Two Unmissable Countries, Two Days 🇫🇷🇲🇨

📌 Nice, France & Monaco State In all my diverse travels so far I was yet to tick off France and I thought "why tick off one country when I can tick off two?" so picked Nice as my French base for the weekend and was keen to explore the fantastic and contemporary state of Monaco. Why visit Nice & Monaco? 🤫 Bustling city life in Nice 🍽️ Excellent food and drink culture 🚄 Unblemished views of the Cote d'Azur as you venture towards Monaco via train 🇲🇨 Contemporary and vibrant adventures in Monaco 👟 Compact cities all accessible on foot Arriving at Nice airport at 11:00am on a Saturday morning, I was straight through passport control in no time and after a wait of around 10 minutes there was a tram ready to head to the city centre, a journey of around 20 minutes and at a cost of €10.00 including a return ticket which I'd go on to use the next day. 🌊 After arriving into the city centre I headed straight down to the seafront to get a glimpse of the Cote d'Azur (French Riviera) and was not disappointed. Despite visiting in January, the sea was blue, sand gold and palm trees adorned the promenade (Picture 1). 📷 I took a nice walk along the front to take in the views and then meandered back through the city's narrow streets and alleyways, passing a great deal of souvenir shops and local delicatessens. I came across striking buildings such as the Cathédrale Sainte-Réparate (Picture 2) and the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas, a Russian Orthodox Church (Picture 3). 🍽️ Time for something to eat and I ate a delicious pizza at an Italian restaurant back near the promenade. 🛌 I then headed to the hotel for rest as I knew I was to have a busy day the following day. Onto Day 2 and I was straight off to Nice-Ville, the main railway station to head to Monaco. ⛵📷 If you're thinking of heading to Monaco, you must do it by train! An upstairs seat on the double-deck InterCity trains gives you an amazing view of the French Riviera as the train passes in and out of the cliffs and stops at the small coastal villages (Picture 4). 🎰 Arriving in Monaco and after having traversed the steep cliff into the city centre via several escalators I arrived at the Monte-Carlo Casino, an unmissable sight on your trip (Picture 5). 🏰 After a tea and some rest my trip in Monaco continued with looking around at the sights such as the Marina (Picture 6) and the Prince's Palace of Monaco (Picture 7), which is often overlooked being a slight trip from the centre but well worth a look. 🚄 I took another brief stop back in France, the city of Menton (Picture 8) before it was back to the airport for my trip home. All in all, a great adventure and one for the bucket list. The views were the best part of it. I'll be back for sure! #springwander