Your next holidays are coming and after comparing the South of France with other destinations, you have decided that Cote D’ Azur will be your next stop. Now that you are all excited about planning your trip, something called ‘The French Riviera Pass’ came across your research.
If you are not sure about what it is or whether is the French Riviera Pass worth it, don’t worry! In this article, I am going to explain everything that you need to know about it and help choose if it is right for your upcoming trip.
The French Riviera Pass is a multi-attraction pass that gives you unlimited access to a variety of popular tourist attractions, such as museums, theme parks, and historical sites at a discounted price.
It may sound tempting to purchase one of these passes when you’re visiting a destination for the first time, but the truth is that most of the time they are not worth it unless you have an itinerary planned beforehand that matches the attractions included on the pass.
I will start by explaining how the attraction card works and at the end of this post I will show you some scenarios where the French Riviera Pass is worth it and some where it is not. If you are in a rush, you can use our table of content to go straight to the conclusion.
How does the French Riviera Pass work?
The French Riviera pass offers a 24hs, 48hs, and 72hs card which gives you access to +60 attractions during that amount of time.
The pass is activated the first time you use it and from then the time frame that you have selected starts rolling. For example, if you buy a 24hs pass and visit the first attraction on Sunday at 10 am then you can use the pass until Monday at 10 am.
In order to visit an attraction, you only have to show at the entrance your digital pass or your physical card. However, some attractions such as guided tours and sports games may need to be booked in advance (don’t worry, you will receive a guidebook once you buy your pass explaining which ones requires this!)
IMPORTANT: People often confuse the French Riviera Pass with the Nice Museum Pass. While the first one offers access to attractions all around the South of France, the Nice Museum Pass gives you access only to the 12 municipal museums of Nice.
How much does the French Riviera pass cost?
The cost of the French Riviera Pass varies according to the number of days that you want to buy. The 24hs French Riviera pass is €28, the 48hs version is €40 and the 72hs pass costs €59.
For an extra €4 per day, you can buy the pass with unlimited access to the bus and tram system. However, I firmly recommend not buying it because most of the time you will end up using the train system to move around the South of France which is not included, so in my opinion is best to pay as you go since each bus tram is only €1.80.
Where can I buy the French Riviera pass?
The easiest way to buy the French Riviera Pass is through its official website. Once you buy it online, you can print the PDF version that you will receive or pick up the physical card to access all the attractions.
If you are already in the South of France, you can also buy it in person and using cash at one of their 20 points of sales. Most of them are located in the Tourism Offices of the towns, such as the Tourism Office of Nice, Cap d’ Ail, and Cannes, etc, but there are also some sale points in hotels around the Riviera.
What attractions are included in the French Riviera Pass?
The French Riviera Pass includes 62 different attractions, ranging from museums to boat trips and even sports events. However, it is undeniable that the pass is mainly geared toward museum lovers, as 57% of the included attractions are museums located around the French Riviera.
You can see the full attraction list of the pass below:
- Antibesland
- Aquasplash
- Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild
- Fondation Maeght
- Marineland
- Musée National Fernand Léger
- Musée Picasso Antibes
- Musée de la Castre
- Musée de la Mer
- Musée de la Parfumerie Fragonard
- Musée de la Photographie André Villers
- Musée International de la Parfumerie
- Musée Matisse
- Musée National du Sport
- Musée Océanographique
- Musée Renoir
- Musée d’Art Classique de Mougins
- Villa Musée Jean-Honoré Fragonard
- Villa Musée Léon Bérard
- Villa Musée Auguste Renoir
- Villa Musée Fragonard
- Villa Musée Jean Cocteau
- Château Grimaldi
- Musée Renoir
- Le Suquet
- Musée de la Castre
- Musée de la Mer
- Musée de la Photographie
- Villa Domergue
- Villa Musée Calvet
- Jardin exotique
- Parfumerie Fragonard
- Musée International de la Parfumerie
- Musée d’Art et d’Histoire de Provence
- Musée Fragonard
- Villa Musée Jean-Honoré Fragonard
- Basilique Saint Michel Archange
- Chapelle des Pénitents Blancs
- Jardin Botanique Val Rahmeh
- Musée Jean Cocteau collection Séverin Wunderman
- Musée des Beaux-Arts
- Chapelle de la Visitation
- Exotic Garden
- Musée d’Anthropologie Préhistorique
- Musée d’Automobiles de Collection
- Musée de la Chapelle de la Visitation
- Musée de la Mer
- Musée des Timbres et des Monnaies
- Villa Paloma
- Cathédrale Saint Nicolas
- Cimiez Arena and Archaeological Site
- MAMAC
- Musée d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporain
- Musée Masséna
- Musée des Arts Asiatiques
- Palais Lascaris
- Villa Arson
- Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild
- Fondation Maeght
- Musée National Fernand Léger
- Chapelle Matisse
- Musée des Coquillages
Because I know there are a lot of attractions and it can be daunting to choose whether are you interested in visiting them or not, I have segmented them by its different locations so you can see what things you can do in each town of the Cote D’ Azur:
| Destination | Attractions included in the French Riviera Pass |
|---|---|
| Nice | Cathédrale Saint Nicolas Cimiez Arena and Archaeological Site MAMAC Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Nice Musée Masséna Musée des Arts Asiatiques Palais Lascaris Villa Arson Football match at the Allianz Riviera Nice Le Grand Tour (hop on hop off bus) Les trains touristiques de Nice (hop on hop off bus) Segway Tour of Nice |
| Saint Jean Cap Ferrat | Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild Boat trip around Saint Jean Cap Ferrat Segway tour around Saint Jean Cap Ferrat Water sport rentals at Saint Jean Cap Ferrat |
| Antibes | Antibesland Musée Picasso Musée de la Castre Musée de la Mer Musée de la Parfumerie Fragonard Musée National Fernand Léger |
| Cagnes Sur Mer | Château Grimaldi Musée Renoir |
| Cannes | Le Suquet Musée de la Castre Musée de la Photographie Villa Domergue Villa Musée Calvet |
| Eze | Jardin exotique Parfumerie Fragonard |
| Grasse | Musée International de la Parfumerie Musée d’Art et d’Histoire de Provence Villa Musée Jean-Honoré Fragonard |
| Menton | Basilique Saint Michel Archange Chapelle des Pénitents Blancs Jardin Botanique Val Rahmeh Musée Jean Cocteau Collection Séverin Wunderman Musée des Beaux-Arts |
| Monaco | Chapelle de la Visitation Exotic Garden Musée d’Anthropologie Préhistorique Musée d’Automobiles de Collection Musée de la Chapelle de la Visitation Musée Océanographique de Monaco Musée des Timbres et des Monnaies Villa Paloma |
| Saint Paul de Vence | Fondation Maeght Musée National Fernand Léger |
| Vence | Chapelle Matisse |
| Villefranche Sur Mer | Musée des Coquillages |
Is the French Riviera Pass worth it?
