Activities—Helping you enjoy more than just your French Riviera holiday rental apartment
Friend in France provide an English speaking reservation service for a wide range of tours, activities and transport across the French Riviera. Many of our guests have already used their services and the feedback is good.
If you are interested in adventurous activities whilst staying in one of our rental properties, try the web site of Bureau Des Moniteurs du Pays Niçois.
Just west of Grasse in the village of Saint-Cézaire sur Siagne are Les Grottes de Saint-Céza. Discovered in 1890, you can tour the pretty formations here which are well lit and where you can take photographs.
Ten minutes from Grasse, 30 minutes from Nice, you can race karts on an 1800-meter long racetrack, the biggest on the Riviera. Fun Kart is open every day from 9:30 in the morning until the late evening. You will find them at Bar-sur-Loup just off the Route de Gourdon. There is a bar and restaurant on the premises.
Columbus International offer the largest choice of Ducati rental motorbikes in France. All their bikes can be delivered to your home at your convenience. Call them on 04 83 15 82 64 for details.
Biking at every age and level is possible along the French Riviera and is something many guests staying in one of our rental apartments want to try. Most major towns have bike rental options from ordinary push bikes to the more technical mountain bikes and, of course, bikes suitable for children. Some rental companies even offer racing bikes and tandem bikes too. It is also possible to hire roller blades and scooters from many of the same rental companies. The long car-free flat promenades and dedicated cycle lanes along the coastal towns are ideal for leisurely cycling and drivers tend to be very careful and respectful of cyclists in France.
For serious mountain biking, the mountains inland provide perfect and testing terrain. Look for “VTT@” guides and information to find out the best places to ride. The booklets are free at tourist offices. Ask for the “Guide Rando VTT”, or the information may be downloaded directly.
For bike hire across the Riviera, try Holiday Bikes. They have branches in Nice station and Nice Promenade, Cannes, Antibes and Villeneuve-Loubet.
If you are staying in one of our Holiday Rental Apartments in Antibes...
East of Antibes and just north of Marineland, close to the Biot train station, is Ecolook at 28 chemin des Groules, near Marineland in Antibes. Tel: 04 93 95 26 79 for the sale and short or long-term rental of electric bikes, mountain bikes, city bikes, and electric scooters.
If you are staying in one of our Holiday Rental Apartments in Cannes...
There are several bike rental companies centrally based. West of the city centre is Elite Rent A Bike at 32 avenue Marechal Juin with a branch also in Mandelieu. Tel: 04 93 94 30 34 or email.
Just to the east of the Port of Cannes, Mistral Location is open seven days a week all year round at 4 rue Georges Clemenceau. You can call them on 04 93 99 25 25.
West of Cannes in Mandelieu La Napoule is Location 2 Roues at 542 av Mer, Mandelieu la Napoule. Tel/fax: 04 92 97 27 37.
If you are staying in one of our Holiday Rental Apartments in Nice...
There are several bike rental companies. Close to the Old Town and handy for cycling the 3 miles of Promenade is Roller Station at 49 quai des Etats-Unis, Tel/fax: 04 93 62 99 05. Roller Station rents bikes, skates and scooters (trottoirs). Another branch of Roller Station is located at 10 Boulevard Risso near the Acropolis Exhibition Centre.
Those staying in one of our rental apartments near to the main train station, Nice Ville, or perhaps arriving in Nice by train, can hire bikes, motorbikes, and scooters close by at Nicea Location Rent, 9 avenue Thiers and 12 rue de Belgique, also by the train station. Telephone 04 93 82 42 71 or email.
Nice Cycle Tours is the only guided bike tour in Nice and offers you a great introduction to Nice, gateway to the French Riviera. Each tour lasts approximately 3 hours and is fully accompanied by an English and French speaking guide. The tours are built around Nice’s network of dedicated cycle ways and quiet streets and busy roads are kept to a minimum. A comfortable bicycle and cycle helmet is supplied and they will even buy you a coffee at the midway rest stop.
Other places to hire bikes in Nice include Arnaud, 5 rue François 1er by Place Grimaldi, tel: 04 93 87 88 55 or fax 04 93 88 34 40.
For just scooters and rollers in Nice, try B Cyclette at 43 Promenade des Anglais, Nice. Tel: 04 93 82 31 52. If you want to hire close to the Port of Nice, try Fun’n Roll at 13 rue Cassini, 06300, Nice. Tel: 04 93 55 12 32 or email.
While staying in one of rental apartments in Nice, Cannes or Antibes, how about view the beautiful coastline of the Cote d'Azur by boat. Trans Cote d'Azur offer routes from Cannes and Nice to Monaco, St Tropez and the Corniche de l'Esterel. They can be found at the Laubeuf Quay in Cannes and can be called on 04.92.98.71.30. In Nice you'll find them at the Lunel Quay and can be reached on 04.92.00.42.30.
