Crystal-clear turquoise waters. An unlimited supply of locally bottled Rosé. A view of the setting sun against the backdrop of the Mediterranean and mega-yachts. French cuisine showcasing the freshest delicacies the sea can provide. Sun-kissed produce cooked with hints of honey and lavender from nearby Provence. A selection of 5-star hotels perched above seaside cliffs and several French villas and Chateaux with the finest amenities. This is all that awaits you if you choose to have your destination wedding in the French Riviera, also known as the Cote d’Azur. (or the Blue Coast)
We spent a week exploring this popular destination wedding location and tried to do as much research for you as possible to find the Best Venues for a Destination Wedding in the French Riviera. We’ve collected photos and video to give you the experience of being there, and we also gathered some important details for these venues that will help in your wedding planning. If you’re not entirely familiar with the area, then picture yourself all the way down on the Southern border of France, right next to Italy. It technically starts with Menton but you’d probably recognize Monaco first. From there, as you meander down the coast, you’ll encounter gems like St. Jean Cap Ferrat, the hilltop village of Eze, Nice (pronounced like Niece) and Antibes & Juan-les-Pins, reaching its end at the infamous city of Cannes.
The area, which is also referred to as the South of France, is much different from the other popular French destinations such as Paris and Burgundy. While Paris has its monochromatic pallet of Haussmann buildings and a wardrobe consisting primarily of black, gray and more black, the South embraces color. And why shouldn’t they, with about 300 days of sunshine, all of that Paris black would just be too hot. If summer heat isn’t your thing, look to the months of September and October which are just after the busy season and just before many of the resorts shutter their doors for the winter holidays.
While the following is certainly not a comprehensive list of wedding venues in the South of France, it does include many of the most popular. Unfortunately not all of the venues had reopened yet during our visit due to Covid-19. Hopefully this gives you a good idea of what’s possible for hosting your destination wedding in the South of France. If you’d like to work with an English-speaking photographer then contact us now! After viewing the images you’ll come across some information on how to get to this region from the US.
Villa Ephrussi
Web: https://www.villa-ephrussi.com/en/room-hire
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/villaephrussi
Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/ds5c39CMY6TXgPR99
Chateau Saint Georges
Web: https://chateausaintgeorges-grasse.com/weddings-and-receptions/
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/chateausaintgeorges
Google Map: https://g.page/chateausaintgeorges-grasse?share
Bastide du Roy
Web: https://en.bastide-du-roy.com/evenements-prives
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/bastideduroy
Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/7NSN1WB518s32oH29
Grand-Hotel du Cap-Ferrat
Web: https://www.fourseasons.com/capferrat/weddings/
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/fscapferrat
Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/9kzAjXP8bBJeeiX37
Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc
Web: https://www.oetkercollection.com/hotels/hotel-du-cap-eden-roc/meetings-events/wedding/
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/hotelducapedenroc
Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/fVE6EEX6mK3GShWA6
Sourced from: https://provencedays.
BY PLANE: Aix-en-Provence, Marseille, you should fly to Marseille Provence airport. For the Cote d’Azur/French Riviera you would fly into the Nice airport which has direct flights from New York, London and many European cities.
For Marseille, if you are coming from North America, depending on the airline you choose, you will change planes in either London, Paris, Frankfurt, Madrid, Amsterdam or almost any other European hub for the short flight on to Marseille (90 minutes from London, 1 hour from Paris). If you’re coming from the UK, you can fly direct from the main London airports and from some other cities around the UK in the summer months.
TGV train
France has an excellent fast train service called the TGV. In Provence there are TGV stations at Avignon, Aix-en-Provence and Marseille.Direct trains from Paris CDG airport get you to Avignon in 2 hours 40 minutes. Avignon and Aix-en-Provence’s TGV stations are modern creations out of town, with plenty of car rental firms on site. Make sure you rent a car from the TGV station and not the regular stations which are in town. There are shuttle services from the normal station to the TGV station.The French national rail service is called SNCF, and the TGV trains are a part of that. You can book tickets online at sncf.com and collect them at the station from a machine using your reference number (English language is an option on these machines). At smaller stations there are no machines and you need to retrieve your tickets from the ticket office, so you need to go during working hours. Tickets can be retrieved whenever you like, whether 3 months or 3 minutes ahead of your departure.
I like France, and the French Riviera in particular! There are so many beautiful venues there so it took 8 months for us to pick the one. Le Mas de la Rose and Bastide du Roy are gorgeous! We were choosing btw them, but have decided to opt for the latter one. French Riviera is a dreamy place to get married. I think everyone could find the venue there based on their budget. Can’t wait to marry my best friend there!