As a rule of thumb, the French Riviera pass is only worth it if you visit more than two paid attractions per day. If you only visit two, you can break even the cost of the pass or even lose some money.
Because of this, I wouldn’t recommend the pass if you are traveling during summer and want to explore all the beaches of the region since you will spend half of your day at the beach and won’t have time to visit more than one attraction after that. Otherwise, it can be a great value for your money if you are traveling during cooler months.
The pass is also not worth it if you are traveling with kids since, in most of the museums,they will get a discounted rate while the French Riviera pass costs the same for everybody, no matter the age.
With that said, I do think that the French Riviera pass is worth for those who are museum lovers and really enjoy visiting different cultural attractions, or those who want to do activities that are usually overpriced such as segway tours or even attending a match at the Allianz Riviera
Because whether or not you should buy the pass depends on your personal travel plans and interests, I have created some example itineraries where the pass is worth so you can make your own decision.
For the sake of simplicity, let’s pretend that for all of the itineraries, you will be basing yourself on Nice
3 day itinerary
Day 1:
- Start early in the morning and rent a bike at the Promenade Des Anglais and explore all the Promenade and the Old Town (€12 – included on the pass!)
- From the Old Town, ride to Castle Hill to get breathtaking views of the city (free)
- By now it should be noon, grab some lunch and go to your next stop: the Modern and Contemporary Art Museum also known as MAMAC (€10 – included on the pass!)
- From the Museum you can hop on a bus for a 25’ ride to Villefranche Sur Mer to enjoy a couple of hours at the beach.
Day 2:
- Take a train to Eze and explore the famous Jardin Exotique D’Eze (€12 – included on the pass!)
- After wandering around Eze and enjoying its incredible natural vibe, have a quick lunch and hop on the train again this time with direction to Monaco
- Visit the famous Monte Carlo Casino and the Old Town (free)
- After having lunch at the Old Town, walk straight to the Oceanographic Museum (€19 – included on the pass!)
Day 3:
- Take a train to Cannes and explore its Old Town and the Marché Forville, its famous Farmers Market. From Marché Forville, climb the Cannes Castle to get incredible views of the city.
- By now it should be noon, so grab a quick lunch around the Boulevard de la Croisette and head to the Port of Cannes.
- The idea is to spend the rest of your day enjoying the famous Sainte Marguerite island, which is an isolated island located just a few minutes by boat from Cannes. Be sure to have lunch before going because there aren’t many options, especially budget-friendly ones, once you arrive (€17 roundtrip – included on the pass!)
- Once you are back from the island make sure to window shop around Boulevard de la Croisette and take a picture at the Palais des Festivals that hosts the International Cannes Film Festival
READ MORE: If you are combining your visit to Cannes with the nearby town of Antibes check out some of the best restaurants in Antibes with a view on the water
Total cost of the itinerary
- Total cost of excursions: €70
- Total cost of a 3-day pass: €54
2 day itinerary
For this itinerary we will buy a one day pass but will play with its time restrictions to take advantage of it during 2 days.
Day 1:
- Start your morning at the Promenade Des Anglais and explore the Old Town with a free walking tour (free)
- After the tour, go up to the Castle Hills and enjoy the views from the top
- Have lunch around the Promenade and head to the train station for an afternoon visit to Eze.
- By now it should be around 14-15.00 pm, visit the Jardin Exotique D’Eze (€12 – included on the pass!) and wander around Eze town to catch the sunset from there.
Day 2:
- Take a train to Cannes and explore its Old Town and the Marché Forville, its famous Farmers Market. From Marché Forville, climb the Cannes Castle to get incredible views of the city.
- Before 15.00 pm (remember, you can use your pass for 24 straight hours from the first time you enter an activity) head to the Cannes port and redeem your roundtrip ticket to Saint Margaritte Island (€17 roundtrip – included on the pass!)
- Go back to Cannes with the last boat at 18.00 pm and explore the rest of the town.
Total cost of the itinerary
- Total cost of excursions: €29
- Total cost of a 1-day pass: €24
In conclusion
The French Riviera Pass is only worth it if you plan your itinerary in advance and make sure that you are only choosing to visit the attractions because you want to and not because they are included on the pass.
The French Riviera Pass will not be worth it if you are looking for a relaxed peace of travel, since you need to visit at least 2 attractions per day to make the most value out of it.
If you are planning a trip to the Cote D’ Azur and want to learn more about how to budget your trip, I recommend you to read our full guide about the cost of traveling to the South of France.
We also have several articles about the French Riviera that can help you plan your next holiday: