaissance quarter of narrow lanes, courtyards, and hidden traboule passageways beneath Fourvière hill.
Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière
A 19th-century basilica crowning Fourvière hill, offering panoramic views over Lyon and the surrounding rivers.
Presqu'île
The peninsula between the Rhône and Saône, home to Place des Terreaux, the Hôtel de Ville, and the opera house.
Traboules
Hidden passageways linking streets and courtyards, historically used by Lyon's silk workers, the canuts, to move goods discreetly.
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon
One of France's largest fine-art museums outside Paris, housed in a former abbey on Place des Terreaux.
Avignon
Avignon, in Provence, was the seat of the papacy for much of the 14th century, leaving behind the Palais des Papes, one of the largest and most important Gothic palaces in Europe, and a ring of medieval ramparts encircling the old town. Its emblem is the Pont Saint-Bénézet, the half-collapsed bridge celebrated in the French nursery rhyme "Sur le pont d'Avignon".
Top attractions in Avignon
Palais des Papes
The largest Gothic palace in the world, built as the fortified residence of the popes during their 14th-century stay in Avignon.
Pont Saint-Bénézet (Pont d'Avignon)
A medieval bridge over the Rhône, now missing most of its arches, immortalized by the French folk song about dancing on it.
Avignon Cathedral (Notre-Dame des Doms)
A Romanesque cathedral topped by a gilded statue of the Virgin Mary, standing directly beside the Palais des Papes.
Remparts d'Avignon
Nearly complete 14th-century ramparts that still encircle the entire old town, punctuated by towers and gates.
Place de l'Horloge
Avignon's lively main square, framed by cafes, the clock tower, and the neoclassical Hôtel de Ville.
Aix-en-Provence
Aix-en-Provence is an elegant university town and the historic capital of Provence, laid out around tree-lined boulevards, fountains, and stately Baroque townhouses. It is best known as the birthplace and lifelong home of painter Paul Cézanne, whose studio and favorite motifs can still be visited around the city.
Top attractions in Aix-en-Provence
Cours Mirabeau
A grand plane-tree-lined boulevard through the heart of town, dotted with fountains and lined with cafes and Baroque mansions.
Atelier Cézanne
The preserved studio where Paul Cézanne worked in his final years, still holding the objects that appear in his still lifes.
Aix Cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Sauveur)
A cathedral blending Romanesque, Gothic, and Baroque elements built up over roughly a thousand years, with a cloister and notable artworks.
Musée Granet
A fine-arts museum holding works by Cézanne alongside old masters and modern art, set in a former priory near the cathedral.
Montagne Sainte-Victoire
A striking limestone ridge just east of the city, painted by Cézanne more than any other subject and popular for hiking today.
Marseille
Marseille is France's oldest city and its second largest, founded by Greek settlers around 600 BC as the port of Massalia. Centuries as a Mediterranean crossroads have given it a fiercely diverse identity, visible in the working Vieux-Port, the hillside neighborhoods, and the hilltop basilica of Notre-Dame de la Garde watching over the harbor.
Top attractions in Marseille
Vieux-Port
Marseille's historic harbor and beating heart, lined with restaurants, a daily fish market, and boats bound for the Calanques and nearby islands.
Notre-Dame de la Garde
A hilltop basilica crowned by a gilded Madonna statue, offering the city's best panoramic views and long serving as a sailors' landmark.
MuCEM
A striking modern museum on the harbor, wrapped in a lattice concrete facade, exploring the shared history of European and Mediterranean cultures.
Calanques National Park
A stretch of steep limestone cliffs and turquoise inlets between Marseille and Cassis, reachable by boat, foot, or scenic drive.
Le Panier
Marseille's oldest neighborhood, a maze of steep, narrow streets, colorful facades, and street art above the Vieux-Port.
Cannes
Cannes is a glamorous resort city on the French Riviera, world-famous for the Cannes Film Festival held each May at the Palais des Festivals, where the red-carpet steps draw crowds year-round. Beyond the festival, it retains a working fishing-port history visible in the hillside old quarter of Le Suquet.
Top attractions in Cannes
La Croisette
The palm-lined waterfront boulevard along Cannes' bay, home to luxury hotels, sandy beaches, and designer boutiques.
Palais des Festivals et des Congrès
The venue for the Cannes Film Festival, famous for its red-carpet staircase where stars pose each May.
Le Suquet
Cannes' original hilltop old town, with steep cobbled streets, remnants of a medieval castle, and views over the bay.
Île Sainte-Marguerite
The larger of the Lérins Islands, a short boat ride offshore, home to Fort Royal where the legendary Man in the Iron Mask was held.
Marché Forville
A covered market at the foot of Le Suquet selling fresh Provençal produce, cheese, and the morning's catch.
Nice
Nice is the capital of the French Riviera, a city where French and Italian influences meet along the sweeping Baie des Anges. Belle Époque palaces line its seafront, while the Old Town, Vieux Nice, keeps a tighter grid of baroque churches, pastel facades, and market streets behind it.
Top attractions in Nice
Promenade des Anglais
The famous seafront promenade curving along the Baie des Anges, lined with palm trees, blue chairs, and Belle Époque hotels.
Vieux Nice
A dense historic quarter of baroque churches, narrow lanes, and markets, tucked between the seafront and Castle Hill.
Colline du Château
A hilltop park at the site of a former castle, offering sweeping views over the bay, the Old Town, and the port.
Cours Saleya
Nice's beloved market square, filled each morning with flower, fruit, and vegetable stalls, and antiques on Mondays.
Musée Matisse
A museum in the Cimiez hills dedicated to Henri Matisse, who lived and worked in Nice for much of his later life.
Monaco
Monaco is a tiny sovereign city-state on the French Riviera, wedged between the Mediterranean and the Maritime Alps. Famous for its casino, its Grand Prix street circuit, and the Grimaldi royal family, it packs opera houses, superyacht marinas, and a medieval old town onto barely two square kilometres.
Top attractions in Monaco
Casino de Monte-Carlo
An opulent Belle Époque casino built in 1863, famous for its gaming rooms, ornate facade, and appearances in James Bond films.
Prince's Palace of Monaco
The official residence of the Grimaldi family since 1297, perched on the Rock of Monaco with a daily changing of the guard ceremony.
Monaco Grand Prix Circuit
The public streets that host Formula 1's most famous race each May, including the tight Fairmont Hairpin and the harborside chicane.
Oceanographic Museum of Monaco
A cliffside marine science institute founded in 1910 by Prince Albert I, with an aquarium and a rooftop terrace overlooking the sea.
Port Hercule
Monaco's principal harbor, lined with superyachts and serving as the finish area for the Grand Prix and a venue for the annual Yacht Show.
Plan this route with EuroDrive Scout — tolls, vignettes, ZTL alerts, fuel & parking →