Our tour with Ingrid was one of the highlights of our trip. She made us feel welcome and brought us to hidden spots of beauty. Like touring with a friend who is a local. Great personality and excellent driver. Can’t go wrong with Ingrid!

We hired Ingrid as a private guide for 4 days during our 10 day stay on the French Riviera. Best money ever spent! I chose Ingrid after a thorough search: I contacted and discussed with 4-5 different guides and Ingrid was the clear favorite: she was responsive, her pricing was fair, and she went out of her way to understand our wants and needs. Ingrid showed us the highlights of the French Riviera (must sees like Eze, Antibes, Saint Paul de Vence) yet also the less touristy “hidden gems” that only the locals really know. We spent a lovely afternoon in a small town in Italy, for example. Ingrid is a perfect guide: knowledgeable without overwhelming you with facts, and present while giving you freedom to experience and enjoy the moment. I wish all of you wonderful tours with Ingrid in one of the most beautiful places on earth! Bon voyage !

I found Ingrid in my trusty Rick Steves France Guidebook. My husband was a bit apprehensive about our holiday as it was his first time in Europe. We talked to Ingrid on WhatsApp before we arrived and after talking to her, hubby felt much more at ease and was starting to think maybe I wasn’t crazy after all planning this holiday. We started our adventure in Villefraiche du Sur, a small town/village outside of Nice. Ingrid picked us up at our hotel on a 2 day adventure. First to the west and second day to the east. As I have read in previous reviews, she was a very professional driver and definitely had the knack at us going to places when they weren’t busy. As we travelled on our first day, the itinerary would change as she got to get to know us better. She would suggest maybe we should go here instead of there. We trusted her judgement and she didn’t let us down. She suggested perhaps we would want a picnic overlooking the most incredible views or perhaps a restaurant. We chose the picnic. Out of the back of her immaculate Mercedes van, she pulled out her portable picnic table, chairs, dishes, and everything we needed to make a picnic. We went to a market and bought our wine, cheese, meat, olives and baguettes. It truly was a highlight of our time with her. Day 2 we headed to wards Italy and had lunch in another of her recommended spots. Everywhere we went, the shop owners, restaurant staff, etc were so happy to see her. She is a very classy lady. I loved how she always held her purse over her hand. She really was a fantastic woman and told us so so so many wonderful stories and information along the way. I had tears in my eyes as our 2 day adventure ended. I never would have thought of hiring a private guide until I read about it in the guidebook, but so very glad we did. Thank you so much Ingrid. We will never forget our time with you and the adventure you took us on in the French Riviera! Merci!

Not enough superlatives for Ingrid! My husband and I hired Ingrid for a one-day off-the-beaten-track tour of the French Riviera. It was worth every penny! Before writing this review, we read the other reviews of Ingrid, which are all deservedly five stars. We enthusiastically second everything others have said about her as an outstanding guide (and person). Please believe them and book a tour with Ingrid. You will be glad you did! With her splendid company and thanks to her superb driving skills on winding roads, we saw unforgettable ancient mountain top villages that we would never have been able to visit on our own, without renting a car and going through a lot of hassels. Also, Ingrid has an uncanny knack for avoiding crowds and maximizing picturesque views. We went to the village of Eze first thing in the morning and only began to encounter people on our way out. The same happened at the other two villages, each special in its own way, and at the lovely lunch venue she booked for us, on a village terrace under the trees. Our communications with her were effective, informative, and flexible from beginning to end. After emailing her to arrange our trip, she responded right away and we got great advice about timing and places to see, with Ingrid letting us know the possibilities and at the same time being open to our preferences. Most of all, though, we enjoyed her company immensely. She is full of vitality, good humor, curiosity and charm. We would take another tour with Ingrid in a heartbeat.

We did a Private Tour with Ingrid from Monaco while on a 10-day Mediterranean cruise, with some touring on our own on both ends. Hands down, Ingrid was our favorite guide of all of the tours we did. I found her through a Rick Steves forum where she was recommended. She didn't disappoint—Ingrid was very insightful, accommodating and fun to be with! She was also very conscious of our time and enjoyment while still making sure we got to see what we wanted. We took the mid-coast highway, which is very scenic, then stopped at the top of the mountain for a short walk to see breathtaking views of Monaco, Italy and France. Well worth it! Ingrid walked the streets of Eze and St Paul with us, showing us the back streets around with less people and very scenic. Along the way, she would give us history and information about where we were. At the top of Eze, she recommended we tour the gardens while she waited for us in a nearby cafe to meet up afterwards. In St Paul, she recommended a restaurant for lunch where we invited her to join us (as we were enjoying her company!). We also visited the old town in Nice, after which Ingrid suggested we walk through the Old Town of Monaco which led back to the cruise ship. Ingrid would drop us off close to the town entrances then go park the car and meet up with us each time as well, which was nice and very convenient. It rained most of the day but it was still our best tour of the whole trip. We did quite. lot but it was still a relaxed day. I would highly recommend Ingrid if you are in this part of the Rivera. You won't regret it.

