The south coast of France along the sunny Mediterranean Sea is one of the world's most beautiful destinations, dotted with colorful seaside towns and inland villages perfect for discovering on foot. Artists, movie stars, jet-setters, backpackers, billionaires and millions of ordinary tourists are drawn here by the sweet appeal of this paradise-by-the-sea.

Nestled in southeastern Provence, this 50-mile stretch of Mediterranean coast is called the Cote d'Azur by Europeans, or the French Riviera by Americans. It can be easily visited without the hassles of driving a rented car, thanks to the excellent network of trains and public buses that connect all the main places. Compact town centers offer ideal walking conditions for viewing many fine sights. If time permits, you could happily spend a week or two by simply slowing down the pace, but three days can still provide a very satisfying visit.

The most popular season is summertime when the beaches are packed with sun-worshipping nubile bods, but we suggest you visit during the off-season instead to avoid the crowds and enjoy the cooler weather. Europeans crave that brief summer sunshine -- so work around their schedule and come between November and April when the weather is still wonderful with daytime temperatures in the 50-60s, no crowds in sight, and cheaper hotel and airline prices. Winter temperatures dip into the 40s at night, so you do have to bundle up some, but this is not a freezing, bitter cold. During summer the towns throughout this region will be very crowded, creating an entirely different experience that we do not recommend.

DAY ONE: NICE

This largest city along the Cote d'Azur makes an ideal home-base for seeing all the sights: it is one of the most beautiful places; offers a large number of hotels and restaurants in all ranges; and is centrally located with excellent rail and bus services. Easy to reach from Paris, you can take either the direct, high-speed TGV train in 5 1/2 hours or fly for as little as $70 and arrive from one of the 90 other locations offering direct air service to France’s second-busiest airport.

Nice is divided into numerous neighborhoods, but the visitor can focus on four main areas on this first day: the beachfront, Old Town, modern shopping district and main hotel section. The most famous image of Nice is the broad, ocean-front boulevard, Promenade des Anglais, framed with the blue Mediterranean along one side and a long row of elegant hotels on the other.

Begin your first day with a walk along that palm-fringed, waterfront promenade, passing some of the deluxe hotels, including the Negresco, the supreme, 5-star deluxe landmark. There are also moderately-priced lodgings, about 100 good choices, in the main hotel section between the beach and the train station, an area about 20 blocks along the shore and 10 blocks inland, with Boulevard Victor Hugo running through the center.

SHOPPING

Next, explore Nice’s main commercial street, Avenue Jean Medecin, stretching 12 blocks from Place Massena north to the train station, packed with many busy boutiques and anchored at the lower end by the large department store, Galleries Lafayette. On the west side are several nice pedestrian streets for shopping and eating: Rue Massena and the more upscale Rue Paradis, with luxury shops like Cartier, Armani, Louis Vuitton and Hermes. What do you desire? Shoes, scarves, designer clothes, olive oil, wine, cheese, records, guide books, perfumes, soaps, lotions, kitchen utensils, local foods and all the usual souvenirs are here. Boulevard Victor Hugo is a main road with many affordable hotels. You should be able to find anything you need in this central zone, but shopping in the Old Town is more fun.

OLD TOWN

The Old Town of Nice has a special charm you do not find in the rest of the city, so focus some time in this fascinating pedestrian zone on the east end of the waterfront between Quai des Etats-Unis and Boulevard Jean Jaures. Called the "Vieux Nice," the Old Town is home to art galleries, little shops, small restaurants, bars and cafes, making it the perfect spot for strolling. In the off-season the character of Vieux Nice is quite peaceful with not many people and no cars, but in the summer it gets very crowded.

A morning street market in the wide Cours Saleya plaza features fresh produce and flowers daily, except Monday when you’ll see antiques and other used goods peddled by colorful vendors. In this plaza surrounded by inviting cafes, chocolate-lovers should look for Maison Auer in its landmark Belle Époque building at the west end. This chocolatier has thrived since 1820, offering excellent selection and quality with prices up to $250 for a large box. (Also on-line at http://www.maison-auer.com.)

