We spent the last month of our summer break in France. We started in the French Riviera in Nice. We used that as a base to visit other towns such as Cannes and Monaco. Nice was wonderful. There are many beautiful beaches nearby, within a 20-minute bus ride. It was probably the warmest Mediterranean water I have ever swam in (not sure if it’s just climate change). Nice has its own beaches too but they have large pebbles instead of sand, which are slippery and the water isn’t as good. I liked the mixture of old town and new town. It is pretty diverse when you leave the tourist area. Monaco was disappointing! Not much to do there, I do not recommend.
We spent a few days in Corsica, since it was nearby. It is the island where Napoleon Bonaparte is from, so I’ve always wanted to go. Fortunately, it also has gorgeous beaches. It was cool to see Napoleon’s house and relics of him everywhere.
Afterwards, we flew into Bordeaux, France so that we could travel to the Loire Valley. I have always wanted to see some of the chateau’s there. I narrowed them down to Chateau Chenonceau and Chateau De Chambord. They were different from each other but absolutely incredible! I highly recommend. I had just finished reading a book about King Louis XIV and he lived in both of those chateaus at some point.
We ended the trip with 5 days in Paris. It was probably my 6th time in Paris. Paris is always a good time. We did a day trip to Chateau Fontainebleau which is 40 minutes away via train. What an amazing chateau! It was beautiful inside and I loved seeing the “Napoleon Apartments” with some of his personal items. I am not sure why it isn’t as famous as Versailles, it is just as nice!
I enjoyed seeing other parts of France. We really liked Nice and wouldn’t mind living there for an extended period of time, especially since I love living by the beach. However, when we made it to Paris, we both thought “there’s just nothing like Paris”. So of course I would love to live in Paris for an extended period as well.