We are a group of 4 women and booked Ingrid from Germany for 8 hours. She picked us up on time, a very personable woman, very friendly. She showed us beautiful views of the coastal road on our way inland. During the trip we learned a lot about the history of the Côte D'Azure and also some anecdotes. The first stop was Eze, a carefully restored hilltop village with a wonderful Jardin Exotique with stunning views of the Reviera. Afterwards we visited a winery in the mountains and enjoyed an interesting wine tasting there. In this atmosphere we had a picnic overlooking the vineyard. Splendid! Finally, Ingrid took us to Saint-Paul-de-Vence, an enchanting artist town with a city wall that can be walked on and narrow streets. The whole day was a wonderful experience, which we saved in our heads under moments of happiness. Unforgettable and absolutely recommendable. Thank you Ingrid for the many beautiful impressions.

Ingrid’s gastronomic tour of San Remo, was an amazing treat ! Before the trip (Taste of Italy) Ingrid’s communication with us was impeccable. She anticipated possible questions and answered the specific questions we had. She greeted us at our hotel with a lovely smile and lots of enthusiasm. The tour was comprehensive and seamless. We tried and enjoyed coffee, pastries, Italian appetizers, exquisite olive oils, wines, foccacia, and everything Italian. It was obvious that Ingrid is very well regarded by her vendors. We walked all over San Remo, learned about the town, and luckily for us we ended in Dolceacqua due to a seasonal restaurant unavailability in San Remo. In hilltop Dolceacqua, we joined the spirit of Monet as we walked around this ‘off the beaten path ‘ medieval village - a surreal Italian jewel. Lunch there was divine; for example, the gnocchi with pesto was a heavenly unforgettable meal. Ingrid lives in the moment. We did not feel rushed, as Ingrid wanted us to have a fabulous experience. And we did. We returned to our hotel in her cushy van singing “Volare” at the top of our lungs, and laughing with our new awesome friend. I highly recommend Ingrid; in fact I want Ingrid to meet me in all my future trips. - [ ]

My wife and I just got back from a Mediterranean cruise that included a stop in Cannes, France. We booked a private tour with Ingrid at Best French Rivera Tours for a private tour based on the recommendation of our friends who toured with her last summer. One word to sum up our experience – MAGNIFICENT! Ingrid was an excellent communicator throughout the process and was very open to what we wanted to see and offered suggestions allowing us to make the final choices on what we would see during our fabulous day in the French Rivera. She suggested not going the path (Eze, Nice, and Monaco) that all the other people from the cruise ship would be going but instead a tour of the Western villages of our Riviera. This itinerary took us away from the busy streets of the tourist coast and allowed us to experience more true, authentic French local places. We when got off the tender, she was waiting for us with a sign with our name, a big smile (she had sent her picture so we knew how to find her and we did likewise so she could see us easily) and a Bonjour! We exited in her Mercedes touring van that is very modern and comfortable. She took us down the famous boulevard by the water in Cannes pointing out the high-end stores and the venue for the Cannes film festival. We then headed to our first stop in the lovely town of Antibes by the marina where we surveyed the large, mega-yachts. We then had walking tour of the area including a stop at a bakery for fresh baguettes and wine shop where we picked out a couple of bottles of wine for our picnic lunch that we would be having later that morning in the mountains. Next Ingrid drove up into the hills of the French back-country to the charming village of Gourdon where we stopped a local French street market where we procured cheeses, grapes, olives, and jam for our picnic lunch also. She had everything that we needed for our picnic (a table, chairs, and table cloth along with glasses and cutlery). She drove us high up to a bluff that overlooked the entire region and we could even see our cruise ship for our picnic lunch. In the afternoon we drove through the gorgeous Loup Canyon and finally make a stop in lovely Tourrettes sur Loup where we walked around the quaint village. It was a wonderful day getting to experience some local, non-touristy locations without the throngs of people. Ingrid was so knowledgeable and also warm and friendly – she was a joy to spend our day with while getting to see the local French Rivera country. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND using her touring services! Our day was c'est magnifique! FYI - I contacted her directly through her website (bestfrenchriviera.tours) and was able to customize the tour with her versus this 3rd party booking.

