A Day Trip. Short Journeys for Holidaymakers in the South of France

If you decide to spend vacations in the south of France, you are very lucky as this is a great starting point for a day trip to other countries. You just need to choose how: by train, plane or car.

Direction: Italy
City: Ventimiglia

Just eight kilometers from the French Riviera is the Italian Riviera and the first city you see way will be Ventimiglia. Its architecture, atmosphere, and even the coastline remind those of Nice. If it were not melodious Italian language, it would seem that you are still in France. Ventimiglia is interesting for its medieval houses and quiet shady streets where one can endlessly wander. The XII-century Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary (Cattedrale di Nostra Signora Assunta), the baptistery of John the Baptist, and the Hanbury Botanical Gardens with its exotic plants are really worth attention. Tired of walks, don’t miss a chance to drop into one of the village eateries. Try local specialties, such as a dorado a la Ventimiglia or a rabbit stewed in wine drinking red Rossese della Riviera or white Vermentino wine. But the true paradise for gourmet and shopaholics of all shades is the Friday market, which works from morning till night and stretches along the coastline for almost a kilometer. This day, the little Ventimiglia turns into a huge open-air shopping center, where the buyers not only from neighboring towns but also from France come.  You can buy anything here – clothes, footwear, and, of course, food: fresh fish, sausage, parmigiano, and other culinary delights. The market is surrounded by plenty of cafes where you will certainly pop round tempted by their flavors. Having enjoyed the true Italian tastes, take a trolley bus to the famous Sanremo.

Cities: Genoa, Portofino, and Nervi

Genoa is the famous seaside city where Christopher Columbus was born and where literally every stone breathes with history. However, if you plan just a one-day trip, it is hardly worth “breathing” the history of each stone. It will be enough to see the house of Columbus, visit the museum of treasures in the Cathedral of St. Lorenzo (do not miss to see the vessel, which for a long time was considered to be the Holy Grail), and explore the coastal road. Going along it, you will see charming villages with colorful buildings. Surely, such a trip will give a lot of pleasure if you go by car as you can stop wherever you want, try real Italian food, not adapted to the tourists’ tastes, Italian food, and make terrific photos. Be sure to stop in the village of Portofino with its colorful houses immersed in tropical plants, stroll in the garden surrounding the ancient castle, and have a look at the amazing underwater statue that locals call Christ of the Abyss. Admire of the village of Nervi with its beautiful villas museums and the two-kilometer promenade named after Anita Garibaldi. This is a narrow road above the cliffs, walks along which inspired Aivazovsky and Tsvetaeva.

Direction: Switzerland
City: Geneva

You can reach Geneva from the South of France by train, plane and even on foot with a guide along the Emperor Napoleon’s mountain route. Geneva is not only banks, watches, and expensive restaurants. You can discover another Geneva: cozy, picturesque, and hospitable… There is a well-kept beach overlooking the fountain in the very center of the city, on the shores of Lake Léman. There you can find a sauna and a nice bar where one can not only drink a cocktail but also have a snack. The lake is called a mirror for its clean smooth surface reflecting houses and trees in the smallest details. If the water seems cool, you can just spend time on the shore and then go to the Botanical Garden: a small but very cute one. Beautiful plants and stylish arrangements will create a perfect background for pictures and roofed pavilions with exotic flowers will be a shelter in case of bad weather. Having descended from the hill, you leave the park and get right to the embankment, from where you can easily reach the city center with its iconic St. Peter’s Cathedral, the Watch Museum, and the City Hall.

Direction: Monaco
City: Monte Carlo

Monte Carlo is known for its expensive racing cars, yachts, villas, and the rich famous owners of all of the above. Do not miss a chance to visit the Monte Carlo casino, which is considered one of the best in the world. Such James Bond movies as Casino Royale, Never Say Never Again, and Golden Eye were filmed here. If you want to visit it, dress accordingly, as there is a strict dress code inside. An interesting fact is that gambling is strictly prohibited for the citizens of the country. By the way, the casino building consists not only of gaming halls but also of a luxurious restaurant and a theater. If you decide to visit Monaco in May, you will have a great chance to visit the Formula 1 Grand Prix. Since the Monte Carlo city track is considered the most difficult one, you will have an unforgettable experience. Equestrian competitions take place in June in the port of Hercule not far from the princely palace. In July, there is a fireworks festival. Since this will be the final stage, the holiday promises to be epic. August will be dedicated to the Philharmonic Festival, which will be held in the princely palace, as well as the organ music festival in the Cathedral of Monte Carlo.

Direction: Spain
City: Barcelona

If you decide to have a one-day trip to Barcelona, you have a chance to taste tapas, see the works of Gaudi, and appreciate Picasso’s art. There are several museums dedicated to the famous artist, but his best and most famous works are in Barcelona. 2,450 of all the paintings presented in the museum were donated by the artist himself. You can see Picasso’s pictures dedicated to Catalonia. If you like the artist’s work and want to continue to get acquainted with him, walk in the footsteps of him. Visit Les 7 Portes restaurant, where he loved to dine with friends (by the way, the food here is really worth trying), drop in Els Cuatro Gats café, where he made the interior design and menu, walk along Avinyó Street hosting small charming boutiques, where the artist loved to walk. If you have time and energy, pay tribute to another genius, a phantasmagoric architect Gaudi. There are 14 of his masterpieces in Barcelona. This is too much for a day trip, so we recommend to stop at the most iconic sights: Park Güell,  Sagrada Familia, and Gaudi’s house-museum. If you have already seen these masterpieces, we recommend one secret place that even the locals do not know about – the house of Torre Bellesguard.

City: Bilbao

Bilbao is a completely unique city. When seeing it, you may get a culture shock. (Even if you read its guidebooks in the most detailed way). Everything here is unusual: quaint architecture, not typical for Spain atmosphere, and character of the local residents. After spending just one day in Bilbao, you will understand why the capital of the Basques got the title of “futuristic center” and “the most atmospheric city of Spain”. It will just suffice to mention glass entrances to the subway, a house resembling a block of ice, and an archaeological museum with a tunnel! But the most important architectural wonder is the Guggenheim Museum. There is only a branch of the New York Museum of Modern Art in Bilbao but with no less unique exhibits: the statue of a dog “assembled” of 70 thousand colors, a giant metal spider sculpture, Andy Warhol’s 150 multi-colored Marilyns, Richard Serra’s installation entitled “The Matter of Time”, which the sculptor created for 9 years. The museum itself looks unusual: it is faced with titanium plates that gleam with silver in the afternoon and shine with gold at sunset … Perhaps at some point, you will feel that you can no longer perceive all this Deconstructivism. Then head to the historical center. Carved buildings with turrets, clotheslines as if connecting windows and houses… Narrow streets are full of charm and unusual silence as car traffic is prohibited in the old town. Walking along them is a kind of meditation.