This week I wanted to share with you some more from our trip to France. It honestly feels like so long ago which is a little depressing to say the least, but writing about it seems to help with the travel depression and helps me come back to France, where the pastries were a daily occurrence and the rose was free flowing. It is really fun to write about travel too as it brings back the memories of the places we went, and more importantly all the delicious food that we tried!

So for this post I decided that I would write about some of my favourite foodie experiences on the French Riviera. We were only there for 3 nights, and 2 full days, and we tried to cover a lot of ground in that time. As a result, we probably didn’t spent enough time out of the car and exploring, so we didn’t get to have as many foodie experiences as I would have hoped for. But we did see some amazing scenery so it was all worthwhile! But if you are reading this blog and you’ve been to the French Riviera before, you are probably thinking “Ella, why on earth did [place A] not make the cut? It is the best [insert French food] there is!”. I hear you, truly I do, but I’ve realised I definitely need to go back and see even more of this beautiful area of France next time, hopefully with a bit more time spent in one place!

We stayed in Nice as a base and did day trips out from there on our two days that we spent on the French Riviera, and so many of my foodie experiences ended up being in Nice. I absolutely loved it there, but I have to say pretty much everywhere we visited was amazing, you really can’t go wrong! From Nice on the first day we went to St Paul de Vence, Menton and Monaco. We absolutely loved Monaco for its scenery, but we didn’t end up eating there. Next time my partner wants to stay there because he loved it so much! The following day we drove all the way to St Tropez, which was beautiful when we got there, but took most of the day to get there and back, meaning we wasted a lot of time in the car. I don’t think I’d recommend this as a day trip for anyone else unless you have more time in the area to explore everything. There is so much to do and as always too little time to see it in!

So below are my top 5 foodie experiences on the French Riviera in no particular order (they were all so good it would be impossible to rank them!):

Tarte Tropezienne

We had our first Tarte Tropezienne in St Tropez, of course, and I say our first because we loved it so much we wanted to keep eating it! I read about this delicious dessert on a few blogs before I went, and didn’t think I would get to try it because we missed St Tropez on our trip from Provence to Nice, and I thought it would be too far a drive to go from Nice (it was about 2 hours). But my partner really wanted to go, so we decided to drive there on our second day. In hindsight had we known it would mean we spent most of the day in the car, we probably wouldn’t have done it. But I am glad we did firstly because St Tropez was an awesome place to visit, and secondly because we got to try the famous Tarte Tropezienne.

Tarte Tropezienne is a name which kind of fools you a bit because it isn’t a traditional tart in the slightest. The name was given to this pastry by Bridget Bardot, who is basically royalty in St Tropez (seriously, we had lunch at a crepe store that had a huge picture of Bridgette Bardot walking on the road outside their creperie…she wasn’t even eating there). She named the pastry Tarte Tropezienne and I guess it stuck because you can find this delectable treat everywhere across St Tropez. The original and main place you can find this treat is La Tropezienne, which you will find across the French Riviera (including Nice Airport where we had our second one).

This pastry is more of a cake than a tart, and consists of two brioche thick cakes with a cream in the middle and pearl sugar on the top. We just had a slice because the real deal is absolutely massive, but you can get a petite version if you want. I’m not usually a huge fan of creamy cake, but I decided to give this a shot in the name of the Food Blog (honestly the things I do for the blog). I couldn’t get over how light and fluffy the cake was, and how easily it came apart with a fork. It was all too easy to eat, and despite all the cream in the middle, it really wasn’t that rich. I was in absolute love, as was my partner, and it was in that moment that we really wished we hadn’t bought one piece to share! Luckily we got a second try at the airport, and it was just as good!

There was something though about having it in St Tropez. We grabbed it at the markets that we stumbled across when we first got into town, and it was so special having a slice of this Tarte in amongst the bustle of the markets. I didn’t think I would really like St Tropez, but I was pleasantly surprised. The tiny laneways and beautiful shops along with its harbour filled with expensive yachts was such an experience, and one you’d only find on the French Rivieria. Team that with an amazing pastry, and you understand why St Tropez is so popular!