My friend and I spent a delightful day with Ingrid touring the perfume museum in Grasse, St. Paul, and Eze. She also provided ‘taxi service’ as she picked us up at LePeech in Chateauneuf and dropped us off at our hotel in Nice. Since our hotel in Nice is in old town and she had to drop us off a block away, she called ahead to have someone meet us and help us with our luggage. Ingrid is very knowledgeable and personable, it felt more like we were touring with a friend than a guide. I will contact her again if I am ever in this area.

After a 2 year absence it was great to meet up with Ingrid again, and spend 3 days with her revisiting favourite places and discovering stunning new locations we could never find on our own. As ever Ingrid is full of passion and enthusiasm for this beautiful area. Her considerable knowledge and insight bring the history of the area to light. You can be sure that there will also be opportunities to enjoy a coffee or a lunch in the most delightful remote locations.

We took two tours with Ingrid from the cruise ship in November 2021. Since we had toured with her in the past, seeing Nice, Eze and the Cote d'Azur, she offered a visit to the hill towns a bit further afield. We had an amazing time, visiting Antibes, Gourdon, Loup Canyon Tourrettes sur Loup. We enjoyed a picnic lunch overlooking the coastline. It was so good, that we booked a second tour, wine tasting, when our ship was back in Cannes a few weeks later. That was wonderful, walking through Biot, and going to a local vineyard to taste wines. I cannot recommend Ingrid and Best French Riviera Tours highly enough.

We took the medieval villages tour, and oh my it was tremendous!!! Ingrid was such an amazing and informative host. Ingrid spoiled us with knowledge and was extremely accommodating to what our interests were. She tailored the guide to us as she got to know us better which was so amazing. We felt like we were on a travel show, and Ingrid was a long-time friend showing us around. We got to know her better through lunch and the experience was so personal and immersive. My only complaint is that the guides after Ingrid will seem a little less interesting and a little more dull, because she will be a guaranteed highlight of your trip.

Nov 2021 - Enjoyed an awesome 3 hr tour of old town Nice with Ingrid. She had a well planned, informative itinerary. I was able to see and learn the history of the area and of old town and was able to par take in some tastings of the local fare. I am looking forward to more walking tours in the other towns in and around the French Riviera with Ingrid.

