3 WEEKS FRANCE FULL ITINERARY
6 nights in Paris, 9 nights in Côte d’Azur, 6 nights in Provence. Sharing our France Itinerary in hopes it can help you with your planning if you’re heading to France!
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Things to note
Most places take credit card, we only had to use cash once at (Forville Market)
Avoid rush hours on the metro - try to plan your days accordingly, especially when traveling with kids
Paris metro 3 day/ 1 week passes are great if you plan on taking public transportation daily. (buy at the metro station)
Use google translate for menus that are only in French.
Learn simple phrases such as:
- good morning: “Bonjour”
- excuse me: “Excusez moi”
- thank you: “Merci”
- please: “S’il vous plait”
- where is: “Où est”
- yes/no: “Oui”/”non”Most places don’t open until 12pm for lunch and 7pm for dinner.
Try to make reservations in advance, especially the more popular ones (some places require it)
Take advantage of Lunch specials at Michelin star restaurants, good price & a little easier with the kids.
travel day - sfo to Paris
We flew from SFO at 3pm to CDG - a 10hour flight in total. Though it wasn’t a night plane it worked out perfectly as we we were served dinner about an hour after take off. Once dinner was done I let the kids do some activities and a short video, then changed them in to pajamas. They were ready to sleep by 6pm as I woke them up around 4am that morning. They slept about 6 hours of the flight and was up when we were being served breakfast. We landed around 12:30PM (Paris Time).
At the airport, we picked up our Orange SIM Cards which was conveniently located right by the luggage pickup spot. By the time we had everything, it was around 2:30PM and our driver was already outside waiting for us, helped get our luggage and bring us to the car. The car ride to our airbnb (2nd arrondissment) took about an hour as it was rush hour time. We checked-in, changed, and headed out for a short walk to find something for dinner and headed to bed around 7/8PM. Highly recommend trying to push back bed time till after 7PM at least to help with jetlag and feel more rested for the next couple days.
Jardin du Luxembourg
PARIS
6 Nights in Paris (4 nights Airbnb & 2 nights at Hotel Parister) We split this into the first part of the trip when we arrived from SFO to get adjusted to time difference and stayed 4 nights before moving to the South of France. After our 2 weeks in the south we had to get back to Paris to fly back home to SFO which is when we did another 2 nights because of our flight availability.)
DAY 1
Arrive at CDG Airport - Pick up SIM cards from Orange
Welcome pickups to drive us to our airbnb (around 1 Hour during rush hour), for our youngest (2yrs old) we asked the driver to add a carseat in advance, for our daughter (5yrs old) we brought a compact travel booster.
Check-in, freshen up
Go for a short stroll, get dinner at Wild & the Moon. (We tried to stay up until 7pm minimum to help with jetlag)
Pick up fruits and snacks - market tour around Marché des Enfants Rouges
DAY 2
Breakfast from Eric Kayser within location 5mins walk to Jardin du Luxembourg
Jardin du Luxembourg playground, park, and rented vintage toy sailboats to play in the Grand Bassin duck pond.
Colorova for lunch - food, atmosphere and everything was amazing here. They have lunch set menus for a really great price considering how fresh the ingredients were and beautifully presented.
Hop on metro to Champ de mars
Eiffel tower views and picnic at Jardin de la tour Eiffel
DAY 3
Take metro to Cité station, walk to vedettes du Pont Neuf (this is where the cruise starts and ends)
1hr seine cruise
Cross Pont Neuf bridge to see Louis Vuitton Yayoi Kusama
Lunch at Maslow (tapas style restaurant/ mushroom meatballs were the best!)
Take a walk to Musée du Louvre
Afternoon coffee & snacks from Café Kitsuné
Colonnes de Buren & Jardin du Palais Royal - this is a good spot to relax and have the kids run around and play with a lot of shaded areas under the trees and benches.
Dinner at Mamfromhanoi (must make reservations/recommend this home style cooked Vietnamese food if you crave asian food)
DAY 4
Breakfast & coffee from Liberté - Le Marais area
Picnic in park/playground at Square du Temple - elie Wiesel
Gramme 3 - picked up lunch to go as there was a wait and it’s a very small restaurant, recommend take out and picnic at the near park which is perfect for families.
Shopping at Rue Montorgueil (le letit souk for toy/kids items) - there are so many cute boutique stores here too and the area is just a lot of fun browsing
Dinner at Breathe - Japanese sushi restaurant
DAY 5
[Travel Day to Nice]
Breakfast at near by boulangerie within walking distance in the Rue Montorgueil area
Finish packing bags
10:30am Welcome pickups to drive us to Charles de Gaulle airport for our flight to Nice which was at 1pm
Arrived at Nice airport 2:30pm
Picked up rental car from AVIS (rental cars are conveniently located across the street from the arrivals hall).
By the time we drove to our airbnb in Vallauris which was (30mins during rush hour) it was time to have dinner.
Galeries Lafayette Haussman - souvenir shopping, taking it slow the last day in Paris.
Check out the gorgeous rooftop views from Galeries Lafayette and grab brunch on the rooftop restaurant.
We decided to have lunch at Le Potager de Charlotte which was about 10mins walk away.
Back to hotel for nap/rest/swim at Hotel Parister
Halles Saint Pierre bookstore/art gallery - you could visit the Sacré Cœur too, it’s a few flight of steps up from this bookstore.
Dinner at Mesa de Hoy
CÔTE D’azur
9 Nights at Airbnb in Vallauris - convenient location to explore the French Riviera (all within 20mins - 1hr drive)
DAY 5
Arrive in Vallauris Airbnb
Head to Antibes area and quickly get dinner from local restaurant - note* if you arrive on a weekend, especially a Sunday - a lot of places will be closed or won’t open till 7pm.
