When to Visit (& Months to Avoid!)

The French Riviera (also known as the Côte d’Azur), is a dreamy French region that extends east along the coast from Menton and Monaco to Théoule-sur-Mer and Saint-Tropez, and up into the Southern Alps. The Riviera contains several cities (Nice and Cannes among them), 14 natural parks, Roman ruins, medieval villages and whale-watching just offshore.

Don’t think of the Côte d’Azur as just a summer locale, either. Sure, these cities heat up come July as the masses parade down boulevards and beaches, but winter is one of the Riviera’s best-kept secrets with ski towns less than 90 minutes north of the shore.

When to Visit (& Months to Avoid!) - l esterel travel guide mandalieu napoule 2 — *Mandelieu-la-Napoule* in the Esterel region

Here’s what you need to know to plan your trip to the South of France:

Best & Worst Months to Visit

There are several factors to consider when timing your visit to the French Riviera:

When Big Festivals Are Happening

There are two times when the French Riviera is super crowded: during summer school holidays (July & August) and during large festivals. If you’re not attending the crowded festivals, then it’s best to avoid a trip to the area during that time, since the hotels will be more expensive, traffic will be worse, and the sights and museums will be more crowded.

When to Visit (& Months to Avoid!) - menton lemon festival fete du citron4 2 — expect crowds at Menton’s Fete du citron

Avoid the area in February, as there are huge festivals going on in both Nice and Menton during that time. That’s when Nice hosts one of the Riviera’s main winter events, the annual 15-day Carnaval de Nice, which attracts roughly one million tourists. It’s fun to attend (if you don’t mind crowds), but Nice becomes a different beast during this time.

Also in February, the city of Menton throws the 3-week Fête du Citron. Over 200,000 tourists pack into the town during this time. Unfortunately, being smaller than Nice, Menton is severely affected by the invasion of guests during this time. There are traffic jams everywhere, and crowds of people march down the narrow streets and along the promenade.

When to Visit (& Months to Avoid!) - monaco grand prix f1 guide schedule2 — monaco sets up for the grand prix weeks ahead of time

From mid-March to mid-June you can expect a lot of construction in Cannes and Monaco, as that’s when they set up and then disassemble everything needed for the Cannes Film Festival and the Monaco Grand Prix. During Monaco’s Grand Prix, and for the ten weeks before it and a month after, many sidewalks in Monaco have barricades, it’s noisy because of all the construction (re-paving roads, putting up metal barriers, viewing stations and grandstands), and it’s very confusing / tough to get around, making it much less pleasant to visit (unless, of course, you’re coming to see the races). Cannes is in construction disarray for about a month before and a couple of weeks after the film festival.

Check our events calendar to learn when other events are happening and determine the best and worst times to visit.

When Kids are on School Holidays

During school holidays (check the dates here), throughout the year, many French people from all over France bring their families to the French Riviera. This means that the beaches, hotels, restaurants, etc. are all packed and traffic is slow. If you can, it’s best to avoid traveling to the French Riviera during these times.

Which Season is Best?

The Côte d’Azur is protected by hills in the west and the Mercantour Alps in the northwest, meaning a mild Mediterranean climate year-round. Expect almost 300 days of sunshine, with stretches of rain around the shoulder months of March and April, as well as October and November. June and September are some of the best months to visit the region, while July and August are the height of the season.

We recommend visiting in late-April to early-May, June, or September to early-October to avoid the crowds but still enjoy the beautiful Mediterranean weather.

Summer: Crowded & Expensive

When to Visit (& Months to Avoid!) - beaches Baie des Anges Nice plage 1 1 — the public beach in Nice is very crowded all summer

From mid-June to August the beaches are very, very crowded. Tourists cram the beaches in the summer months, making it harder to snag beach beds and dinner reservations.

There’s no two ways about it: Summers on the French Riviera are extremely crowded and expensive. The beaches are packed and finding parking can be a memorably frustrating endeavor. The average price of a glass of wine shoots up from €7 to €17.

