French Riviera Vanlife: From Saint-Tropez to Monaco

French Riviera Vanlife: From Saint-Tropez to Monaco

Hi, we’re Richard and Jackie from Early Retirement Wonderlust and we are just about coming to the end of our six-w week VW camper van road trip around the southeast of France. And for the next week, we will be exploring the coat. We’re really excited. It’s very glitzy and very glamorous, very unlike us, but we are really looking forward to it. [Music] If you’ve seen any of our previous videos, you’ll know that we’ve had quite an adventure out in France. We started off in the Alps. We traveled down through Provence and we’re now on the coat deser for the day. But we’re actually based in Port Grimmode. Not a place I’d ever actually heard of before. I just found it because there was an AXI campsite, which is an absolutely fantastic campsite. But it’s quite a good base to explore and we can get the bikes out. There’s lots of um cycle ways around. So, we’re really having a good time at the moment. It’s very fancy dancy, but we cannot wait to see what Sanrope is going to be like. [Music] It’s taken quite a while this year to find a place that doesn’t have bone chillingly cold sea and we finally in September found it the med at 10 6 on an evening is absolutely beautiful. Well, we did have preconceptions that we didn’t know whether we would like Sanrope. We thought it might be a little bit too glitzy and glamorous for us. But when we got there, it was absolutely fantastic. What a pretty little town. Never let it be said that there is nowhere that is too glamorous for us now that we fitted into Sanrope. It was beautiful. It definitely didn’t have a city feel. It had a a small town feel and actually for many aspects it was just like any other small port that you would visit anywhere else in the world. It really reminded me of St. Martin on the IL. It just had a really nice feel to it. Of course, there were the very glitzy and glamorous uh huge yachts. Some I think we might just about be able to afford the life raft boat that goes inside the um yacht, but yeah, they were enormous. I’ve never seen private boats quite like it. And when they were docking, you know, each of these boats had like a crew of 10 people just waiting on these people hand and foot. It was quite incredible. I might be a bit of a country boy, but I have never seen wealth quite like that. But we didn’t feel out of place. No, there was a real mixture. Some of the restaurants looked very up market and really not up our street cuz I don’t like fish anyway. Uh but we found somewhere to have lunch with a nice sandwich overlooking the harbor. It wasn’t too overly expensive. We had a couple of beers. Did choke a little bit at that. I think it cost me €7 for a small left, but it was lovely just sitting and watching the world go by. And take it from us, we searched the entire town. There were no cheap beers in the town. There was loads of artists on the dock front and that was beautiful. And there were little bits of art all over the place. We were a little bit disappointed that we didn’t really find a beach, did we? No. Bridget and I up the beach where apparently Bridget Bardau made Sanrope famous and they were actually filming on there, so we couldn’t go onto the beach and explore it really. And it wasn’t much of a swimming beach anyway. There was lots of really interesting little back streets that you could walk down and they were absolutely beautiful and they were full of little beautiful shops and cafes and restaurants. There was a real buzz about them. So, we would thoroughly recommend a visit to San Trae. The way we did it felt really good because we weren’t under any pressure in terms of traffic or having to look after the bikes. We got the ferry and it worked really, really well. And I was saying to someone on the campsite last night, it was probably the best €30 between us that we’d spent just in terms of having peace of mind and immediate access to Sanre. Yeah. And the other thing that always amazes us when we’re on our travels, particularly in Europe, is that we occasionally bump into subscribers and we met two lovely people yesterday. So, hi Craig and Anna and thank you for watching the channel. We spent a good half hour chatting and gossiping because they actually live quite close to us up in Dales. So, yeah, really good day all around, I think. and rounded off with nothing better than an evening dip in the Mediterranean. I almost felt I’d got the place to myself. Jackie went in once and we forgot the camera and I went in again. All in the name of art and content creation, but Jackie won getting wet again. So, I had a lovely swim on my own. So, today we’re going to get out on the bikes and we’re going to explore the port town of Grammode. It looks absolutely stunning. We had a bit of a walk through there yesterday to get our ferry. There again are lots of little side streets and lots of little canals. It was almost reminded of us a Venice when we went yesterday. So, I’m looking forward to that. [Music] So, we’ve come for a bike ride in Port Grimode and it’s absolutely stunning. There’s loads of little waterways and because we’re on our bikes, we can sort of explore all of them. And it is such a quaint little place. It seems uber rich. It does. The cars that are parked in front of these little properties are like mega cars and they’ve all got obviously mega boats in their own backyard. So, it’s I think playground for the rich, but it’s so peaceful and it is very sort of Venice like a little bit sort of American and Fidian really. Yeah, if we’d wanted we could have actually kept cycling to Sanrope, but we went there yesterday, so you’ll have already seen what we got up to. And I think we’re going to go back towards where the campsite is and go further around the coast cuz it’s just so easy with the cycle paths. