Three Roads Stacked Between Sky and Sea

No coastline in Europe carries three parallel scenic roads on top of each other, but the Riviera between Nice and Menton was always an exception. At sea level, the Basse Corniche threads the Belle Époque waterfront villages where empresses and bankers wintered. A few hundred meters up, the Moyenne Corniche, the glamorous interwar balcony that once carried the fabled N7 holiday route, swings past the perched village of Èze. And along the crests at over 400 meters runs the Grande Corniche, built under Napoleon on the line of the Roman Via Julia Augusta, where the Trophy of Augustus has surveyed the coast since 6 BC and Monaco glitters far below like a scale model. Hitchcock filmed To Catch a Thief on these curves with Grace Kelly and Cary Grant, and the princess she became later died in a crash on these same slopes in 1982, the enduring reminder that here, above all drives, the views belong to the pull-offs. The right way to do it is to refuse to choose: climb one corniche, descend another, swim from a third, and let a single day hold Roman monuments, billionaires' gardens, a working principality, and lemon groves at the Italian border.

Key Stops

Nice. Start at the port beneath the Colline du Château, whose terrace serves the overview: the Baie des Anges one way, the corniche country you're about to drive the other. The old town's market and the Promenade des Anglais justify a pre-drive morning.

Èze (Moyenne Corniche). Go up first, early: the Moyenne Corniche curls out of Nice through tunnels and balcony bends to Èze, a stone eagle's nest 429 meters above the sea. Its lanes are pedestrian, its castle ruins hold an exotic garden with the Riviera's best-framed panorama, and perfume houses offer tours. Nietzsche composed on the steep path between village and shore that now bears his name.

Villefranche-sur-Mer (Basse Corniche). Descend to sea level for one of the Mediterranean's deepest natural harbors, ringed by ochre and pink facades. The fishermen's chapel decorated by Jean Cocteau, the vaulted medieval rue Obscure, and a citadel round out the Riviera's most paintable waterfront.

Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. The peninsula detour off the Basse Corniche: pine-shaded lanes past screened billionaires' villas to the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, a rose-colored palace with nine themed gardens and musical fountains. The coastal footpath and Paloma Beach add the swim.

Beaulieu-sur-Mer. A short hop on: Belle Époque hotels, a banana-palm microclimate, and the Villa Kérylos, a scholar's obsessive, gorgeous recreation of an ancient Greek nobleman's house built on the water's edge in 1902.

Cap d'Ail and Plage Mala. The Basse Corniche's quiet gap before Monaco hides one of the coast's loveliest coves at the foot of a cliff stairway: Mala's turquoise half-moon, part free beach, part barefoot-chic restaurants.

The Col d'Èze plateau (Grande Corniche). Climb to the top road for open sky: the Parc de la Grande Corniche stretches along the crest with trails to Fort de la Revère, paragliders launching into the void, and views that reach Corsica on exceptional winter days.

La Turbie and the Trophy of Augustus. The Grande Corniche's crown: a village of Roman-stoned lanes gathered beneath the colossal Trophée d'Auguste, raised in 6 BC to mark Rome's conquest of the Alpine tribes at the Via Julia Augusta's high point. From the monument's terrace, the whole principality of Monaco lies at your feet, the single most famous balcony view on the Riviera.

Monaco. Drop into the world's second-smallest country: the palace on its rock, the Oceanographic Museum's cliff-face facade, the casino gardens of Monte Carlo, and street corners every Formula 1 fan already knows by name. Park in an underground garage and walk; the principality is best on foot.

Roquebrune-Cap-Martin. Between Monaco and Menton, a double stop: the medieval village above, tangled around one of France's oldest feudal castle keeps with a thousand-year-old olive tree on its slope, and the cape below, where the seaside promenade passes Le Corbusier's tiny UNESCO-listed cabanon, the architect's self-built holiday hut beside the water where he swam his last.

Menton. The finish at France's final town before Italy: an Italianate old town stacked in lemon and ochre above the beach, citrus gardens, the Cocteau museum collection, and the February Fête du Citron. If you've driven the Route des Grandes Alpes, this seafront is a familiar finish line; the two drives share their final meters.

Driving Tips

Weave all three; that's the drive. The classic rhythm: Moyenne Corniche up to Èze first thing, Basse Corniche for the villages, lunch, and a swim through midday, then the Grande Corniche for golden hour over Monaco before descending to finish along the coast. Connector roads link the three every few kilometers, so improvising is easy.

Start early, especially for Èze. The village's car parks fill by mid-morning in season and the Moyenne clogs behind tour coaches; at 8:30 you'll have the garden nearly alone. Riviera rush hours (weekday mornings and evenings) throttle the Basse Corniche through the towns.

Park in garages and keep the car empty. Paid garages at Villefranche, Beaulieu, Monaco, and Menton beat circling for street spots, and visible valuables invite the coast's oldest crime. Èze works as park-below-and-walk.

Save your eyes for the belvederes. The marked pull-offs on the Moyenne and Grande exist because these views genuinely take eyes off the road; the route's own film-star history makes the argument. Drivers get the destination, passengers get the journey.

Plan Monaco deliberately. Underground parking is plentiful and pricey, the one-way system is dense, and during Grand Prix weeks in late May the circuit streets close entirely. Walk the country in two hours; drive it in none.

Build in the walks. The Cap-Ferrat coastal loop, the Nietzsche path (steep; downhill is wiser), the Corbusier promenade at Cap Martin, and the Revère trails each turn a viewpoint into an hour well spent.

For more information visit: Nice Côte d'Azur Tourist Office: The 3 Corniches