Alpes Maritimes family holidays and breaks

Everyone has heard of the Côte d'Azur or French Riviera in south-east France, with its wonderful weather, excellent beaches, beautiful Mediterranean coastline, famous cities and towns - Cannes, Nice, Antibes, St Tropez – famous people, famously rich people, and famously high prices! Fewer people know that this stretch of coast, lacking in official boundaries, is part of the département of the Alpes Maritimes, which is in turn part of the Provence–Alpes–Côte d'Azur region.

Glitzy tourist traps aside, this can be a great choice for a family holiday, offering all the entertainments associated with mountains: skiing and winter sports, and, in summer, walking, mountain-biking, kayaking and rafting in the rivers Var and Verdon, bungee-jumping, trampolining and more. There are also charming villages to explore, castles and forts to discover, and small market towns to enjoy – plus of course all the pleasures of the seaside (at a price).

Flying Time	2 hours
Carbon Footprint	0.95 tonnes CO2
Timezone	GMT +1
Local Currency	Euro

What to Do

Check out the Alpes Maritimes' family ski resorts less than an hour’s drive from Nice. The mountains begin the moment you leave the coast, and the higher you climb into the superb alpine landscapes, the more appealing – and affordable - the idea of a family holiday in the same region as the Monte Carlo Casino becomes.

Walk the superbly maintained networks of footpaths in the mountains, at all levels – gawp at gorges, splash in lakes and streams, puff up peaks and spot the plentiful wildlife, including marmots and chamois.

Sign up to bungee-jump off an 80m bridge, luge in Valberg, abseil down a waterfall, voyage down the waters of the Var on a white-water raft, or cycle or horse-ride through the meadows.

Explore the medieval alleys of Entrevaux and its fortress on the cliff above, complete with dungeons, then visit little local museums and traditional farms, where you can buy cheese and yoghurt more or less straight from the cow or goat.

Where to Stay

Great family holiday accommodation in the Alpes Maritimes ranges from gorgeous B&Bs, hotels and luxury town apartments to secluded farmhouses or luxury gites with pools. Many offer weekend breaks. See the right-hand side of this page for our recommendations and deals.

Some of our preferred partners offer a great selection of hotels and self-catering properties, including the all-inclusive Opio en Provence and check out the range of self catering apartments with PV Holidays.

Even hotels here are a bargain, especially if compared with prices on the coast. For those on a very tight budget, or just feeling adventurous, campsites are numerous in the mountain valleys, as are gîtes ruraux (basic rural gîtes). The camping season is limited to June to September. Expect prices to start at around £30 per night for a room in a basic, rustic B&B. Luxury gites cost around £400– £1,300/wk depending on size and location.

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When

The Alpes Maritimes' winter-sports season lasts into April at the highest resorts (including Isola 2000). Spring comes to the mountains of this part of France in late May, with snow lingering on the peaks but wonderful flowers and lush landscapes below. This is when the rivers are at their best for family holidays involving white-water sports.

Summer begins in June and lingers to the end of September, but the weather is often still fine in October, when the autumn colours in the mountains are magnificent.

How

Family holidays in the Alpes Maritimes are a doddle, with several airlines, including some low-cost operators, flying daily from a variety of UK airports to Nice. From there, the mountains are a 1–2hr drive. See our flight-deals and car-hire pages.

If you bring your own car, it's about an 11hr drive and 100 Euros in tolls from the ferry port of Calais to Nice. For information on getting there by train, see Man in Seat 61.

Eat

The Alpes Maritimes offer much of the best that French cuisine has to offer, with some Italian thrown in. Local fare, relatively simple by French standards, includes tasty lamb, plentiful vegetables (tomatoes, aubergines, peppers, courgettes) and some pasta dishes from across the nearby border with Italy. The usual suspects are also on offer, including pizza, pancakes, and ice cream, as are all the decadent delights of the French bakery. No family holiday in the Alpes Maritimes is complete without a trip to a local market.

Most restaurants offer the traditional French 3-course menu for less €20 a head, and child-friendly food will set you back even less.

Cost

Flights to Nice can be very reasonable if you can be flexible about when you fly and book well in advance. Airline prices do tend to jump at half-term, but travelling mid-week will help.

Staying in the mountains of the Alpes Maritimes as opposed to by the coast will help you to keep your family holiday costs down, as will eating out at lunch instead of evenings.

By Rhonda Carrier