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] We’ve really enjoyed our last few days here. The uh campsite is amazing. It’s got direct access to the beach. So, we’ve actually spent the last three days just chilling out on the beach, apart from the little exploration that we had into Port Grimmode. The beach side has got a restaurant there, so if you wanted to get nice cool drinks, you could. There’s a campsite shop that we’ve been to and just collected a nice cold bottle of water on the way. The Mediterranean, how good is that? We’re normally swimming in the Atlantic which is absolutely freezing. So, we’ve spent a lot of time in the sea. So, we are currently at camping de la Grammode and we had a bit of a mess up really because we thought it was on the axis system and then when we arrived it wasn’t on the axis system. So, we are paying a little bit more than we are used to. All in, it’s about €4 a night, but we think that we’ve got much, much more value for that. Um, it feels a much more polished campsite, and what we’re going to do now is just take you around and show you a few bits and bobs that probably justify that a little bit extra to what we’ve been used to paying. The campsite’s actually set in the grounds of a chateau. And as you can see behind, it is absolutely beautiful. In front of me is some vineyards, and they actually produce their own wine. So, the rosé we’ve been drinking for the last week is actually made right here. Life doesn’t get any better when you arrive at a campsite and it’s got a deer enclosure. How gorgeous are they? They are so sweet and they’re really friendly. If you come down and visit them, they will come to the fence and sort of poke their noses out to you. And then even better, it’s also got six or seven really grumpy goats that I’ll go and show you. As you can see, the deer were really friendly and came to say hello. The goats really are grumpy. Yesterday when we came they were all just headbutting each other and fighting. Campsite is literally split into two halves by the main road. We couldn’t get on the seaside part of the campsite because it’s so popular and it does feel really quite cramped down there. But then we are at the other side of the road where we’re in sort of parkland of the chatau really and it’s really well spread out. The pictures are well allocated. They’re nice and large. They’ve all got electric hookup. These are probably some of the best shower blocks that we’ve ever been to on a campsite. And just look how gorgeous they look from the outside as well. It’s one of many shower blocks on this side of the road. Shower blocks apparently on the other side are a little bit more dated. So again, I think we’re on a winner at this side. I think that leads to time for Richard’s rate my shower. [Music] Welcome to camping delage grimode on the coat dessert. Large and spacious shower facilities for each sex in multiple large shower blocks on site. Clean facilities lined out with stylish and minimalist shower boards. Ample contemporary hooks with a matching brushed steel towel rail. A shelf stroke seat area to aid with storage and a lovely matching wet side shelf. Thermore regulated push button showers with good duration flow and ample hot water. Overall strengths space hooks and the number of showers on site. Area to develop the temperature of the room which was unheated and open to the elements. An overall score of 46 out of 50 for camping deloplage in Grimode. It is a really busy road that separates the two parts of the campsite, but there is a tunnel to go underneath, which is really handy. I would say if you do come and stay here to try and not get the pictures that are backing onto the road because it’s busy and it’s busy right through till sort of 1:00 in the morning and from 6:00 in the morning. We were right at the far end of the other side of the road. We didn’t particularly hear much at all. It was pretty good. [Music] This is actually the perfect remedy and what a remedy it is to quite a stressful day yesterday. We started heading further east along the coat desour and we started hitting the big cities and we really really struggled to find a half decent campsite. The first one we went to was full and it was surrounded by blocks of flats which was just not our bag at all. Then we went to one that looked sort of derelictked and wasn’t really open. We then went into the middle of nowhere to find an axi site that was also full. But then eventually we found this up in the mountains, an absolutely stunning campsite. So we’re here for two days to just slow down. And the gods were definitely with us because it absolutely hammered it down across the coat dur last night. There was floods in Tulon and all over the place. So, we are really, really lucky to be here. And we’re just going to spend our time lazing by the pool. [Music] As Richard said yesterday when he was in the pool, we found it really hard to find somewhere to stay around here. We wanted to be within shooting distance of getting into both Can Monaco and Nice. We tried a few campsites and eventually we ended up here and we’re at a place called Camping Lake Pined. I think that’s how you pronounce it and we’re in a village or just outside a village called Coloop. And actually it was a bit of a gem of a find. The village is absolutely beautiful. It’s a bit of a walk along a relatively main road from the campsite, but we obviously hit the village on a Monday, so most things were closed, but it was very, very beautiful and very peaceful. But yeah, as Jackie says, the campsite’s an absolute gem and a bit of a bargain, and it’s felt a really nice windown from the sort of frenetic nature of being down on the coast. So, we paid €21 per night, and we really feel like we got a bargain for that. It’s got the most