Just inland, the Old Town maze of narrow lanes occupies a triangular slice about 300 yards long on each side. Walk in from Cours Saleya along one of the main lanes, Rue Droite, lined with cute shops and galleries. Look for the lovely little intersection where the main lanes of Rue Centrale and Rue de la Boucherie come together, and sit at the café sipping an espresso while the town passes through this heart of the Old Town. Each city has certain focal points where the action happens, and this corner, fittingly called Place Centrale, is a good example. Walk along Rue de la Boucherie to find the other great focal point, Place de Palais, which retains an Italian feeling that once permeated the town. Nice, part of Italy until it was joined to France in 1860, still displays a strong cultural blend in features such as its unique language, le Niçois or Nissart, a hybrid of French and Italian which cannot be understood by anyone outside of Provence.

You might have a brief look at the Old Town this first morning, but be sure to come in the early evening when it is most alive. It is small enough you can explore by simply wandering, using the main lanes as jump-off points of reference. Some shops close in the afternoon for siesta, following the traditional custom of southern Europe, so it is not good to stroll here at 2 or 3 o'clock; but they will re-open by 3 or 4 and stay open until 9pm or even later. The colors at twilight are especially beautiful, with the many shop lights mixing with the lingering daylight and backed by the evening sky saturated in dark blue and orange.

Continue your explorations of Nice this first afternoon, perhaps visiting one or two of the town’s fine museums, if you are an art fan. There's a wonderful Matisse Museum in a park slightly away from the center of town, which you can reach by public bus or taxi. Matisse lived in the city of Nice for many years and created some of his finest paintings here. Just next to the museum, they're playing petanque, or boule. The idea is to get your ball near the little red ball and to knock the other balls as far away as possible. It is the national sport of France, especially here in the south of France.

Next to the Matisse Museum are some major Roman ruins: a small amphitheater, housing foundations, and a small Archaeology Museum that remind us the Romans had a major presence here 2,000 years ago. Several other Nice museums will compete for your attention: the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Asian Arts Museum, Fine Arts Museum, Museum of Natural History, and the Chagall Museum with the world’s largest collection of the artist’s works.

When it comes time for dinner, there are hundreds of choices ranging from cheap pizza up to Michel 2-star perfection at Le Chantecler in the Hotel Negresco, a truly memorable experience. In-between you can find many wonderful restaurants specializing in Provençal regional cuisine, featuring local seafoods, fresh vegetables and elaborate salads, with influences from Italy, France, Spain and northern Africa.

MONACO

Boasting the highest per-capita income, Monaco is the world's richest and most-densely populated country, second-smallest, after the Vatican, just under one square mile, half the size of New York’s Central Park. There are only 30,000 residents and they don't pay any income taxes, which is why most of them live here. It is a sovereign country with full membership in the United Nations. The head of government is appointed by the monarch from a list of candidates provided by France. So ultimately, France has significant control over the government, but the monarchy runs the economy. Monaco has done a magnificent job with all its money, building wonderful structures and creating an extremely well-planned community.

If coming by train, you will arrive in one of the cleanest train stations in Europe, carved into the rocks deep underground with a small mountain overhead. Choose your way out of the station carefully, depending on where you want to go first, for there are three exits that lead to each of the town’s three main destinations: train-level exit marked “Condamine” for the harbor, “Fontvieille” leading to the palace, or the upper exit for the casino.

Take the harbor exit from the train station for a wonderful first impression of Monaco, with its exclusive marina filled with opulent yachts and circled by fancy shops and cafes. La Condamine is the adjacent shopping zone with several pedestrian lanes including Rue Princesse Caroline. You can visit inside the palace, museum, cathedral and aquarium, perched on the cliff above in the oldest part of town with a medieval labyrinth of pretty shopping lanes and plazas.

For most visitors, the main highlight is the famous Monte Carlo casino, designed in the belle époque style by Charles Garnier, architect of the Paris Opera. To look inside you have to pay $15, plus another $25 to enter into the roulette area -- but the magnificent front lobby is free. Next door is the Hotel du Paris, one of the world's most deluxe 5-star hotels that is so exclusive you are not even allowed inside unless you are a guest. That would be a great place to end your three days on the Riviera, complete with dinner at their 2-star Louis XV restaurant run by Alain Ducasse, perhaps the world’s most famous chef.