Cap-d'Ail is the last French town before Monaco, and you can feel the principality pressing against it. The Basse Corniche winds in from Èze and Beaulieu between villas and pines, the rocks drop to clear water below, and then, almost without warning, you are among the towers of Fontvieille. Cap-d'Ail itself is quieter than its neighbour: a scatter of Belle Époque villas, gardens and newer apartments on the slopes above a small cape with coves and a little beach.
The best thing here is on foot. The sentier du littoral, the coastal path, runs around the cape from the Plage Mala, a tiny pebble cove under the cliffs, past old villas and gardens and along the rocks. Early in the morning or late in the day, with the sea glittering and the scent of pine and salt, it is one of the loveliest short walks on the Riviera. Park the bike, change your boots if you can, and give it an hour.
The riding around here is about choosing the right Corniche. The Basse Corniche along the coast is slow and congested, with lights, scooters, buses and Monaco commuters. The Moyenne Corniche higher up offers grander views, tunnels and smoother curves past Èze. The Grande Corniche, highest of all, follows the line of the Roman Via Julia Augusta and passes La Turbie, where the Trophy of Augustus, a huge Roman monument from the first century BC, still stands above Monaco. These rides head inland toward the Col de Turini and the Route Napoléon, so you will climb through La Turbie or Sospel and quickly leave the coast behind for gorges and hairpins.
Traffic is the main hazard. Weekday mornings and evenings fill the roads with workers driving into Monaco, summer adds tourist traffic and the Grand Prix weekend in May brings chaos. Be careful with the many speed cameras, and with sudden queues in the tunnels. The best time to ride the corniches is early on a weekday or in the evening light, outside July and August.
There are cafes, bakeries and restaurants in Cap-d'Ail, and the beach bars by the water are pleasant in summer. For fuel, Monaco and the larger towns along the coast are close. Whatever you plan, look up and back once as you climb out of town: the view of the cape and Monaco from the corniches above is one of the most striking pictures on the whole coast.