amazing pool, as you saw Richard in yesterday. There’s a bit of a jacuzzi area and a spa area. It’s got no children at the moment because we’re out of season, so it came to life with all our silver surfers last night, and it’s lovely. There’s a bar area here which had pretty reasonably priced drinks and the facilities were really good which I think means we can go to Richard’s right by shower. [Music] Welcome to Camping Pendes in Lulu. A large and clean shower facility with an odd color scheme and a tiling design from the mid80s. Effective slot drainage from a sloping shower floor. Hooks are a simple affair, but present a highlevel towel rail. A simple seating stroke shelf area. A traditional shower head arrangement that takes some getting used to, but remains invigorating. Overall strengths, hot water, and the number of showers areas to develop, the shower head, and the color clash decor. So an overall score of 40 out of 50 for camping pined in LaLoo. I’m not really sure what’s going on with the campsites in the south of France, but pretty much every campsite we’ve stayed at for the last four sites has either had goats, donkeys, or deer, which is lovely. So here there’s Mirabel and Basil. So we have been and had a bit of a love with them. It’s great entertainment, not actually watching the animals, but watching Jackie with the animals and wondering where Jackie’s wandered off to in the middle of the day to obviously harass the animals. But today, we’re moving on and we are coming into our last part of the trip and we’re trying to be quite strategic. We are heading as far along the coast eastwards as we can before we hit Italy. And we are going to hopefully, well, we are definitely, we’ve made a booking, which is very much unlike us. We made a booking at Menon campsite and we’re going to be there for three days. [Music] Yeah. [Music] Well, we have made it to Menon, but oh my goodness me, it’s been a pretty hectic journey to get here. Yeah, I wouldn’t say hectic. I think it’s more It was terrifying at times. You know me from the channel. I love my mountain driving and I’m quite accustomed to twiddly roads, but these were something else. When you’re dropping down into these coastal villages, it is so so tight. And we naively, I think, thought that we could get to some viewpoints in the van and it was a bit of a squeeze. Yeah, we wanted to go to uh just above Franch because we’d seen that you could have a really nice photo opportunity from there. We thought we were going to avoid Nice. We didn’t expect to go anywhere near the town center, but we were taken on a diversion. We literally went right through the center of Nice. It took us about an hour and a half to do maybe not even 10 km. We did get the really nice photo from the viewpoint, so we’ll have to put it in. But I think we will get the trains from now on because we have heard the train is much easier to get up and down the coast. And Menon is absolutely beautiful. It is stunning. We went for a walk earlier down into the town. There is a great big church tower set on a hill. the color of the buildings, the color of the sea, the architecture. It’s very French Italian mix and the border is literally just over there, the Italian border. So, it’s got a bit of both cultures and it’s absolutely beautiful and it’s going to be a great base for us. But, ironically, as Jackie said, tomorrow we are going on a big day out. Yep. Tomorrow, we’ve got big plans. We have sused out where the train station is and we are going to get the train along to Nice and then hopefully get off at a couple of stops on the way back, including Monaco. So, no driving at all tomorrow. Good stuff. Morning. It’s a big day out for us. We are staying in the town called Menon at the moment, which is right on the Italian border, and we’ve got a big day out. We’re going to Nice on the train. Now, we’ve bought a ticket that’s €25 and it means we can get off at any station in between as well. So, we’re going to go to Monaco and we’re going to go to Vil Franch because they both look absolutely beautiful. And who doesn’t want to go to Monaco when you’re around here? Not sure what we’re going to be able to afford. Might just about be able to buy a beer, but we’re looking forward to a really nice big day out. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] How posh is this? [Music] Welcome to Monaco and welcome to Monte Carlo. So Rich, which boat do you fancy from behind us? Well, Monte Carlo is known for its wealth, but we’ve managed to visit on the only three days a year where it is the Monte Carlo boat show. So, we fit right in. To be honest, we’re dressed for the occasion. We’ve had so many offers to go in for corporate hospitality, but I think I’m just struggling to uh nail down a deckand job on one of these boats. I really want the boat that’s behind us. It’s got a plunge pool and a swimming pool on it. What I really like is that they are pretty spotless and I would love to get on one of these boats and do a rate my shower because I reckon they’ve got no problems with hookage. [Music] Cheers. We’ve bankrupted our daily budget so that we could have a drink in Monte Carlo. [Music] We really do hope that the images that we captured yesterday on our big day out show what a big day out it was because it was just wonderful and the trains worked really, really well. They did. We walked from the campsite down to the station in Menon. The train took about an hour to get to Nice. It was a beautiful journey. We went along the coast. Didn’t see much of Monaco on the train though cuz it’s all in a tunnel underneath Monaco. Nice was just wonderful though. We were quite surprised. I don’t really know what we were expecting, but it’s absolutely massive. It’s like a fullblown city right on the beach. And it’s got the most wonderful Victorian