Ingrid

My family will be visting the South of France in June. There are 5 of us (2 parents, 3 teenagers). I've read a lot of guidebooks, searched the web and have some good ideas, but I'd like to get some first hand experience/opinions from some of you. My main question is, &quot;how many days would you spend in each area and why?&quot; <BR><BR>Right now our plan is to take the train to Nice around the 16th of June, rent a car then -spend 4 days in either Vence/St. Paul de Vence area or Eze (to be decided)-drive to St. Remy, stay 4 days in the B&amp;B the Mas de Cornud to explore the surrounding area. <BR>-drive from somewhere between Narbonne and Carcasonne (to be decided) for 4 days, then back to Paris.<BR><BR>Because the Cote d'Azur is so busy in the summer, would it be better to spend less time there and more in Provence and/or Languedoc?<BR> <BR>I'm hoping that some of your own opinions, experiences will help me. Thanks you!<BR><BR>Ingrid

StCirq

Personally, I would spend NO time on the C&ocirc;te d'Azur and all my time in Provence and the Languedoc, but if you have never experienced the French Riviera, and if that sort of place intrigues you, go for it. But I'd limit it to 3 days and plan the rest of your trip accordingly. The area around St-R&eacute;my is endlessly fascinating, and the countryside near Carcassonne could easily hold your attention for a week or more.

Ingrid

Thanks for your help. Interestingly enough, I had just come to the decision to limit our stay in the Cote d'Azur to three days, and add one more day to Provence. The Cote D'Azur was not in my choices of places to see in the South of France, but but my teenage children and husband would like to just see it to experince it...especially Nice, St. Paul de Vence and Vence areas. <BR><BR>Have you - (or any other Fodorites) heard of a hotel near Vence &quot;Mas de Vence?&quot; Since we're not as interested in this area as others, I've decided to keep costs down by choosing this more &quot;moderate&quot; place to stay so we can splurge in the Languedoc and Provence. <BR><BR>Any more opinions? Thanks again for your help.... Warmest Aloha

Sue

Ingrid, if you do a 'search' using key words -- trip report SW France to Paris, London -- under the France category, you will find my tale of our driving tour from Nice to Limoges (just north of the Dordogne) via Provence, Carcassonne and Albi. We covered this ground in 11 nights; we then trained to Paris for another 4 nights. If you're interested, my report explains how we came up with our itinerary, and what we did in each place.

Sue

OOops, the keywords should be -- trip report southern france to paris, london -- sorry.

Ingrid

Sue, I just read your report and it's so incredibly informative. A couple of questions for you realizing we will be there during a busier time of year than you. 1) Was driving in and out of Nice difficult from your hotel? How was parking in Nice? I've pretty much decided to stay outside of Nice in the St. Paul de Vence/Vence area to make driving a little easier. Am I making a reasonable assumption?<BR>2)Would you stay in Nice again, or after driving the area, do you think there would be a better place to base?<BR>Thanks again for your help!

jules

Ingrid:<BR>Never visited Mas de Vence, but by looking at their website I see they have 3 &quot;chimneys&quot;, the rating of Logis de France, and that is usually a reliable reference. And their 2002 rates seem reasonable.

uncle sam

IMHO....skip everything but Provence from Aix north!<BR><BR>US

John B.

Ingrid:<BR>The advice you have been getting here is right on.<BR><BR>For more info about what to do and see in Provence check out the photos and archives on:<BR><BR>http://groups.yahoo.com/group/provence

Ingrid

Thanks for the additional input. Jules, if we decide to stay in Cote region, then we'll probably stick to Mas de Vence as it is inexpensive for 5 of us and we won't be there long anyway (am now thinking of just spending 2-2-1/2 days there. It is an even bigger &quot;if&quot; now that &quot;Uncle Sam&quot; and John B. have chimed in. Uncle Sam, you must love Provence or hate the cote... John thank you for the site! It's great and will be helpful for future planning. Keep the opinions coming please (it's helping me makeup my mind!)

uncle sam

Ingrid,<BR><BR>An unfair response on my part. We had every good intention of leaving Provence, however we loved it so much that we stayed there our entire 10 days before heading north to Beaune and back to Lyon.<BR><BR>I'm sure the 'cote&quot; is nice, but we just fell in love with Arles, Avignon, Orange, Luberon hill towns etc and we had heard that traffic etc was a problem there...we preferred the quiet of Provence.<BR><BR>Sorry if I misled you with what was obiously a flippant remark;~))<BR><BR>US

Sue

Ingrid<BR><BR>Glad my report was of some use, you might try searching for trip reports by others, too. <BR><BR>About your questions: We flew into Nice, and didn't bother picking up the car until we left. There is ample public transport in Nice, or, seeing as you're a family group, it might pay to all pile into a taxi. You can even reach surrounding villages by bus or train quite easily.<BR><BR>Driving out of Nice wasn't as bad as I expected, but when we tried to make a single stop in Antibes, parking was quite simply impossible. I have found parking, more than driving, to be the real difficulty in any city we've visited in Europe. <BR><BR>Would I stay in Nice again? Yes, given the type of trips that we take, and given that we are never in a given stop that long. It's a well serviced city with lots of things to do, but bear in mind that I am not a loll-on-the-beach type of person. If I were, I think I'd probably head out elsewhere.<BR><BR>Incidentally, I should point out that we were just 2 adults on our own, and didn't have to consider the needs of teenagers. This might be a factor in how much ground you can cover. Good luck with your trip. By the way, I LOVED Hawaii when we visited - my apologies to Francophiles, but your beaches I thought to be much prettier than those on the Riviera.

tony

Hi - believe 4 days on the Cote 'Azur is warranted. I feel too many visitors take in the superficial sights and move on ...However, definitely stay in the &quot;arriere-pays&quot; (the back country) away from the coast. Anywhere is close to everyhwere else and the Cannes/Antibes/Nice coastal belt easily accessible within 30 minutes .<BR>In any of the cities or town suggest to simpy head for the centre , and park in one of the usually numerous underground parkings available. It costs a few Euros but makes things very easy. Besides trhe usual well known art galleries etc there are numerous other unique attractions - Baron Roschilde's &quot;chateau&quot; at St-Jean/Cap Ferrat, Kyrylos (?) &quot;palace&quot; at Beaulieu-sur-Mer, &quot;Trophee des Alpes&quot; at La Turbie , above Monaco . Rochebrun<BR>medieval village - as well as all the &quot;villages perches&quot; (Eze etc) as well as in the backcountry - St-Paul-de-Vence, Mougins, Tourettes-sur-Loup, Peille, Peyon etc - and without a doubt the highest village at Gourdon and a trip back through the Gorges de Loup. $ days will not be enough ! And through it all the spectacular scenery from Nice east to Menton . Enjoy . One doen not go to the riviera for the beaches !<BR>Bon Voyage

Ingrid

Thanks for all the help. We have decided to keep the 4 days in the Cote, but have been agonizing about where to stay! Want some place we can drive in and out of easily (little traffic, easy parking (stay outside of the cities?), someplace that if we have dinner out, we can have a glass of wine without having to worry about driving (stay in a city and walk to and from?), and someplace with ambience (with 5 of us-2rooms- even a possibility?) <BR><BR>Any suggestions on the best place to base while in the Cote?