Pick up some snacks and fruits from supermarket
Head back to Airbnb to rest of the night
DAY 6 - Antibes
Morning Farmers Market @Marché provençal - produce is super fresh, has everything from cheese, meat, spices and flowers.
Didn't plan for lunch so we just walked into a place that was open. Some restaurants to choose from: La Cour des Thés, Le P'tit Cageot, Le Zinc
Walk around the old town area of Antibes - lots of cute boutique & vintage stores to get souvenirs from. The town itself is mesmerizing and beautiful to explore
DAY 7 - Cannes & Île Sainte-Marguerite
Marché Forville in the morning to pick up lunch for the trip to the island. Got the Socca & a few sandwiches from the food stalls which were all so good! 9/10
Tour around the old town of Le Suquet
11am Ferry to Île Sainte-Marguerite (15mins ride)
Walk around the island and find a secluded beach to swim and have lunch at.
DAY 8 - Mougins
Arrive at the Old village before lunch time, explore the town and its beautiful galleries and stores
Snack break and gelato
Lunch at L’amandier Mougins this Michelin star restaurant does great weekday lunch menus at a good price point, food is delicious but service is quite slow.
beach time at Théoule-sur-Mer
DAY 9 - Villefranche-sur-Mer
Visit and wander through the historic town
Lunch at Mayssa Beach - Provençal cuisine on the rooftop terrace overlooking the Mediterranean sea.
Spend the rest of the day at Paloma Beach on St Jean Cap Ferrat
DAY 10 - Mouans sartoux
Château de Mouans-Sartoux - there is a art museum inside with a small souvenir store. Right outside the chateau we found a playground too
cute toy store visit, boutique stores
Town Square - in the evening while we were there, they had live music performers
Dinner at La Gabbia - a simple fixed price menu offering four seasonal dishes per course
DAY 11 - Vallauris
*This was the town we based ourselves at during the time in Côte d'Azur. Sharing some tips and what we liked about staying in this area.
a smaller village with a more local experience
can visit many villages/towns within 30minutes of driving
roads are bigger and no problem finding parking
accommodation here are more likely to be spacious than the ones in Cannes/Nice (the more touristy locations)
we had a pharmacy, supermarket, gas station all within 5 minutes from our property
[Things to do in Vallauris]
- Musee National Picasso La Guerre et la paix
- Parc du Paradou
- Les Petites Porcelaines (gift shop/art gallery)
- Plage Pablo Picasso
Les Dilettants
(a more casual style Michelin restaurant, 5mins drive from our property, stunning gardens, calm ambience and the food was beautifully presented and tasted amazing! Highly recommend*
DAY 12-13
MORE TO VISIT IN THE FRENCH RIVIERA IF YOUR SCHEDULE ALLOWS (from our list)
Nice & Monaco
Menton
Grasse
Saint-Tropez
Cassis
Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat
PROVENCE
6 Nights in Eguilles (15mins from Aix-En-Provence)
DAY 13 - Aix - en - Provence
Travel day from Côte d'Azur (Vallauris) to Provence. Drive was about 1hr 30mins from Vallauris to Aix-en-Provence.
Arrived in time for lunch - La Mado Aix
Post lunch walk - Start with a stroll around the flower market at Place de l’Hotel Ville, vintage market and boutique stores.
Check-in to property.
DAY 14 - Marseilles
Pick up pastries from local boulangerie in Eguilles - L’authentique
Drive to Marseilles (30mins) - wander the Old port (Vieux-Port), Palais Longchamp
Lunch at Les Eaux de Mars Restaurant - really fresh ingredients and good flavor, interior is quite small so get there early or make sure to book!
Take ferry ride to Chateau D'If or if you have more time visit the Calanques (good for a half-day tour).
or another option - spend the afternoon at the beach (Plages Escale Borely, Plage des Catalans, Plage de la Grande Mer)
DAY 15 - Lavender Field & Valensole
Leave 9am to Lavandes Angelvin (1 hr drive from our airbnb in Eguilles)
Lavandes Angelvin lavenders were full in bloom, small souvenir shop on site - recommend the lavender honey!
Drive to nearby town Valensole (10mins)
Lunch in town, explore the area & headed back to spend the afternoon at airbnb.
DAY 16 - Eguilles
Breakfast pastries at L’authentique
Day exploring our neighborhood - wine tasting at Domaine Fredavelle
Lunch at Favouille Restaurant- fresh and homemade, got the apricot clafoutis dessert (a must)!
Post lunch wine tasting at Le Cellier d'Eguilles - beautiful cooperative cellar with great pricing
DAY 17 - Aix - En - Provence
Back to Aix-en-provence to explore the rest of the town.
Lunch at Mana - Delicious pastries, cakes, really great brunch and lunch options.
Head over to Cours Mirabeau – one of the most famous streets in Aix-en-Provence where you'll find another market!
Atelier Cezanne which is a 10-15 minute walk from the main part of town
Dessert at Weibel - Almond croissant delight!
DAY 18-20
MORE TO VISIT IN PROVENCE IF YOUR SCHEDULE ALLOWS (from our list)
Saint Remy de Provence - visit the Monastery of Saint-paul de Mausolé, the place to have inspired Vincent Van Gogh.
Les Baux de Provence - medieval village at a fortified rocky site between Arles and Saint Remy. Best to be done as a day trip as there is so much to see within the town.
Bonnieux - located on a plateau of the Luberon, definitely worth visiting if going to Luberon.
Aix-en-Provence
Marseilles
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