As Charles Glass so eloquently put it: “The summertime mob rules the French Riviera seaside. Hungry visitors queue for beach tables amid the horse flies at Saint-Tropez’s Club 55 to admire one another’s jewelry. They then dive into water so laden with Ambre Solaire it looks like the Exxon Valdez crashed into another reef. Holidaymakers leave the south to its peaceful winter and reassemble there each summer, like defeated regiments needing one more go at enemy lines to prove that, this time, they will succeed. Of course, they never do. And so they return home wearier than when they arrived.”

As soon as temperatures rise, in-the-know residents head for the hills to walk through cool forests of truffle oaks, swim in waterfalls, and sip rosé en piscine (with ice cubes) on a shady village square. They jump on a boat to Ile Saint-Honorat for a lunch of fresh, grilled scallops, or go to Théoule-sur-Mer for a swim at one of the tiny inlets along the craggy coastline. The real French Riviera is still here, even in peak season. You will find it if you look beyond the glare of the bright lights; it just takes a little prompting to find it.

When to Visit (& Months to Avoid!) - french riviera travel guide 1 — In the spring and fall, beaches are open but not crowded

Spring & Fall: The Perfect Timing

The best months to visit are late-April to the first week of May (avoiding the rest of May), June (although June is already getting a bit crowded), and September to early-October. If you have to pick one, September is the most ideal, as the sea is perfect swimming temperature.

Even the local, less well-known beaches (like the one pictured below, Bijoux beach in Cannes, pictured in early March 2023) have sunbathers in the off-season, but unlike in the summer, you’ll be able to find a spot to sit.

When to Visit (& Months to Avoid!) - cannes bijoux beach march — Bijoux beach, a lesser-known beach, in Cannes, march 2023

Make sure you’re aware of the dates for the local events, as explained above, and try to avoid coming during those, as the coast gets a lot more expensive, crowded, and booked-up during big events — especially in May due to the Grand Prix and Cannes Film Festival.

Those months might get a bit of rain, but the temperature is more comfortable (70°F / 21°C), less tourists than the summer, lower rates at hotels, and all the seasonal 5-star hotels and beachside restaurants are open (and you can usually get away with making a reservation a few days in advance).

Winter / Off-Season: Closures, Christmas & Skiing

In the winter, the weather is still pleasant and prices are lower (sometimes much, much lower!) Winter is not what we’d consider “beach weather” (although you will still see people sun-tanning on the beaches throughout the winter) but temperatures almost never hit freezing. In fact, the sun is still so strong that the temperature feels about 10 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than expected, and you’ll usually find yourself peeling off layers when in the sun.

When to Visit (& Months to Avoid!) - cannes beach club best time to visit french riviera — Annex Beach in Cannes at Christmas

The downside is that many of the best hotels and restaurants in the inland villages close. They usually start opening up again in mid-April and close again in early-October. There is no point in visiting the western side of the French Riviera (Esterel to St Tropez regions) in the off-season (November to mid-April), as almost all of the hotels, shops, and restaurants close up.

If you’re visiting Monaco, Villefranche, Cannes or Nice, you don’t need to worry about hotels and restaurants being closed in the off-season, with the exception of a few of the best seaside restaurants (including favorites like Le Cabanon , which opens mid-April, and La Vigie , which opens late June). Monaco has a high concentration of exceptional restaurants to choose from year-round. The beach restaurants in both Cannes and Monaco are open, and crowded, year-round.

When to Visit (& Months to Avoid!) - when to visit french riviera cannes beach winter — One of the many beach restaurants in Cannes, still busy in February

Many towns and villages host traditional Christmas markets selling local specialties and mulled wine (or vin chaud). Most are pretty typical and nothing very special, but they are fun for small children.

