Côte d’Azur Honeymoon

I’m planning a two week honeymoon next summer in the French and Italian Riviera. But there’s so many places to stay in the area. I’ve never been to the region and could use some help picking home bases. Our goal is to do one week in France and one week in Italy.

We love the pool/beach and spend most of our day there. Then, exploring the city, trying new food, touring landmarks, etc. Our goal is to minimize running around. So these home bases should be worth staying in that city (or within 20 mins) the whole week.

I was originally thinking our Italian leg would be Alassio. It looks laid back with a good restaurant scene. We could choose a hotel on/near the beach that has access baked in. A quiet hidden gem of Italy. But, is there a better location in Italy?

And for the Nice region, we were thinking Antibes for the French leg. We could get a hotel with a pool – the sunbeds at the beach clubs might be super pricey in the summer. It also looks like Cap d’Antibes could be a little remote if not renting a car (we’d like to only get one when we transition to Italy).

I’ve seen some cool pictures and reviews of Nice itself. Probably the most accessible too. Also considering Menton. I think if we can get a lazy sun-soaked Italian leg…we’d be okay more in a city environment with beach available in France.

Does anyone have experience traveling the area? What would be the best split for this and why?