Cote D Azur and Provence

mrsberries

Hi all

Myself and my boyfriend are planning our holiday in the South of France for the second half of September. We are going for 16 nights, flying into Nice and flying out of Carcassonne. We plan to tour the Cote D Azure, taking in Monaco and St Tropez and then Provence.

We plan to hire a car and camp for some of it (hotels for cities). What Im looking for is ideas/ recommendations of areas around the South of France worth seeing/staying in.

Thanks in advance

mrsberries

Just bumping this up,

mrsberries

Just giving this one more go...will check out travel advisor later.

So far we are thinking of staying in -Nice, St Tropez, Carcassone, and are open to other ideas for the rest of the trip....

Darwin

I haven't travelled that widely in the region, but I can give you a few pointers in and around Nice

1) Take the short trip from Nice to the very pretty Villefranche-sur-mer and you can hire a small motorboat (sans permis!) for 60 euro for 4 hours. You will need ID such as passport etc. and need to leave a deposit of 500 euro (we left a cheque). It's great fun and a nice way to explore the surrounding coastline. The boat hire company have a website here
2) Go to Menton - last French town on the border with Italy. Have lunch in the Hotel Royal Westminster on the promenade - about 12 euro will get you a very tasty bowl of Pasta or alternatively a nice salad. After take a stroll along the prom towards the port and Italian border.
3) Take the train to Ventimille on a Friday as they have a huge market selling all sorts (mostly knock-off designer goods though!). The train journey has some spectacular views along the way. The train ticket to ask for is the Carte Isobelle which allows you to get on and off at different stops all day.

The rest apply to Nice:
* Stay well clear of the rip-off Negresco, in my opinion it's tatty and overpriced. Instead, head down to the Radisson hotel and chill out for a few hours in the hotel bar with a bottle of wine for 28 euro. Sounds expensive, but it's worth the experience. If you're really feeling flush, have dinner in the rooftop terrace with spectacular views of the Baie des Anges.
* Take the petit train for a short tour around the old town of Nice. They depart every 20 minutes from the Promenade (roughly opposite McDonalds)
* Take a boat tour from Nice port - website is here

That's all I can think of for now...

(Edit: When staying in Nice, the Hotel Etap in Ave. De La Californie is quite reasonable at 59 euro a night. It's located behind the hospital - a very prominent building with blue glass on the promenade.)

mrsberries

Thanks Darwin for your tips!!! Much appreciated. We certainly want to go to the Italian border and the boat trip sounds really good.

Did you stay in that hotel in Nice? Will cerainly check it out.

Darwin

No bother at all We've been coming to Nice for the last five summers, not a bad place to while away the time. A friend of ours stayed in that hotel and she said it was basic but clean - not sure if that's what you're looking for, but I thought the price was quite good for Nice. The area is fine as well - don't stay in hotels around the train station as it's quite seedy. If you've any other questions fire away.

mrsberries

Thanks Darwin. Im also toying with the idea of renting an appartment in Nice for the week and using it as a base for the first week. Would you recommend this or should I look into accomodation around the region?

BraziliaNZ

Hi - My parents live in the area so have visited many times. I really like Antibes, you should stay there, take a walk around the cap d'antibes it's beautiful. There's a good hostel there if you're looking for one, right by the sea with a great vibe. Cannes was pretty nice too but a bit snobby at night. St Raphael and the surrounding areas are beautiful, all as pretty as St Tropez really except not as exclusive. St Tropez for me was a nightmare, we arrived late couldn't find anywhere to stay so had to sleep on the ground outside a bus stop! It's stupidly expensive too, 5 euros for cans of coke etc in shops, and ferraris all over the place. But nice to look at. If you're heading the other way Montpellier is a beautiful city and very reasonably priced. You can eat out for cheap and the food is awesome.

olaola

I'm in Nice a few times a year, and I love it. It's a great base to travel around - and the train is very reasonable.
All the places along the coast - Antibes, Villafranche, Beaulieu, Monaco, Eze, Juan le Pin and other places inland like La Turbie, St Paul de Vence. You'll definitely be kept entertained on your trip there.
Just one tip - if you're driving, don't try to go anywhere around 5pm! It's a nightmare in traffic.
Nice itself is looking great now their 'Luas' is finished. All the squares are back to their former glory and it's not such an assault course to navigate anymore.

I'll have to disagree with Darwin, I think Hotel Negresco is my number one place to see in Nice. It's fantastically quirky with an amazing array of objet d'art ALL over the hotel (along with hotel cat) Drop in for a lunch menu in Brassiere Rotonde, it's deliciously random. The food is also great.

Further west - I'd recommend Avignon, I thought it was a really beautiful city and I would go back in a flash.
I've only ever flown into Carcassonne, but I've heard it is really worth a visit too. Montpellier, is also definitely worth a night or two. Lovely small whitewashed buildings in wind-ey streets. Narbonne is also lovely. We did a few days on the Canal du Midi down near Narbonne a few years ago. It was one of my favourite holidays! I can't wait to do it again. If you have three days to spare, I would definitely recommend considering it.

mrsberries

thanks guys for all your posts, much appreciated!! We have 16 nights and nothing booked yet so are free to see and go wherever we wish. Cant wait!!
thanks again:)

boggerboy

mrsberries hi
so jealous of you going!! haven't been to nice since january.. friend of mine lives over there and i try and get over as much as possible. Anyway, I agree that Antibes, Eze village, Mougins, St Paul de vence and even hautes cagnes are all lovely places to go and see. For renting apartments in nice, try www.nicepebbles.com good selection there and a lot are near the "old town" in nice where you will find lots of very nice places to eat.the train journey to italy is really scenic. if you manage to hire a car the coast road from nice to monaco is great too

Enjoy!

mrsberries

Thanks for that Boggerboy!! Am really toying with the idea of renting an appartment in Nice for the first week, just cant wait to go!!!

boggerboy

mrsberries wrote: »

Thanks for that Boggerboy!! Am really toying with the idea of renting an appartment in Nice for the first week, just cant wait to go!!!

no problem mrsberries, pm me if you want any more info!