Bistrot d’Antoine

On our first night in Nice, I had booked a restaurant, but we unfortunately missed the booking because we were too busy exploring! We decided it would be great to climb Castle Hill, which I cannot recommend enough to you all if you go. You get the most amazing view of the city and the beach, plus there is a beautiful waterfall up there which is worth a look. Because it doesn’t get dark until so late in Europe in Summer, you have so much more time for exploring, and we didn’t want to waste daylight when we had limited time in this amazing city. I have to be completely honest with you too, after our big walk up the hill, we did decide to stop for a cheeky Rose before dinner which probably made us extra late, but sometimes you need to make sacrifices!

So we were a little stuck given that we now had no booking on a Friday night in Nice, so I grabbed out my list of restaurants that I’d researched before we came and took us to a couple. It took us a while to find one that we could get into, but eventually we came across Bistro d’Antoine, and I was so excited that we were able to get a table because I had starred it in my notes as one I really wanted to try. We were able to get a table outside which I would actually recommend highly because there are a lot of street performers in Nice and they definitely put on a show worth watching! There was also a great band playing in the street which added to the atmosphere.

What I first loved about this restaurant was that they didn’t have menus, just blackboards that they brought up to your table. They honestly had so much on the menu that I wanted to try, it was very difficult to make a decision! I really liked not having a physical English menu though as it made it feel more down to Earth. We also just asked our waiter to bring out a red wine he thought we’d like based on our tastes, and it was great! They really knew their wine there and thankfully it was really decently priced (I was worried that they might give us the most expensive option but they instead focused on what we would enjoy).

I ended up having a terrine for entree and for main I had a duck breast, and my partner had a carpaccio and slow cooked pork.  The food was absolutely incredible, and some of the best that I had of the whole trip in France (I preferred it to a Michelin star restaurant we went to). The terrine was absolutely delicious but the duck stole the show. I ate a lot of duck on our trip because when in France, right? This was definitely the best duck I had in France, and probably ever had. However, my partners slow cooked pork stole the show. The flavours were so complex and it was so Moorish – it was definitely the highlight of the meal, and I was kicking myself a bit because I was going to order it myself and changed at the last second! Oh well, there is always next time!

If you are looking for a restaurant to eat at in Nice, I would highly recommend this one. The service was great and the food was absolutely incredible.

Fenocchio Ice Cream

My next recommendation and somewhere I absolutely loved was Fenocchio ice cream. We hadn’t really had any ice cream before this point on the trip, which was very different to our Italy trip where we were having gelato daily. I had read up online about the food on the French Riviera and ice cream kept coming up, and along with it the name Fenocchio. There were definitely a few other main players in Nice, but Fenocchio came up so much I knew we had to try it, and so we sought it out on the first night just to make sure we did!

Fenocchio is in a little square and has a front counter so that you don’t need to go into the store itself – what a great idea! There are so many servers that the line isn’t really a line but many small ones, so you really don’t have to wait for long until you get your delicious ice cream in hand. There are so many flavours that you have to walk up and down the long counter 4 or 5 times just to get a handle on them, and it is almost impossible to decide! I had a really hard time picking because everything sounded amazing, and their selection put what we get in Australia to shame.

I ended up choosing two flavours that I knew I wouldn’t get anywhere else: Lavender and Calisson. Lavender is famous in Provence and was everywhere when we were driving through to Nice, so it was a no brainer to give the ice cream a try! Calisson are also a popular Provence candy that are almond and orange flavoured with royal icing on the top – definitely worth a try or a visit to one of the stores selling them for some great souvenirs! But I figured I would give these two flavours a go because they were something I wouldn’t get anywhere else, whilst my partner chose more traditional flavours of salted caramel and coconut.

I couldn’t believe how delicious this ice cream was! I was so surprised that the lavender could taste so good, being a herb I wouldn’t normally eat. Both ice creams were so delicious and perfectly creamy. I wanted to go back multiple times but there were so many places to try and only so much room in my stomach! I definitely think this was the best ice cream I had on the trip, and it rivaled some of the delicious gelato we enjoyed in Italy last year!