The region’s 15 ski resorts open for the season in December and stay open through March. The closest — Auron , Isola 2000 , and Valberg — are a little over two hours away by bus from the Nice train station or airport. Another local ski area (around 90 minutes by car from Monaco) is Limone Piemonte, Italy . It’s more high-end (although nowhere near as luxurious as the most famous destinations in the Alps) and attracts residents from Monaco.

Again, make sure you’re aware of the dates for the local events, as explained above, and try to avoid coming during those, as the coast gets a lot more expensive, crowded, and booked-up during big events — especially in February due to the massive Carnaval and Fete du Citron.

Mediterranean Climate

The climate of the French Riviera (Côte d’Azur), the French coastline that goes from just east of Marseille to just east of Menton (near the border with Italy), is ‘Mediterranean’, with mild, relatively rainy winters and warm, sunny summers. Atlantic frontal systems pass quite often throughout the year, but especially from October to April, while in summer, especially in July and August, they become rare.

When to Visit (& Months to Avoid!) - Nice france travel guide beach SMALL — Neptune beach in Nice, France

In winter, the weather is generally mild and while some visitors still wear their furs (which is, of course, perceived as distasteful nowadays), it’s rare to actually need anything more than a light jacket. Menton sits on the Italian border between the Alpes Maritimes and the Mediterranean, and its valley benefits from a unique micro-climate that keeps it a few degrees warmer in the winter than the rest of the Côte d’Azur.

Typically, the summer temperatures are acceptable, although there can sometimes be hot periods, with highs about 35°C (95°F), but fortunately, sea breezes blow along the coast to cool you down. The south-eastern part of the French Riviera (bordering the Ligurian Riviera in Italy) is the mildest area. Here, frosts almost never happen. The summer heat is also less intense than on the west (near Marseille).

Cannes / Mediterranean Weather Averages

We will use Cannes as an example, as it’s roughly in the middle of the French Riviera. For exact averages by town, see the links at the bottom of this guide.

When to Visit (& Months to Avoid!) - cannes travel guide beaches — the beach in cannes

When to Visit (& Months to Avoid!) - french riviera weather climate 1 — AVERAGE TEMPERATURES IN CANNES

In Cannes, it rains about 700 mm (27.5 in) per year, and increases the farther east you go, reaching 800 mm (31.5 in) in Monte Carlo (in the Principality of Monaco). From late October to December (some years more than others) there can be a lot of rain.

When to Visit (& Months to Avoid!) - french riviera weather climate2 1 — AVERAGE PRECIPITATION IN CANNES

The sunshine duration on the French Riviera is great from April to September. The rest of the year (in autumn and winter) there is a moderate amount of sunny days, but they alternate with cloudy and rainy days.

When to Visit (& Months to Avoid!) - french riviera weather climate3 1 — AVERAGE DAILY SUNSHINE HOURS IN CANNES

St. Tropez & the Esterel Region

St. Tropez and the Esterel Massif area is in the Var province of France. The air temperatures in that area are less mild than the rest of the French Riviera. In the summer, the daytime is 1 to 3 degrees Celsius hotter than the Monaco and Nice area, and 1 to 3 degrees colder at night. In the winter, it can get as much as 5 degrees C colder than the rest of the French Riviera, and it has unique rain and fog patterns.

The ‘Mistral’ — an incredibly strong, destructive, chilling wind — can arise at any time (but is less common in the summer), sometimes reaching 185 km/h (115 mph). It creates severe fire-hazard conditions, during which time the regional authorities prohibit all access to the massif of the Estérel. Close your shutters and expect anything left outside to blow over or away.

Sea Temperature

On the western part of the French Riviera (St-Tropez, Cannes), while the air can get extremely hot in the summer, the sea is never very warm because it is cooled for several months per year by the Mistral (which blows in the western part, but owing to sea currents, cold waters reach a larger area). The farther east you go along the coast (Nice, Monaco, Menton), the warmer the water gets. It is the warmest in Menton.