NZZ Reader Trip: Nice, Côte d’Azur – Opera, Art & Savoir-vivre Rigoletto in Monte Carlo and the loveliest 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. Afterwards, you will 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 at 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 theatres in Europe.

Day 3: Excursion to Saint-Paul-de-Vence

Today an excursion awaits you into the charming hinterland of the Côte d’Azur. You will first visit the famous Fondation Maeght, one of the most important private collections of modern and contemporary art in Europe. Set within 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 superb setting awaits you, combining fine cuisine with a wonderful view over the enchanting Provençal landscape.

Afterwards, a guided tour will take you around the artists’ village of Saint-Paul-de-Vence. 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 many famous artists. Back in Nice, you will have time for a walk 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 farewell to the Côte d’Azur. In your comfortable Car Rouge coach, you will travel back to Switzerland with many wonderful memories of art, music and the Mediterranean way of life.

Your host

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 nearly broke her heart, and there that her fascination with the drama of opera was kindled – one that has never let go of her since. Margitta Rosales studied on a scholarship at the Sofia State Conservatoire and completed her Master's at the Zurich University of the Arts. Since 2022, she has accompanied Car Rouge guests to major opera houses and concert halls. From Milan to Paris and 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 off into other dimensions of time.