Ballanger

We went to Ballanger on our last day in France because I was determined to not leave France without having another crepe. We didn’t really have as many crepes as I would have liked: I really would have expected to be eating them every day for dessert, but sometimes other food gets in the way right? (Disclaimer: I am not that sad because we did have plenty of tasty desserts to make up for it). Regardless, I was a little worried that I would go to Greece having had only one crepe – can you imagine? They are one of my favourite things to eat in France – especially the Nutella kind, and so I made a point of getting us some crepes on our last day. In St Tropez we had some for lunch which was nice as I hadn’t had a savoury crepe in France before Brittany style and it was delicious (another nice meal that didn’t quite make the list this time around), but I was hankering for a sweet crepe, and when we saw Ballanger on the main shopping street of Nice, my partner suggested we headed over there for a bit of dessert before dinner. This is one of the many reasons why I love him – he gets me and loves sweets as much as I do, maybe even more.

You really can’t miss Ballanger. It is a bright pink store that looks like its straight out of a circus so it really catches your attention. We wandered in and were blown away by the choice. Each dish they had available was on display in this giant cabinet that made you instantly want one of everything. I loved the layout of the store, it was so fun and pumping with energy with all the bright colours. They had everything from crepes of every flavour to amazing waffle creations. I couldn’t get over the choice for the crepes, seriously some of the flavours I couldn’t have even imagined that I wanted. It took me so long to decide but I ended up going with the classic Nutella with a twist – banana and crushed spekulaas biscuits!

The fun thing about this store is that they make everything in front of you. Just like the tiny little creperies in Paris, you still get to watch as they make the crepes in front of you. They also made the waffles fresh in house, and popped all the toppings on as you waited. I loved watching the magic happen, and couldn’t wait to try my delicious crepe. It came out on a bright pink tray and once we managed to get a seat we dug into our delicious creations. My crepe was absolutely delicious, so full of flavour and cooked perfectly! Although my preference is to eat a crepe walking around, this definitely changed my mind about dine in creperies. It was so good, and a perfect last crepe of France. My partner got the waffle and that was also incredible, although much more filling than my crepe! It was covered in salted caramel sauce and cream, everything you could want in a delicious waffle, and not even expensive!

If you are tired from a long day of exploring and want a pick me up, look no further than Ballanger. It was so delicious, and I only wish I’d found it sooner so I could try more of their creations!

Rose all day

The last foodie experience from the French Riviera that was my favourite was not a location but an activity I took part in on many occasions. Rose sort of feels like it is the signature drink of the French Riviera, you can seriously find it everywhere. Being a massive fan of Rose, I found this to be the best discover ever. Provence is known for its Rose and you can see why because every single Rose I had was incredible. I wish there were more french Roses imported to Australia because honestly they are the best ones I’ve ever had, and some of the best were the small producers that you would never find outside of France. I guess I’ll just have to go back!

It seems like everywhere you go on the French Riviera, especially in the afternoon, everyone is sipping on Rose, and I was quick to partake in said activity. One of my favourite experiences in Nice was after climbing castle hill heading to Movida bar, which I’d read about, and getting a tiny table on the street side. We grabbed a bottle of Rose and sat people watching on the Promenade des Anglais as the sun started to set. It was so nice to be in the bustling bar right by the ocean, and the Rose went down all too easy!

I fully took advantage of all the opportunities to try different Roses, and it was so widely available it was basically like getting water. Unlike in Australia where the house or happy hour wines are usually red and white, on the French Riviera there was always an option for a discounted glass of decent Rose. The happy hours were the best where you could usually get a full glass of Rose for cheap – I got one on our last night for 2.5 euros which is unheard of in France!

The best part about sipping on Rose at one of the many bars on the French Riviera is the people watching, and soaking up the relaxed vibe. Pretty much everyone here is on holidays so it is a nice atmosphere to be a part of, and Rose makes it all the better!

So there you have it, my top 5 Foodie Experiences on the French Riviera. Although there are countless more, and we only scratched the surface, I hope this helps you if you decide to visit this magical place. There is so much to see and unfortunately limited time to see it in, and limited stomach space! But I know I’ll definitely be going back to explore more of the French Riviera ASAP. It was an amazing place, and I feel I could keep going and still see new things, and eat more delicious food!

Until next time, happy eating!

Ella xx