What is the best sandy beach in the south of France?

[comeonyoureds]

I’m headed there this summer and have factored in a lazy beach day to the itinerary. Any help welcome!

Where in France are you going? It's a big place!

I’ve just said the south of France! That’s Nice, Cannes, Antibes etc.

The South of France is massive and much much more than Nice, Cannes etc.. That is like asking for the best beach in the South of England and then saying "no no I mean the best beach in Thanet".

Do you mean the best beach in the Cote D'Azur?

Snippy answer! The south of France coastline is nearly 700 miles long!

Incredibly rude.

@auserna ’s question was perfectly valid. I’d recommend Plage de l'Espiguette but it’s about a 3 1/2 hour drive from Antibes.

She’s done you a favour by getting you to clarify your request.

So you don’t care if the beach recommended is a 3-hour drive from where you’re staying? Hardly meets my idea of a "lazy beach day", but up to you…

Or you could try being more specific and less rude.

It also depends if you have a car, want to pay for sunbeds, or if you want to swim in the sea (or happy just to look). You really need to give more details. We could tell you the beach near St Tropez is great but if you are staying in Nice don't have a car and can't afford the helicopter transfer then that's pretty pointless.

Lol.

Personal, i'd spend the morning in Cerbere, then a lazy relaxed walk across to Menton for the afternoon, lunch at Sete.

Have you tried Google? It's free. The beach at Nice is pebbles which you can verify in about 5 seconds.

@jasflowers I love the Cote Vermeille coastline and Sete has some awesome beaches.

Bit of a trek from Cannes tho!

I know a lovely beach in the south of France but it’s an 8 hour drive from Nice, close to the Spanish border. If you’d replied properly to the above question, people would have been able to give adequate recommendations.

“I’ve already said the south of France” makes you look silly and like you don’t know geography or can’t read maps at all.

Lots of the beaches are pebbles, or very coarse sand that’s quite uncomfortable to walk on. Google the best sandy beaches. I’m not sure where you’re staying but the Cote d’Azur is a long coastline and in summer traffic moves very slowly, so you need to be looking at beaches fairly local to where you are. The beaches around St Aygulf/Frejus are fine and sandy and some of them are lovely. I can’t stand pebbly beaches but it doesn’t stop the locals, the beach at Nice is always full of people lying on them in the sun.

Also check for jellyfish. The south of France is plagued with them in the summer so you can’t go in the water if they’re about.

Everyone knows the south of France means the French Riviera!

Sounds gorgeous!

I know a few after 10 days sailing there a few years ago

I love Villefranche-sur-mer. On the train line which runs across the whole of the southern coast. Close to Nice and popular with locals.

The best sandy beaches in the south of France aren't on the Côte d'Azur - they're further west. If you're staying in or near Nice I'd recommend Villefranche (pretty bay, lovely old town and good facilities), Beaulieu or Antibes. Cannes has better sand but is more swanky and less pretty.

Edit to add: it's easy to travel to any of these by coach or train from Nice.

Juan Les Pins has a beautiful sandy beach. Best enjoyed via one of the beach clubs in my opinion, but there are free bits. Otherwise Gigaro Plage or L'Escalet which is sandy but based in a rocky cove.

If you can afford it go to the French island of Corsica (especially South Corsica).

They have the best sandy beaches!

@comeonyouredsno they don’t know that you meant a tiny part of the south of France coast. You’re being ridiculous.

Even if that were true, which it isn’t, you’re still incredibly rude for someone asking strangers for help.

The French Riviera, by which I assume you mean the Cote d'Azure, stretches from Menton to St Tropez and is over 140km long, so we would still need to know more precisely which area you’re interested in. In summer it would probably take a couple of hours to drive from Menton to St Tropez. (I do know the area and the beaches very well, but as you’re so impolite I don’t choose to share my knowledge with you.)

😂

I thought Sete was fantastic, so all around there.

I can't recommend because I hate beaches with a passion. I enjoy walking along the Promenade des Anglais and similar, but beaches give me the horrors. I don't need to spell out the reasons do I? Think sand, sardine packed, heat, lack of loos, kids, and especially in the S of F (but everywhere now), dogs kicking sand in everything and shitting everywhere. Oh I could go on, am having a difficult morning very sorry.

But the beach at Beaulieu s Mer, Gravette Antibes, Villefranche look ok to me (from afar) ha ha.