How to Experience the French Riviera Like an Insider: Nice, Yachts, and Rare Art

On my first morning in Nice, France, I wake up in the exquisite Marie-Antoinette suite at Le Negresco (yes, the same one Kylie Jenner stayed at in 2024). The suite, inspired by the tastes of the extravagant queen of France who it’s named after, has a spacious terrace that appears to bring the impossibly blue ocean right inside my room. Sèvres vases are displayed inside its blue and gold interiors that have upholstery inspired by the Queen’s husband Louis XVI’s library at the Palace of Versailles. The room is furnished with period furniture and has a bed crowned by a magnificent, draped dome that is the work of centuries-old luxury French textile house Tassinari & Chatel. I spot design flourishes from the Queen’s bedchambers at the Petit Trianon—this bedchamber is fit for royalty. 

I step out of the lobby to see a teal blue 1960s Ford Mustang waiting for me at the curb. The vintage car is a beauty and my eyes light up at the sight of it. 

It’s my ride for the day and Paul Rohmer, the owner of car-rental service Sunset Rides, drives me down the Corniche Roads of the French Riviera, flanked on one side by historic villages cut into the rocky hills and on the other by the glittering Mediterranean Sea. 

Rohmer is cool and funny, and we quickly develop a rapport. He shares the dramatic moment when he walked into his previous office, realised that he wanted a different life, and quit his IT job to start his own business. 

As we cruise in his gleaming Mustang along the storied Côte d’Azur, I take in the stunning views, as dappled sunlight warms my face and the salty sea breeze caresses my hair. We pass the historic village of Villefranche with houses in sunset tones of ochre, peach, and vermilion. 

It was Victoria, queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, who helped popularise the city in the late 19th century by spending her winters in Nice. The French Riviera has since attracted billionaires, celebrities, and royalty including King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Diana, princess of Wales, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Beyoncé, and Leonardo DiCaprio. 

The French city offers easy access to Cannes and Monaco, providing a good base for those wishing to attend the Cannes Film Festival and the Monaco Grand Prix. 

My trip to Nice was planned as a girls’ getaway with my college best friend, who lives in San Francisco. We have an annual tradition that has us cross the oceans to travel together. 

This year, we chose the south of France: a part of the world that had always piqued my interest. I’d heard of specialised companies that plan elaborate itineraries and arrange for exclusive experiences and was keen to learn more. 

I reached out to Karine Bocchi from Travelice on the recommendation of Nice’s tourism board. Bocchi has been in the luxury travel business for almost three decades and curates authentic experiencesthe kind that cannot be found on the internet —for her wealthy clients. She understands well that sometimes spontaneity can be the most delightful part of a trip. 

Travelice plans a grand itinerary for me. Bocchi accompanies me on these explorations, so we get to know each other beyond niceties. Speaking about the kinds of experiences she helps curate, she shares, “One of our signature experiences unfolds in a private flower garden. Guests enjoy a dinner inspired by blossoms, paired with floral mocktails and flower-infused waters.” Bocchi adds that a violinist plays soulful tunes in the background, while an artist paints on the musician’s gown. The artwork is later gifted to the guests. The experience doesn’t end there, though. “A master perfumer completes this multi-sensory moment by creating a fragrance in harmony with the meal. This makes our clients happier than bagging a reservation at a popular, fine-dining restaurant — although, we can do that as well,” she says. 

The first thing on my itinerary is the classic car drive from the Promenade des Anglais to Monaco’s F1 track. Along the way, we stop at secret lookouts (Rohmer points out the luxury hotel speculated to be the location for the fourth season of The White Lotus), drive through historic villages, and eat a decadent meal at Cap-d’Ail (more on that later). Our first stop is the studio of Belgian-born artist Léa Vandeveld for an immersive art experience. The charming and eloquent artist has apprenticed in Puducherry, India, and creates abstract face paintings that have been digitised and showcased on several massive urban screens in Dubai and London. 

Vandeveld has also developed an innovative, sustainable line of art where she creates portraits using waste from the booming beauty industry. Her blacks come from eyeliners, her reds from lipsticks, and her metallics from eyeshadows.  

I watch in fascination as she paints an eco-art piece inspired by her impression of me. We chat throughout, and I get the chance to ask about her inspirations, process, and favourite shows. At the end of our session, she presents me with the painting: a gift that I’m overwhelmed by. 

