Nice, France + Add a trip

Automobiles

Bowling along with the wind in your hair may be a Riviera fantasy but, in reality, the coast road is very congested. Even so, a car is invaluable for visiting the villages inland.

Planes

Nice airport is the coast's main gateway. Nice Helicoptères (+33 (0)4 93 21 34 32) has regular flights from Nice to Cannes (€115) and St Tropez (€295).

Trains

Trains run regularly to and from Nice-Ville station. The TGV from Paris takes six hours.

Dialing

Country code for France: 33. Provence: 04.

Reads

To Catch a Thief by David Dodge; The Last Life by Claire Messud; Tender is the Night by F Scott Fitzgerald.

Do go / Don't Go

Mediterranean rules apply: spring and autumn are perfect, with July and August crowded and hot. May sees the Cannes Film Festival and Monaco Grand Prix take place.

Cuisine

Provençal cuisine for ladies who lunch: elegant pasta dishes, tapenade, salads, fruits de mer. Provence rosé is delicious, but sometimes it just has to be champagne all the way.

Taxis

You can hail taxis on the street if they display a yellow light, although it's better to use a taxi rank. Prices are expensive.

Tipping

By law, a service charge is automatically added to all restaurant bills, but it's nice to leave a euro or two.

Currency

Euro.

Packing

Your most glamorous wardrobe - nothing else will do. Very big, very dark sunglasses (to be worn at all times).

Arts

La Colombe d'Or in St-Paul-de-Vence was once frequented by artists such as Picasso, Rouault and Léger, who paid their bills in artworks, leaving the hotel with a fabulous collection. The nearby Maeght Foundation Museum has works by Kandinsky and Chagall. Matisse designed the interior of the Chapel of the Rosary in Vence.

And...

Shopping

Galeries Lafayette near Place Masséna in Nice brings Parisian chic to the Côte d'Azur. For design boutiques, Monte Carlo's Boulevard des Moulins and Metropole Mall are hard to top. Every Saturday there's a fleamarket in the Old Port in Cannes. Cours Saleya market in Nice is antiques heaven on Mondays and foodie paradise the rest of the week. Go early.

Viewpoint

The restaurant terrace of swish Château Eza (+33 (0)4 93 41 12 24) in Eze, has magnificent views of Cap Ferrat, 400 metres below. Book in advance for a table at sunset.

Something

You'll have to get your hire car round Monaco's twisting two-mile Grand Prix street circuit in around a minute and 14 seconds if you want to beat the lap record.

February Monte Carlo's glamorous Primo Cup sailing competition fills the marina (www.yacht-club-monaco.mc). April The Tennis Masters attracts the top players (www.masters-series.com/montecarlo). May The world's best-known cinema event, the Cannes Film Festival, kicks off two weeks of Hollywood swagger and unrestrained movie madness (www.festival-cannes.fr). It's followed by the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix (www.monte-carlo.mc/formule1) and the Classic Car Grand Prix (www.acm.mc). Last week of July Nice International Jazz Festival takes place, principally in the ruins of the Roman amphitheatre (www.nicejazzfest.com). 16-19 August The Pantiero Festival in Nice stages electro gigs at the Palais des Festivals (www.festivalpantiero.com).