From Juan-les-Pins, take the yellow boat from the seashore of Courbet to discover the fishes and underwater fauna along Cap d’Antibes. The hour-long excursion with Visobulle takes place daily from April to September. You can telephone them on 04.93.6.02.11
If you have a soft spot for dolphins (and who doesn't?), then book on a boat trip with Acti Loisirs. Boats depart from Villefranche-sur-Mer from June to September. Please check their website for days of departure, usually Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
At Divazur you can take a full-day trip on a number of boats across the Riviera. When the dolphins come to the boat, you will be invited into the water to swim alongside them.
If you are booking to stay in one of our holiday rental apartments on the Côte d’Azur you have a choice of 21 golf courses. The courses are spread across the coast from Monaco to Mandelieu and inland as far as the southern French Alps. Take a swing at one of twelve 18-hole courses, six 9-hole courses, two compact 9-hole courses, one Golfing Academy, and three training centres. A round of golf will cost anything from 20 euros to in excess of 200 euros; weekends are the most expensive.
A car is essential to reach most of the courses and some courses require proof of golf handicap and may even set a maximum handicap to be able to play the course. For more information about golf on the Côte d’Azur, try this guide.
If you are staying in one of our Holiday Rental Apartments in Antibes...
Golf courses close to the main towns along the coast include Golf de Villeneuve-Loubet at Route de Grasse about 2 kilometres from Villeneuve. Tel: 04 93 22 52 25 or email. This 9-hole Par 31 course is not far from Antibes.
A handy course is the 18-hole, Par 67 Golfe de Biot, one of the Riviera’s oldest courses. This course, with bar, tearoom, and restaurant is found at 1379 Route d’Antibes, La Bastide du Roy, 06410 Biot. Tel: 04 93 65 08 48, fax: 04 93 65 05 63 or email. Attached to this course is the golf school, Ecole de Golf de Biot, which offers two putting greens with bunkers, thirty-two places with fifteen covered, for swing practice.
If you are staying in one of our Holiday Rental Apartments in Cannes...
You have two prestigious courses nearby. The closest is the Cannes-Mougins Golf Club that is about 5 kilometres north of Cannes. This 18-hole, Par 72 course which opened in 1923, rebuilt in 1977, has an international reputation and combines lengthy greens, open fairways, and several water hazards. The address is Golf Country Club Cannes-Mougins, 175 Avenue du Golf 06250 Mougins. Tel: 04 93 75 79 13, fax: 04 93 75 27 60 or email.
The second course, about 7 kilometres west of Cannes, is the Cannes-Mandelieu Golf Course (Old Course) at Route du Golf, 06210 Mandelieu La Napoule. This has an 18-hole, Par 71 course and a 9-hole course. It is a stunning links course, the oldest in the Riviera, first built in 1891 and features a river to cross to reach the third hole. Tel: 04 92 97 32 00.
If you are staying in one of our Holiday Rental Apartments in Monaco...
The nearest 18-hole golf course to Monaco can be found about 12 kilometres north of Monaco at the Monte Carlo Golf Club, Route du Mont Agel, 06320 La Turbie. Tel: 04 93 41 09 11.
If you are staying in one of our Holiday Rental Apartments in Nice...
The nearest golf is the compact 9-hole course at The Golf Country Club of Nice which also offers a 32-place (covered) driving range, pro shop, and restaurant. The address is Golf Country Club de Nice, 698 Route de Grenoble. Tel: 04 93 29 82 00.
Golf Tours
If you want to combine golf with a tour of Cannes, St-Tropez, Monte Carlo, and Mougins, and take in a wine tasting tour, look at France Golf Tours.
If you are planning on staying in a holiday apartment in Nice then discover the underwater world of wrecks, caverns, and reefs on a full day trip, half day, or a night dive with Nice Diving. Located at the port at 14 Quai des Docks, there is a fully qualified English-speaking instructor available to cater for the needs of beginners, intermediates, and fully qualified PADI experienced divers. Book through their web site or send an email.
For the biggest diving school across the Riviera, visit divazur.com where you can enroll on any number of diving lessons or group dives.
In Antibes and Juan les Pins, you can find Diamond Diving an English speaking scuba diving school with excellent reputation. There is a full range of PADI courses plus try dives and day diving for qualified divers. Alex and his team can do pick ups from train station.
Day trips out from your holiday apartment to Zoos...
Most families book a holiday rental apartment so they can explore the area and have quality time with each other. For a family day out, try Zoo Frejus is a 20-hectare site with wild animals from all over the world including lions and tigers. The scenery is superb and you can watch the trainers with the animals. It is open every day from 10.30 a.m. until at least 5 p.m., later in summer months. You can call their international line on 04.98.11.37.37.
