After our short and sweet stay in Saint-Tropez, we drove east to Nice with a stop in Antibes for lunch at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc. We were on a bit of a time crunch after losing a day of our trip to flight delays, so sadly we didn’t have time to see Cannes or properly explore Antibes beyond our lunch reservation. Hopefully we’ll be back one day to see them both! In any event seeing the hotel had been on my bucket list since I first fell in love with Slim Aarons’s photography and it was every bit as beautiful as his photos make it seem!
I made us an early lunch reservation at the Eden-Roc Grill, the most casual dining option on the property and one that overlooks both the Mediterranean and the famous hotel pool. Lunch was still pricey considering the casual fare, but the location and the people-watching were worth every penny. I could hardly put my camera down to enjoy my margarita. 🙂
I wore this striped maxi dress, which is officially one of the most comfortable things I own. Plus it looks way more expensive than its under $100 price tag! I had my favorite straw hat and oversized sunnies to hide from the sun and this monogrammed straw bag to carry around my camera and a couple different lenses. And I pretty much switched between espadrilles and Jack Rogers for the majority of our time in the south of France — mine are well broken-in at this point and perfect for lots of walking and wandering!
After lunch, we drove on to Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. The villa was built between 1905 and 1912 for Baroness Béatrice de Rothschild and donated to the Académie des Beaux Arts upon her death in 1934. The home itself is filled with incredible art, antique furnishings, and porcelain, but the gardens outside are really one of the most spectacular things I’ve ever seen. There are nine themed gardens including a formal French garden, Japanese garden, a rose garden, and a stone garden. Think climbing roses everywhere, fountains galore, and endless views of the Mediterranean… I easily could have stayed all day.
Next we checked into Hotel Royal Riviera just down the road from Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild. As I mentioned in my first post about our trip, we rented a car for the south of France and we were particularly happy to have it in and around Nice as there are so many charming little spots to explore! It was pretty warm later in the afternoon so I was happy to change into this striped bow romper and drive to the beach in Villefranche-sur-Mer, a colorful seaside town with the most vibrant turquoise water I’ve ever seen. We both dipped our feet in the water and it made me so happy that summer is finally here! Someone DMed me on Instagram that Villefranche-sur-Mer is like a French version of Nantucket and I think that’s pretty spot on!
At night we had drinks on the rooftop of Le Méridien in Nice (which one of you lovely readers recommended!) and dinner at a little pizzeria on Cours Saleya. The perfect end to an action-packed day in and around Nice!
Tuckernuck striped maxi dress c/o // Mark & Graham monogrammed straw bag c/o
Cuyana hat // Celine sunglasses
Castaner espadrilles // Jack Rogers sandals
Stubbs & Wootton slippers c/o (use code MACKENZIE for 10% off sitewide)
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