As one might expect, no trip to the Côte d’Azur is complete without a long, boozy lunch, and Bocchi has planned a lazy afternoon for us at La Pinède in Cap-d’Ail. Opened by Gregory Corso, the Mediterranean, seaside restaurant is attached to the rocky coast it is perched on, providing a 180-degree view of the azure waters beyond. 

Sunlight filters in through straw umbrellas as we sip on speciality cocktails and feast on fresh sea bream crudo, burrata salad, and zucchini pinsa (Italian flatbreads) flavoured with truffle, followed by a whole grilled sea bass. By the time the feast ends with tiramisu, pavlova, and fresh fruit, we are ready to pass out from a food coma.  

But there’s no time to nap. We carry on to Monaco, home to the highest concentration of billionaires per capita in the world (thanks to their favourable tax policies and ultra-safe streets). Monaco has a high-end shopping district with designer boutiques, but the spot Bocchi introduces me to is far from the usual. We walk into a rare watch gallery called Art in Time, founded by Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, the co-president of Chopard. There, we discover watches, clocks, and objets d’art from the world’s best independent watchmakers, each timepiece a thing of beauty. The innovation in concepts, technology, and aesthetics is mind-blowing, from the 18th-century complications by Ferdinand Berthoud to the futuristic aesthetic of Urwerk. The rarest pieces have a waiting list that can rival that of an Hèrmes Birkin handbag. This universe of rare watches leaves me impressed. 

After a day of delights, we’re back at Le Negresco, which is also an art-lover’s paradise. It has a 6,000-piece-strong collection that gives one the feeling of living inside a gallery (with pieces ranging from 13th-century antique furniture to rare portraits of French royalty to quirky, glittery marine sculptures). I take the stairs each time just so I can discover new works as I walk through the hotel. Its location is on the main promenade of Nice and the views over the glittering Riviera from my suite are breathtaking. 

Le Negresco is where you likely want to base yourself on your next Côte d’Azur trip, because every textile, every corner has a story. You must ask the hotel staff to take you on a tour of the premises to learn about its colourful history. Few know, for instance, that the hotel was converted into a hospital during World War I and that it was later home to the Anglo-American, counterespionage services during World War II. 

The hotel staff hears about my busy day and immediately books me into their shiny new spa, N Le Spa. The spa has a state-of-the-art wet area with a hammam (Turkish bath), snow machine, sauna, temperature-controlled pool with underwater speakers, and a relaxation area where you can feast on macarons, madeleines, nuts, and dates. 

I opt for an exclusive rain massage and am shown to a bed that is fixed with a person-sized showerhead. As the expert massage therapist kneads my muscles, water of varying temperatures and pressures caresses different parts of my body. The experience is both healing and rejuvenative. Later, I tour the newly launched Jeanne & Paul Penthouse Suite on the sixth floor of the hotel that was the late owner Jeanne Augier’s personal apartment. The newly renovated 4,300-squarefoot suite has three terraces (including the hotel’s iconic dome and a Jacuzzi), a full kitchen, a gorgeous salon, study, and separate his and her bedrooms. It’s a struggle to leave such comfort, but Bocchi has planned another special evening for us: a sundowner on a yacht followed by an omakase dinner. 

I make my way to Monaco’s Port Hercules, supposedly the only deep-water port of the French Riviera, and that has been in use since ancient times. I get on an inflatable dinghy to reach deeper waters and am dwarfed by the gleaming boats we pass to reach our superyacht, Seven. The 46-metre, hybrid, diesel-electric, vessel with a steel hull, teak deck, and dark-wood superstructure is a true beauty. 

We spend the rest of the evening sipping champagne, nibbling berries, and watching the glorious, golden light slowly spread across the coastline. As we head back at dusk in our dinghy, the entire sea turns to liquid gold.  

It’s dark by the time we return to Nice for Chef Alexis Luong’s omakase dinner. Luong was the winner of the 2021 French Sushi Championship and placed third at the 2024 World Sushi Cup. He discovered sushi while working in a supermarket stand, which sparked his culinary calling. Onakase, located above his Japanese-style bistro Onakaya, is his latest offering and allows the chef to showcase his superior skills, while using some incredibly fresh produce. 

We sit at a bar surrounding an open kitchen and watch as Luong finely slices fish, adds fresh wasabi, house soy, and plates each course with utmost precision. His signature dish is Toro Tataki Karashi Miso that is fatty tuna seared over binchõtan or white charcoal, served with fresh wasabi, daikon cress, dried and roasted seaweed, and a spicy miso sauce. After the meal, we stroll down the Promenade des Anglais with our bellies and hearts full. The meal is a fitting end to a very special trip.