A few places we love
If you want to make a trip out of it, here are our favorite spots to explore on the way:
Paris
Stay at Hôtel Costes for that seductive Paris energy — dimly lit red rooms, velvet sofas, and martinis that turn into trouble. Or go full indulgence at Le Meurice, overlooking the Tuileries Gardens. Our personal favorite: the Boudoir Room at Soho House with a smoky mirrored bathroom the size of our apartment. Watching Ratatouille from that clawfoot tub with a bottle of wine might’ve been the best night of our lives. There’s nothing like getting drunk in Paris while a cartoon rat teaches you to believe in yourself.
For a dinner you’ll never forget, book a private salon complete with your own butler at Lapérouse — an 18th-century gem where Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin first met. Le Renommée is one of the hardest tables in Paris, but that’s part of the thrill — once a neighborhood grocery store, it still glows with wood paneling, candlelight, and quiet temptation. Order the off-menu burger and let the martinis do their work. Lafayette’s is the move for something sharper and more polished — a little fancy, but in the best way. Le Voltaire is pure, old-school Paris — tiny, elegant, and always buzzing. Definitely hit Ferdi for the best cheeseburger in town, Chez l’Ami Louis for a true Parisian institution, and Chez Janou in Le Marais for long lunches, vintage browsing, and an insane chocolate mousse. Chez Alain Miam Miam, also in Le Marais, is a must for messy, perfect sandwiches that taste best eaten on the sidewalk. Before leaving Paris, make sure to get a crêpe at Breizh Café — butter and sugar is Sophie’s favorite and Tyler loves the ham, egg and cheese galette.
Nice
Nice used to be more of a stopover port town — but it’s been having a resurgence: creative energy, great food, and that slow, coastal rhythm everyone’s chasing.
Stay at Hôtel du Couvent, a 17th-century convent tucked inside the old town. Behind quiet stone walls are gardens, Roman-style baths, and sunlight filtering through lemon trees — calm and close to everything.
Marseille - rough edges, big heart (50 min drive)
Marseille is raw and alive — cliffs, markets, noise, and light. It’s the kind of city that doesn’t care to impress you.
Stay at Tuba Club, the coolest cliffside hideout that feels part design hotel, part secret surf shack. Just a handful of rooms, fresh seafood, and steps straight into the sea.
Make sure to book far in advance. It’s the kind of place you only find once — and then spend the rest of summer thinking about.
Grab a glass at Inverse, our favorite little wine bar in town and if you’ve got time, take a tener out to Île de Gaby for a swim and a long lunch over the water.
Saint-Tropez - screw the clichés, it’s still worth it (1.5hr drive)
Stay at Hotel La Ponche, an old favorite where Brigitte Bardot and her crowd once escaped the world. In the center of town overlooking the sea, still effortlessly chic — a slice of real Riviera history that hasn’t lost its glow.
Have lunch at Club 55 — simple, legendary, and perfectly overexposed in the best possible way. Order the strawberries. Dinner at Kinagawa for sushi under the stars, and if you’re still going, Indie Beach is the move — all-day music, drinks in the sand, and the kind of crowd that keeps the energy rolling from daylight to dark.
Les Roches Rouges - the place you never leave (1.5 hr drive)
On the red cliffs of the Esterel coast, Les Roches Rouges feels like its own world. Everything’s open to the sea — sunbleached terraces, quiet rooms, and a saltwater pool cut straight into the rocks, where waves spill over the edge as you swim. It’s the kind of place you unpack once and forget the rest of your plans.
La Colombe d’Or - where time stands still (1.5hr drive)
Up in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, La Colombe d’Or is an institution — everything looks and feels exactly as it did when it opened. Picasso, Matisse, Miró all stayed here, and their work still hangs casually on the walls. Lunch in the garden feels timeless. No scene, just history and sun.