drkathej

We returned to Paris, Provence and the Riviera in the spring. Since we have been to Paris before, we were able to enjoy just being there--walking in the Notre dame area, the Marais, going to the Musee d'Orsay but mostly not having to do anything in particular. We went to the Restaurant Reed and had a great dinner there, also Au Bougnot which was near our hotel and had a nice experience there as well.
We took the train to Avignon and loved the restaurant La Fourchette. We stayed at an interesting B&B called LaBannistere. We also enjoyed our dinner at le Brigadier du Theatre.
We rented a car and drove to the Camargue. We loved walking around, seeing the wildlife, the flamingoes despite the wind. We then ended up in St Remy, stayed at the castellet des alpilles. Our dinner at the Bistrot Decouverte was wonderful. Unfortunately, we had rain as we drove around Provence so we didn't get to see the sun lighting the mountains. We visited many towns but sometimes we didn't get to walk around as much as we would have liked.
We stayed at the les Mas des Romarins in Gordes and had a fantastic dinner in their restaurant and could view the scenery from our table.
We worked our way to Aix en Provence. We dined at a little place called Ze Bistro and were pleasantly surprised as to how much we enjoyed it. The waiter was also the chef and it was a unique experience.
We then headed off to St,. Tropez and Nice, having some nice experiences there and touring the area.
The thing we liked best about our trip was just being there. There was nothing special we had to see or do but we loved the ambience, the food, the people, the everything.

DebitNM

Sounds perfect. We did the same areas in the fall. Wonderful. We are heading back to Provence next week for 5 weeks; the weather won't be as glorious as Fall, but hey, it's still Provence.

Enjoyed reading your report.

SamanthaCanyon

love it!! thank you for the report.

mavip

drkethej- your trip sounds wonderful. I would be most grateful for some advise since you were there. We had a cruse of the area planned and the cruise ship cancelled our cruise so we are left with airline tickets and we thought we would try to do Provence and the French Rivera ourselves.
We are seniors in our seventies and have traveled by ourselves for many years but I am concerned about the driving.
Are the roads in that area mountainous, winding and "hairy" plus we do not speak the language ( though I am hoping that the GPS and a language app on my I phone will help.) What is your opinion? Can we do this ourselves??? We thought we would base ourselves in Avignon for several days and then in NIce for several days and then take day drips in the area. Should the driving a problem? Thanks for your help.

cigalechanta

You are posting about my faorite place, an earthly paradise to me.

drkathej

The roads were not winding and hairy as in the Positano Italy sense. We took the train from Paris to Avignon and then rented a car when we got there. You can go much more quickly on the train so it didn't make any sense to try to drive from Paris. You don't really need to drive in Avignon itself. We drove to Chateauneuf du Pape and parked the car and walked around. We also went to a number of other towns too including Gordes, Rousillon. A lot of the villages are on hilltops but you would usually park somewhere and then walk. We stayed in St. Remy and that is a really nice town to visit also--it's more mid size and we liked it.
We stayed in old Nice and it's a big city. We drove to some of the surrounding towns but Nice itself can be hard to navigate--I would say it is city driving so I don't know how you feel about that.
I can speak enough French to get by and it definitely helps but I would say that when you are not in the rural areas, there is a lot of English spoken. Let me know if you have any other questions.

cigalechanta

Most roads are fine. If you take the D roads, if you are in a hurry, avoid them. They are very scenic but if you get stuck behind those slow moving farm weird vehicles. If you are in a hurry take the auto route but there is a charge on some exits.
A small car is best to see the villages as streets are narrow and parking difficult. Diesel is less expensive.I visited every year until my husband's death. Both in our 70s.
Another tip, don't drive too slowly, the french will tail you.
The first year my husband travelled with me there, he was doubting me until he felt them on his tail.

mavip

Thank you booth soo much for your help.

millie2112

can you please let me know where you stayed in Nice, and how did it go parking the car.
we will be doing a similar trip in September and I have no idea where to stay in NIce.

tdk320n

I go to Nice every May for about 10 days and always stay in THE OLD TOWN section of Nice.
i can not help too much with info on a car however I do know there is a big underground parking garage in the center of Old Toen.
I only take public transportation, the buses are marvelous and very cheap, only 1 EURO.
Old town is a great area to stay in, good resturants, a wonderful flower and food market, near the boardwalk and the beach and close to many interesting atractions.

StuDudley

I like Old Nice also - but I would not want to stay overnight there - too hectic. Between about mid-July & mid Sept it is packed with people who are very noisy until quite late at nights (late for us, anyway). We always stay at the Hotel Windsor - near the Negresco. We've stayed there around 30 nights since '81. We have an apt booked for 2 weeks in June '14 near the Negresco.

Stu Dudley

StuDudley

>>Between about mid-July<<

Should have said mid-June.

Stu Dudley

drkathej

We stayed in the Hotel de la Fontaine. We were lucky to get it as we were there on the weekend of the Grand Prix in Monaco. We parked in the underground garage which was down the street from the hotel. The hotel was nice enough, nothing special but the location was great in terms of being able to walk to the town, the beach etc.

HunyBadger

bookmarking

ParisAmsterdam

If you're in Nice with a car check the Hotel Massena. We loved the location just off Place Massena and there is underground parking right across the street.