The heart of every French town or little village is its market and those of the French Riviera are possibly the most colourful and vibrant you'll ever find. Heady with the distinct aroma of olives, herbs and spices, lucious fruit and vegetables, they are wonderful places to visit.  

In general, most fruit and vegetable markets are held every day, though they all seem to skip Monday. A few others occur only once a week and on a chosen day. Most start very early in the morning though I find it best to arrive just after 9am when all the stalls are nearly all set up and the gorgeous produce and different merchandise are on display. Mind you, leave it for another hour and by then irresistable aromas have started to waft through the air that will stir all of your senses. What I love most about French markets (be it Paris, Brittany or anywhere else in France) is how the vendors go out of their way to make their produce very pleasing to the eye. Straw, wicker or wooden baskets, brightly coloured tablecloths and parasols all go to enhance their produce - which itself is proudly arranged in neat displays.

The stalls normally start packing up around midday or just after but a few linger until one o'clock hoping to catch latecomers. Most market-traders are local small-holders selling their own garden produce; still others have carved a niche selling extraordinary wild mushrooms, delicious home-made honey and jams, olive oil or exquisite goats cheese. And all the markets have someone selling wonderful natural soaps.

While the markets of Nice and Cannes are perhaps the largest and best known ones on the French Riviera, there are many others that are truly worth visiting. However, fruit, flower and vegetables markets are not the only ones you'll find here as you'll discover ones dedicated to brocante, antiques, chestnut, basketwork, lavender and honey,  sheep fairs and wool markets, strawberries, leather and asparagus to mention just a few.

Below is a list of all the weekly food, vegetable and flower markets in this region and when they occur.

Antibes
Daily except Monday: Cours Massena (covered).

Beaulieu-sur-Mer
Monday, Tuesday, Saturday mornings: Place Général de Gaulle.

Beausoleil
Monday, Tuesday, Saturday mornings: Boulevard de la Républic.

Biot
Tuesday mornings: Place de Gaulle

Cagnes-sur-Mer
Daily except Monday, mornings only: Cité Marchande

Cannes
Daily except Monday, mornings only: Forville Market (covered)

Cannes-La Bocca
Daily, mornings only: Place de la Poste

Chateauneuf-de-Grasse
Monday mornings: parking area Pré du Lac

Eze
Thursday morning: Place Colette

Golfe-Juan
Friday mornings: Place de l'Église

Grasse
Daily except Monday, mornings only: Places aux Aires

La Colle-sur-Loup
Saturday mornings: Rue Clemenceau, Old town centre

Mandelieu-La Napoule
Wednesday & Thursday mornings: Parking area des Termes & rue du 24 Août, La Napoule. 

Menton
Daily, mornings only: Gare Routière and Port

Mouans-Sartoux
Tuesday and Thursday mornings: Place du Général de Gaulle/Place Jean Jaurès

Nice
Daily except Mondays: Cours Saleya

St Tropez
Tuesday & Saturday mornings: Places des Lices

Théoule-sur-Mer
Every Friday morning: Place Général Bertrand 

Tourrettes-sur-Loup
Wednesday mornings: Place de la Libération

Valbonne
Friday mornings: Place des Arcades

Vence
Daily except Monday: Place Surian

Villefranche-sur-Mer
Wednesday & Saturday mornings