A huge butterfly sanctuary can be found near to Nice airport at Parc Phoenix, 405 Promenade des Anglais. They can be contacted by phone on 04.92.29.77.00 or email. Park Phoenix is a cross between a botanical garden and a theme park where you can see an array of flowers, birds, and iguanas. It is a very popular place amongst young children. Open every day from 9.30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. from April to September, and 9:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. October to March.
Koaland at 5 Avenue de la Madone in Menton is a cute theme park for children. Set in woodland grounds there are rides and slides, inflatables, mini-golf and go-karting. It is open every day between 10 a.m. to 12 noon and then 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. (from 4 p.m. until midnight July and August). They can be contacted on 04.92.10.00.40.
Day trips out from your holiday apartment to water activities...
Marine Land in Antibes is open all year round. It claims to be the greatest marine show in Europe with dolphins, Orcas, and seals. In addition, there is a 30-metre long shark tunnel.
Nearby at Antibes Land, kids can enjoy all the fun at the fair with rides and shows. It’s open from June to September, every day. Here you will also find La Petit Ferme, where young children can enjoy a puppet theatre, a children’s workshop, a magic tunnel, and mini-golf, as well as a host of farm animals.
If slides and adrenaline are for you, head to the outside water park also in Antibes. It’s open from mid-June to the beginning of September. Aquasplash is located at 306 Avenue Mozart (06160) between Antibes and Juan les Pins.
Near to St-Tropez in Sainte Maxime is Aqualand, a water theme park that is open every day between June, July, and August. You can reach them on 04.94.55.54.54.
If you are staying in one of our rental apartments for the Christmas festivities, the new attraction in Nice is Luna Park. The only indoor attraction park in Europe, this park consists of fairground attractions and adrenalin pumping rides. It will be open from December 2007 to mid January 2008 and you can find it at the Palais des Expositions, just behind the Acropolis. It will be open every day from 2 p.m. until 11 p.m. and until 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
Provence Riviera Tours offers full day, half-day, and nighttime tours including tours around Monaco, Province, and the Italian Riviera. The professional drivers are fluent in English, French, Spanish, German, and Russian.
Provençal vineyards are home to a unique array of wines that you will have difficulty finding outside the region. The vineyards are also some of the oldest in France and Bellet and Bandol have been household names for centuries.
France’s smallest AOC (Appellation d’Origine Controlee) is the famous Chateau de Bellet, in Nice to be found on Chemin de Sanquier. You can call on 04.93.37.81.57 or email where local personality, Mr Ghislain de Charnace has been producing Bellet wines for over 30 years. He offers wine tastings by appointment.
Dutch billionaire Cornelis Kamerbeek, also produces Bellet at Chateau de Cremat. You can telephone them to make a reservation on 04.92.15.12.15. There is a small wine tour here where you can discover how the various wines are produced followed by wine-tasting accompanied with small canapés spread with regional specialties such as olive oil, anchoiade, and tapenade.
Off the Chemin de Saquier, a series of narrow rocky lanes leads to Clos St Vincent run by Roland Sicardi and Joseph Sergi whose wines are exemplary, particularly the dry floral rosé, ideal for quaffing in the summer sun and a fantastic compliment to the local food.
Half way between Nice and St-Tropez moving inland will bring you to Chateau de Berne in Lorgues. Here you can take part in tasting, guided tours, and technical tours. You can call them on 04.94.60.43.60
If you are heading to Provence before or after your stay in one of our holiday rental apartments, you might find this site useful with links to the various vineyards across the region.
If your enjoy the wines of France, then Wine Tasting in Paris by O Chateau offers wine tastings and wine tours to Paris visitors and corporate clients. A perfect activity for your weekend or holiday in Paris!
SailTime French Riviera provides an affordable alternative to buying a yacht in France. SailTime offers 12 month all-inclusive memberships on their fleet of Beneteau Oceanis yachts based in Antibes. For a fixed monthly fee, members sail the yacht six weeks per year and don't have to worry about mooring, maintenance. or other hidden costs. In addition, members can make bookings on the yacht up to one year in advance and can cancel their reservations without penalty with just 24 hours advance notice. It's the perfect solution for global nomads.
Bespoke Yacht Charter are a London and Côte d’Azur based yachting company that arrange luxury yacht charters and boat rentals on the French Riviera, in the Mediterranean and beyond. We are independent yacht brokers with no ties to specific yachts or management companies and offer our clients access to over 2,000 superyachts, motor yachts and sailing yachts to charter worldwide. In addition to yachting holidays, we specialise in static charters and yacht rentals for events such as the Monaco Grand Prix, Cannes Film Festival, Cannes Lions and MIPIM.
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