architecture that is really, really wellkept. And the wander down the prominard was just amazing. The thing that really struck me was the color of the sea. As you looked out, it probably had about five or six different tones of blue. I’ve loved trying to capture that in photography. And I think I did capture some really great images, but they won’t do it justice. It was absolutely stunning. But a beautiful, very, very swanky city. Loads of places to stop and eat and loads of things to see and do. We had like a really nice meal out. We had a couple of beers and then we we sort of set ourselves up to eat in each location, haven’t we? So, we moved on. We did. Next stop was V Franch. So, we actually got the photo from the top when we actually got to the viewpoint through all that traffic. And then we had a cup of coffee down in the valley of Field Franch. It’s a really pretty village. There was some really strange um walkway that you went through that was apparently a mid16th century. It was almost like going through um I don’t know a medieval courtyard but undercover. It was it was interesting. It was like going contrasting two things. So you got the the enormity of Nice and then this quaint little fishing village that was very pastel shaded, nice little beach area and obviously a station. So it was just so so accessible from the train. Yeah, it is a place that I’d like to go back to though. But yeah, then we moved on and we finished at our final destination of Monaco, which we did talk a little bit when we were actually in Monaco from the yacht show that we didn’t know was on. Uh very interesting place. It felt a little bit weird in the fact that it was almost like we were dropping into another universe that really we didn’t feel like we belonged to. And there was nothing sort of particular about that, but it was just a really really strange uber rich environment. Um, really enjoyed going up and having a look at the casino. And we actually got in, even though we were in shorts and t-shirts, you couldn’t actually go into the casino bit uh because you had to have your passport with you and you had to pay €20 to get in. And I’ve actually never been to a casino. I’ve never been inside one. So I think if we’d had our passports, I maybe would have been tempted to go in, but we didn’t. Um, so the casino and the hotel opposite it was just very fancy dancy and glitzy. Definitely definitely made us feel a little bit out of place the way we were dressed. And if you’re into your supercars, there were lots of people that were car spotting there. I haven’t got a clue um about supercars really, but it was all very impressive and uh like we say, very swanky. Um, very busy. And for me, probably one of the oddest things in terms of architecture was that you’d got these beautiful old stylized buildings. And then to be quite honest, you’d got some on the opposite end of the spectrum, these huge gray concrete constructions that didn’t really fit in. So it was a really strange mix of a city. I had got it into my head that one thing I wanted to do was hire that to have a beer or an apperal spritz in Monaco. And I did expect that it was going to cost us an arm and a leg and actually probably a second mortgage. But we did find a really nice little bar where we could watch the world go by and it did cost us €18. But I thought that was a really good €18 to spend. It wasn’t too bad. So despite our preconceptions, we I think we went in thinking that we weren’t going to like Monaco, but actually it was really fun. It was really fun for a day to visit and just see probably how the other half live. And I’m glad that we did it. Yeah, I am. I don’t think we’d go again. We’ve been there, done that. Can’t get better than turning up for the yacht show, I don’t think. So, yeah. So, today it’s going to be a day of slowing down. We want to explore a little bit more of Menon. We want to get down to the beach. It’s probably going to be our last beach day of 2025. If I can’t see, we’re going to squeeze another one in because after that we are heading north and heading home. So, we’ll see how we get on today. [Music] We’re in Menon and it’s time for a dad fact because one of the things Menon is famous for in terms of the world of sport is it is the resting place of William Webb Ellis, the founder of rugby as a game. William as a young boy at rugby school picked up the ball and ran with it and he’s buried here. We’re absolutely mortified because he’s buried right at a sort of citadel right at the top of the town and it’s locked. So, we can’t actually visit his grave, but we can visit the memorial that Rugby School put up to him. [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music]

As our 6 week campervan road trip comes to an end, join us on an unforgettable adventure along the French Riviera, as we journey from the glitz of Saint-Tropez to the glamour of Monaco! This stretch of the Côte d’Azur is one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world — full of turquoise waters, pastel seaside towns, and that unmistakable Mediterranean charm.

In this episode, we explore:
✅ The golden beaches and lively streets of Saint-Tropez
✅ The stunning promenade of Nice
✅ The luxury of Monaco’s old town
✅ The stunning historic town of Menton

Whether you’re dreaming of your own French Riviera road trip, curious about vanlife in France, or just love stunning travel cinematography, this video will take you there.

We are Richard and Jackie and we live in the UK. We retired from teaching at the age of 51 in the summer of 2022. Our plans for early requirement include relocating to the Yorkshire Dales, developing our forever home and travelling the UK, Europe and eventually the world in our VW campervan Nelson.

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Many thanks,

Richard & Jackie