On a recent trip to the French Riviera, my wife and I had one day for sightseeing, so we wanted to pack in as much as we could into that day to get a feel for the region. After reaching out to a few different tour guides who had good reviews, we chose Ingrid, the owner of Best French Riviera Tours. I liked that from the start when emailing with questions, she was responsive and just seemed very flexible with her tour. It was obvious that she was going to be easy to work with and could customize the day to what we were most interested in, which was absolutely the case. Prior to our tour, I emailed back and forth with Ingrid several times, and we went over both our must-dos (which were pretty basic), and her general suggested plan. For example, she suggested visiting St. Paul de Vence, which was a great suggestion that I hadn’t had on my list, and gave helpful thoughts about how to fit everything in logistically. Our first stop of the day was going to be Eze, which Ingrid said can get quite crowded, so she suggested starting the day early with a pick-up at our hotel at 8:00 am. However, when I emailed her just a few days before our trip to see if we could move the time back since we expected to be out late the night before, she was happy to accommodate the change. Similarly, she was happy to keep the tour going as late in the day as we wanted (or, conversely, to end it whenever we needed/wanted), with no pressure to make final decisions before actually being on the tour and seeing how things went. I’m used to tour guides being a bit more rigid with the general timing/schedule, so I was initially confused that Ingrid didn’t seem to have any urgency to pin down a final plan. Later, however, I realized it was because the day was truly flexible to be whatever we wanted. She knows the area like the back of her hand and can pivot to match guests’ preferences at any moment. All you’ll need to do is give her a general idea of what you’re looking for in a sightseeing tour, and she’ll take it from there. It was also nice that Ingrid didn’t require any sort of deposit or payment in advance to confirm the tour, which was extra flexibility she was offering year due to the pandemic. She prefers payment in cash, which we provided, but said she also would have been happy to take a credit card as well (or a combination of both). Ingrid picked us up right at our hotel in Saint Jean Cap Ferrat on the day of the tour, and she was warm and friendly right from the start. She has an even-keeled and calm personality that is perfect in a tour guide, and she definitely has an impressive knowledge of the area and adds lots of interesting tidbits, both historical in nature and just fun pieces of general interest. It was nice that when we got into the van, Ingrid had a typed-up itinerary for the day, so we could get a general idea of where we’d go throughout the day if we followed the general plan we had discussed over email. She still made it clear that we could make changes at any point. We started in Eze, and even with starting later than initially planned, we still made it there early enough to be some of the first tourists. Eze is such a charming little town, with the most gorgeous views of the Mediterranean when you reach the top. The exertion from walking through the hilly town is well worth it. Every direction that you looked was like being in a living storybook. Ingrid clearly knew every nook and cranny of the town, so we got a great tour and excellent pictures (Ingrid was really great about offering to take our photo many times throughout the day in every scenic spot we visited). Our next stop after Eze was Nice. Ingrid first took us to an overlook with a great panoramic view of Nice from above before we went into town, and she did a great job of explaining the history of the town and its significance. We had no idea that Nice had strong Italian roots and was part of Italy until relatively recently in the past. This was an interesting theme that we continued to learn more about as we went into Nice itself and did a leisurely walking tour through Old Town Nice. We went through a bustling outdoor market area, and Ingrid had us stop so she could buy us a piece of socca to try, which is a popular and very good local street food (a thin chickpea cake). Throughout the tour, Ingrid just did a great job of enriching the experience with little pieces of local culture that we could enjoy. After an enjoyable walk through Old Town Nice, we drove up the Promenade des Anglais, and Ingrid took us to my favorite stop of the day, which was something personal that I had requested. When my grandfather was a child, his family escaped France during WWII via Nice, where they stayed for a few months. Just before our trip, my grandfather had given me the address of where he had stayed in Nice, which he had not seen since he was a child. If I had time, he was hopeful I could find the building and see what it looks like today. I provided Ingrid with the address before our tour, and she seamlessly integrated it into the itinerary. She was so nice about it, and I really appreciated how much interest she took in the personal family story and connection to Nice. She seemed genuinely so pleased to be able to help with this. Since this added part of the visit was about WWII and a Jewish family’s escape from Europe, she was thoughtful enough to add another stop so we could see a nearby hotel where there is a plaque describing the rounding up of Jews in Nice that occurred at the hotel before transport to Auschwitz. I loved that she took the small thing I wanted to see and did a great job of connecting it to broader WWII history in the city. Because of the extra stop Ingrid added, I was able to understand the broader picture and the short distance between where my grandfather’s family had been living before they successfully left France earlier in the war, versus where they could have ended up if they hadn’t been able to leave when they did. It was a powerful visit, and I am grateful to Ingrid for making it so special. After Nice, we were off to St. Paul de Vence, a beautiful artsy town up in the hills with lots of charm and excellent views. The first thing we did when we got there was stop for lunch. Ingrid recommended two places we could eat, one of which was a sit-down restaurant, and the other was more of a cheese shop where we could make our own lighter lunch. On the way there, Ingrid called both places to see if they could hold a table for us, so it was nice that they were expecting us when we arrived. We ended up choosing the full-service restaurant, Le Tilleul, and it was a perfectly