The three corniches to Menton

From the cool shade of Villefranche-sur-Mer’s lanes to the hard, high light of the corniche roads, the Riviera shifts scale fast. The Grande Corniche rides near 500 meters, and on the D2564 you see why Napoleon III improved it: uninterrupted sightlines over the rade and Cap Ferrat. At La Turbie, the Trophy of Augustus (7 BC) tells of Rome taming the Alpine tribes; beyond, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin frames the approach to Menton and, below, 1920s acclimatized gardens like the Serre de la Madone take root in sheltered folds.

All day, your driver handles the wheel while you taste and explore. Collected from your Villefranche hotel, you travel in a Mercedes with a dedicated driver, the vehicle on standby to weave across the Grande, Moyenne, and Basse Corniche, with impromptu lookouts (10–15 minutes) and free time in Menton. You call the stops; your driver manages parking and timing. On the way back, late light over Èze and the heights above the rade is best caught from mountain-side pullouts.