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Côte d'Azur Towns  This area has a strange diversity with the coast lined with large resort towns such as Monaco, Nice or Cannes, that have been heavily developed, contrasting remarkably with smaller towns and villages in the hinterland that reflect much better the real Provencial traditions.  Although some of the inland towns are in beautiful settings, there's not so much to do there, so for this reason we focus on the main towns along the coast, plus a few isolated inland treats.

Entrevaux

Location: Approximately 50 minutes (60km) inland from Nice along the N202.
General Info: Town website.  Hotel le Vauban website.
Description: Entrevaux is a fantastic example of a walled town reached by a drawbridge.  With the exception of the town square, the whole village is traffic free and the maze of narrow, winding passageways make exploring great fun for inquisitive children.
Our recommendations:  There is a small museum and free motor-bike museum that are worth visiting although they won't entertain the children for long.  The village is very quiet outside the peak summer weeks, so if you visit outside this time you will find many restaurants are closed.
For the children: There is
a small playground just outside the village walls.  On summer weekends there's a lovely steam train which runs from Nice – Digne. Entrevaux is about half way in the 3 plus hour journey.
Our favourite towns in the Côte d'Azur:


 
            - Biot
             - Cannes
             - Entrevaux
             - Grasse
             - Monaco
             - Nice
             - Port Grimaud
             - St Tropez

External websites offering information on the Côte d'Azur:

- Virtual Riviera - packed with information and links on the area
- Provence Beyond - information on places away from the coast
- Provence Web - Online tourist guide
Chosen by our children:

     - Top ten Holiday destinations in France

It's a long time since we visited the Côte d'Azur with the children and they don't remember much about it.  So we can't offer a list of their favourites here.  If you would like to propose some, please send us your feedback.

Chemin de Fer des Pignes  This is a lovely train service which heads inland from Nice through some delightful countryside.  Steam trains are run on occasions.  More information is available from their website.