NZZ Reader Tour: Nice, Côte d’Azur – Opera, Art & Savoir-vivre Rigoletto in Monte-Carlo and the finest sides of the French Riviera

Day 1: Switzerland – Nice

Journey to Nice. Check-in at the famous Hotel Le Negresco. Welcome dinner at a carefully selected restaurant.

Day 2: Nice - Monte-Carlo & the opera "Rigoletto"

In the morning you will discover Nice on a guided tour. The elegant city on the Côte d’Azur delights with its magnificent architecture, the famous Promenade des Anglais, the lively old town and its unmistakable Mediterranean flair. You will then have time to explore on your own. Enjoy the free afternoon with a stroll by the sea, a visit to a café or a wander through the old town.

Before departing for Monte-Carlo, a stylish opera aperitif will set the mood for the musical highlight of the evening. You will then travel to the Principality of Monaco to attend the opera performance in the magnificent Opéra de Monte-Carlo. Opened in 1879, the opera house was designed by Charles Garnier, the architect of the Opéra Garnier in Paris, and is among the most beautiful theatre buildings in Europe.

Day 3: Excursion to St Paul-de-Vence

Today an excursion awaits you into the charming hinterland of the Côte d’Azur. First you will visit the famous Fondation Maeght, one of the most important private collections of modern and contemporary art in Europe. In the midst of a Mediterranean garden, you will encounter works by great artists such as Joan Miró, Marc Chagall, Alberto Giacometti and Georges Braque.

For lunch, an excellent restaurant in a magnificent setting awaits you, combining fine cuisine with a wonderful view over the charming Provençal landscape.

Afterwards, you will discover the artists’ village of Saint-Paul-de-Vence on a guided tour. With its medieval lanes, historic houses, small squares, galleries and studios, Saint-Paul is one of the most beautiful villages in France and has attracted numerous famous artists. Back in Nice, you will have time for a stroll along the Promenade des Anglais or for an individual dinner in the atmospheric old town.

Day 4: Nice – Switzerland

After breakfast, it is time to say goodbye to the Côte d’Azur. Aboard the comfortable Car Rouge coach, you will travel back to Switzerland with many wonderful memories of art, music and Mediterranean lifestyle.

Your tour escort

Margitta Rosales

Her first theatre tears were shed at the opera house in her home city of Wuppertal. It was there that Mimì’s last breath drifted across the orchestra and almost tore her heart apart, and there that her fascination with the drama of opera was ignited – one that has never let go of her since. Margitta Rosales completed her studies as a scholarship holder at the Sofia State Conservatoire and her Master’s at the Zurich University of the Arts. Since 2022 she has accompanied Car Rouge tours to major opera houses and concert halls. From Milan to Paris or Vienna, she shares her love of music and the incomparable experience of immersing oneself in the fascinating cosmos of a concert hall, the sound of voices and instruments that carry us away into other dimensions of time.