acceptable lunch spot. The food was pretty good, the service was just ok, and it served its purpose as a chance to have a break from sightseeing. It was also nice that the lunch break gave us a chance to be on our own for a little bit, while Ingrid also had a break. After lunch, Ingrid took us for a leisurely walk through the town of St. Paul de Vence, which was enjoyable and scenic. When I expressed interest in Marc Chagall, one of the town’s most famous residents, she made sure that we walked to the cemetery at the far end of the town to see his grave. When we got back to the van after our visit to St. Paul de Vence, we were both feeling a bit tired, particularly given that our tentative itinerary still had quite a few things ahead of us. Visiting the Fondation Maeght museum in St. Paul de Vence, going to Cannes, and going to Monaco were still on the list. We let Ingrid know that we wanted to skip the museum to help save some time, which she was totally fine with, and we toyed with the idea of skipping Cannes as well, but ended up deciding we might as well go and see it. I had been to Cannes in the past, but my wife had not, so she wanted to at least see the town and know what it was like. Going to Cannes was the only thing that I regretted that day, and it was totally our fault, not Ingrid’s. Back when first planning the tour, I had expressed that we might want to stop in Cannes, and Ingrid said we absolutely could, but that she didn’t particularly recommend it because there wasn’t all that much to see on a quick sightseeing stop, and it was far out compared to everything else. Going to Cannes did add at least an hour of driving time to the tour, since everything else we were doing was more in the eastern part of the Riviera. The visit to Cannes ended up being just a lot of time in the car, a good bit of which ended up being in traffic, and once we got there, we just did a quick stop to look at the location of the Cannes Film Festival, and took a walk down the Croisette to get a feel for things. We didn’t really have enough time to do any more in-depth of a tour in Cannes, and although it’s an absolutely gorgeous place, it wasn’t worth cramming into our day, just as Ingrid had initially advised. From Cannes, we finished with a drive to Monaco for a chance to see the beautiful principality. I loved that Ingrid brought us in from the highest road above the city, which had breathtaking views, and also was a chance to see the spot where Grace Kelly died in a tragic car accident. We expressed an interest in Grace Kelly and her story, and Ingrid gave us all of the details during the visit to Monaco. I loved how she gave us history of the principality in general, and then focused on more modern stories involving Princess Grace and even the current royals of Monaco, who have their own interesting scandals and stories. Ingrid drove us down the hills into Monaco, all the way to the harbor area across from Monte Carlo, where we were able to see some of the many mega-yachts that were docked there, in addition to getting great views of the city. From that point, Ingrid said we would drive up into Monte Carlo to get a chance to walk around and see the Monte Carlo Casino, but she also gave us the option to go into the historic section of Monaco and see the outside of the royal palace as well. Doing that would require more walking, since vehicles cannot get into the part of the city. Had we done Monaco earlier in the day, I probably would have wanted to add that, but we were losing steam by that point (about 9 hours into the tour), so we opted to keep things simple and just drive up to Monte Carlo. Once we reached Monte Carlo, Ingrid dropped us off just outside of the casino, and we walked around for about 20 minutes to see the casino from the exterior, along with the variety of high-end shopping in that area. On our way out of Monaco at the very end of the tour, Ingrid took us on the exact path that the cars take in the famous Monaco Grand Prix each year, which was another fun thing to do that really connected the tour to things we already knew about and found interesting. Throughout the day, I was impressed by the various thoughtful touches and points of knowledge that Ingrid added to the tour. She truly is a wealth of knowledge about the French Riviera and can bring it to light in a way that many tour guides would not be able to do. The only thing I would have done differently on our tour is to probably make it a little shorter and not try to hit so many places on one day. Ingrid has a ton of stamina to keep going as long as her guests would like, so we planned a very ambitious 10.5-hour itinerary, and in retrospect, we probably would have preferred a shorter day that covered a select smaller number of places. After finishing our tour with Ingrid, I can absolutely say that I would highly recommend her for a tour of the French Riviera. We didn’t even know that she was one of Rick Steves’ recommended guides for the area, but I can absolutely see why. She has the perfect personality for guiding guests through the region. She’s friendly, but unobtrusive, thinks ahead about when breaks and attractions will work best within the day, and is ready to impart her vast knowledge to each guest at all times.

My wife and I – with four of our friends, two other couples – had the privilege of touring the Eastern French Riviera in early October with Ingrid, our exceptional tour guide. Both the splendid and enjoyable journey and Ingrid far exceeded our highest expectations. Ingrid picked us up early in the morning at our Airbnb in Juan Les Pins in her comfortable 7-passenger Mercedes minivan, which she handled skillfully and with impressive finesse through traffic in Nice, over mountain roads, and through the narrow lanes of hill-top villages. Our tour included scenic drives along the middle and upper coastal roads known as the Moyenne and Grande Corniches, with stops at the hill-villages of Eze and St. Agnes (my favorite), and back down the European Alps as they fall to the Mediterranean to the coast and the town of Menton. The hours flew by far too quickly as Ingrid guided, educated, and entertained us with her extensive knowledge of the history, places, and people we visited in the area she adopted as home twenty-five years ago. We also got to meet locals along the way that Ingrid knew. OurWhen she dropped us back in Juan Les Pins we felt as if we were saying good-bye to a good friend who had given us a taste of the Eastern French Riviera, her home. Without any reservations, my wife and I give Ingrid and her tour the highest ratings and strongest recommendations.