Spontaneous Travel in the French Riviera
Traveling to the French Riviera in the off season month of March gave me a lot of freedom to roam– I wasn’t fighting the crowds and didn’t need to have so much of an agenda planned out in advance (reservations to art museums and the like can put a dent in serendipity and just letting the day unfold in its own magical way).
My last day in the south of France before leaving for Spain was completely unscheduled. I decided to play “train roulette”– totally safe! After checking out of my hotel and taking the train to Nice (where I was to stay that evening), I was going to take a spontaneous day trip. Where? I didn’t know. But I was positive that I was going to have a wonderful adventure in the French Riviera.
But first, I had to store my backpack, and I discovered a very useful luggage storage app that is easy to use and very economical for day trippers everywhere.
How to Use the Bounce Luggage Storage App
Luggage storage has evolved– and it can be arranged online by downloading the Bounce app onto your phone. It is very intuitive, and no special instructions are needed. You’ll search for luggage storage near you (or your intended location) and choose which place you like that has availability.
I paid about 6 Euro to store my backpack at a hotel near the train station. It was a safe, convenient, budget-friendly luggage storage option– and definitely worth not having to carry my full backpack around all day. Since I always travel with my New Outlander collapsible day pack, I simply transferred what I needed for the day and I was on my way.
Just as an aside, I go absolutely everywhere with my lightweight New Outlander daypack (Amazon affiliate link). It collapses into a soft zippered pocket and it goes right into my backpack taking up practically no space. When I need it, I just unzip the pocket, put whatever I need right into the daypack and off I go. It has one good sized main compartment, and two smaller sized ones, as well as netting on each side to hold a water bottle and hand sanitizer. It comes in ten different colors so you can choose one to match your mood and personality. I use consistently when I travel, and it is very durable.
But where to go on a daytrip in the French Riviera???
Nice is a large city in France, so taking day trips from Nice is super easy, and train connections are excellent. I had just one day left on my France rail pass so I hopped on a train towards Monaco and decided to ride it until I felt the urge to get off.
I rode past Nice Riquier, past Villfranche-sur-Mer… my internal monologue was heading towards “analysis paralysis” territory, threatening to overthink me into inaction. I put a stop to that by promising to hop off the train at the very next station- no matter what. The train slowed and the announcer called for Beaulieu-sur-Mer. It sounded enchanting! How could I say no to a town whose name means ?Beautiful Place on the Sea”?
Beaulieu sur Mer
(Beautiful Place on the Sea) Indeed!
There I was, in a town by the sea that I’d never heard of, and had no idea what there was to do or see. I suppose the day could have gone horribly wrong, and I could have found myself in a town with absolutely nothing to do or see, but something told me it was going to be a great day. It was going to be an adventure. I could just feel it.
And if not, just initiate Plan B– hop back on the next train and get off at another town! It’s that easy in the south of France!
Next to the Beaulieu sur Mer train station was a wonderful Tourist Information Center (TI) Since Beaulieu sur Mer was only a short day trip for me, I knew I’d have little time to tour the whole town, but I cobbled together an itinerary that allowed me to take in a main site and see the town on a nice walk by the sea.
I chose to visit the absolutely gorgeous Villa Ephrussi de Rothshild, about a 1.3 mile walk from the train station, and just a tiny bit out of Beaulieu, more properly in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. Google Maps will take you on an inland route to reach the Villa, but I chose to stick to the walk along the sea wall. It took me a bit longer than the 33 minutes it said, but I made more than a few stops along the way to take pics and (of course) stop in at the Casino.
Imagine Beaulieu sur Mer at the height of summer. But in late March, I had the town practically to myself, including the Casino de Beaulieu in the center of town overlooking the sea– just one of the benefits of off-season travel in the French Riviera.
And the temperature was an ideal upper 60s to low 70s. I wore a short sleeved shirt and was perfectly comfortable.
Villa Ephrussi de Rothshild (A Must See Sight in Beaulieu sur Mer)
Overlooking the Mediterranean Sea is the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild. I’d never heard of it. Seriously never heard of it, but the pictures in the TI looked lovely. I thought I should give it a go.
In the grand scheme of things, the Villa is a newbie– Beatrice Rothschild bought the land in 1905. She was a bit of a collector– and it’s evident when strolling through the rooms of the villa– lots of porcelain. Seriously, a lot. And many of the furnishings that Beatrice Rothschild collected were original to the Palace of Versailles. Take your time exploring inside the villa– off season, there’s no crowd at all.
But the standout of Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild is the gardens. Nine of them. All themed differently and each one more beautiful than the last….and definitely more enjoyable than the gardens at Versailles (in my humble opinion). But don’t take my word for it. See it for yourself!
Unplanned Travel Adventures
The entire day reminded me of how Life can surprise you when you’ve not expecting it. I got up that morning not expecting anything, and I had the most wonderful adventure– all because I chose to detrain at Beaulieu sur Mer— the town with a cool sounding name.