ciaociao

Greetings to the Fantastic Fodorite Community,

I’ve read and re-read so many posts and books that I’ve confused myself. I’m hoping you can help to restore my sanity and continued excitement in our trip to France. My husband, myself and our 30 year old Son are planning a trip to the Cote d’Azure and Aix next May, sometime between the weeks of May 22nd and June 5th (thinking 10 days including travel days). Our dates and time are flexible but trying to avoid high-season, summer crowds and still have good weather. Here’s where I hope to get your expert help and guidance.

Sometime between May 22nd and June 5th (10 days, including travel days)
-Help with itinerary (not sure how to string everything together or how many days to allocate in each area)
-I’ve put an * next to the towns we really want to see (as far as we know;-).
-Are we trying to do too much? We like to linger and enjoy the towns.
-Where and when should we have a car? Would like to avoid any treacherous driving.
-Where to base ourselves

(1) Nice – Not sure Nice is a must see for us. I think we are more interested in the surrounding areas.
*Menton, *Antibe, diff between Antibi and Cap Antibi, *Eze, Biot, Villefranche –Sur-Mer, *St. Jean Cap Ferrat

(2) St. Paul/Vence - *Roquebrune Cap Martin, Gorbio, and/or Peille, *Peillon, *St. Paul, Vence, *Gorge du Loup, Gourdon

(3) *Aix, *Moustiers, Fayence, Seillans, Gorges de Chateaudouble, Aups, Tourtour, Lorgues

(4) St. Tropez -??

WoinParis

I would base in Antibes and in Aix.
You need a car to all locations except Antibes and Menton.
With the car to Menton you take la grande corniche with spectacular view.

I don't remember much St Paul but loved the gorges du loup.

Moustiers ? Maybe I confuse with another one close to the alps. Tourtour and lorgues are superb.

Aix is super lovely. Les gorges du Verdon are also worth it.

I disagree about Nice. Spend first night there. Lovely and will give you time to recover from flight.

ciaociao

Hello Woin Paris! Thank you for your input. I must have missed or overlooked Les Gorges du Verson. It says it's the most beautiful canyon in Europe. Is it a wild ride/drive? I will do more research but would this be something we would do when we are in Aix?

For some reason, I can't get my geography straight to determine whether to start in Aix or Nice and what tows in my Itinerary are closest to Aix.

I really appreciate your time and any other input you have.

Ciao Ciao!

StuDudley

We've visited many gorges in France - and IMO the Gorge du Verdon is not nearly as interesting as many of the gorges in the Gorges du Tarn region. Maybe not as interesting as the Gorges de l'Ardeche near Provence with the nearby Chauvet cave with pre-historic art and the Aven d'Orgnac cave with stalactites & mites. Plus Verdon is kinda "out of the way" from the normal Cote d'Azur (note spelling) & Provence corridor.

Antibes is a town. Cap Antibes is a peninsula that extends into the sea from Antibes. Most first-timers (IMO) don't go to Cap Antibes - except for some "lay on the beach" time in Juan les Pins. St Jean Cap Ferret is also a peninsula. Do you plan to visit the Villa Ephrussi de Rothchild house & gardens there? Not much else to do in Cap Ferret - for first timers.

You may only have 8 1/2 days for sightseeing - that's not much. Concentrate on optimizing your time by reducing needless traveling between sites.

You imply that your specific days are flexible - so I assume you do not have air tickets yet. This is what I would do:

- Fly into Nice & spend 4 nights in Nice.

- Visit Nice the day you arrive, and the next day (preferably not a Monday when many shops in Old Nice closed).

- Visit the town of Antibes by train on another day, or visit Menton by bus (scenic bus ride). This may not take a full day - so maybe visit Eze or see more of Nice (I'm not a fan of Eze - too crowded & too touristy).

- Rent a car, and visit St Paul, Vence, and the Gorge du Loup/Gordon.

- last night in Nice. Maybe have dinner in Villefranche sur Mer & visit the village before dinner.

We've spent 4 weeks vacationing in the inland Var area around Lorgues, Tourtour, & Cotignac. Personally, I prefer the Luberon/Provence area - so that's what I'll suggest.

- Get an early start from Nice & drive to Aix (not on a Sunday or Monday - shops closed). Spend 1 night in Aix. If you will hit Aix on a Sun/Mon - bypass Aix and head to the Luberon region and visit Aix later. Anyway - plan to spend 1 night in Aix.

- Stay 4 nights in the Luberon countryside near Gordes, Roussillon, or Bonnieux. Visit the Luberon on arrival day, and again the next day. Then visit The Vaison/Cote du Rhone winegrowing area, Alpilles (St Remy/Les Baux) - or any of the many places that seem interesting to you. Since you will be visiting Aix and you stayed in Nice - I would suggest that you skip larger cities like Avignon and Arles - and concentrate on the beautiful countryside & hill villages instead.

- Drive to Aix & stay 1 night if you bypassed it previously.

- Take a late TGV from either Aix or Avignon to the Paris Gare de Lyon station. Stay at the Terminus Hotel across from the Gare de Lyon. Dine at the Train Bleu for your last night in France. http://www.le-train-bleu.com/fr/

- take a taxi to the airport

Stu Dudley

ciaociao

Stu,

I can feel a calming sense coming over me!!!! Your input really helped me re-focus. I like the idea of breaking up the Cote with Provence (Luberon area). It will be the perfect balance.

I'm going to put together a day-by-day itinerary and ask for input. We can go anytime between May and September but felt we couldn't wait until September (too excited and need a vacation). Do you think the end of May is a good time to go?

I will have to do some research on the car rental, pick-up, drop-off, etc. but that's after the itinerary is finalized.

Merci Beaucoup!

geetika

I second Stu's suggestion of the Luberon area, do include a winery tour and sample the locals wines. Aix is lovely in the evenings when the day trippers have left, I love Arles too, though I'd give Avignon a pass.

We were in Cannes/Nice mid May this year and spent a lovely day in Eze, though St Paul de Vence was a bit of a disappointment as it was so very crowded. If you go there do visit the Chapelle du Rosaire planned and decorated by Matisse, including three sets of stained glass window and three murals by the artist himself.

The Matisse museum in Nice and the Picasso one in Antibes are worth a visit of you are interested in art. Also Cezanne's studio in Aix.

StuDudley

Plan your trip so that you are in Provence in late June to see the lavender in bloom.

I always advise visitors to tour super-touristy & crowded places like Gordes, Les Baux, & St Paul first thing in the morning before the day-trippers arrive - no later than 9am (we arrive around 8 in June).

Stu Dudley

mjs

There are many ways to do this but Stu's itinerary is a good one. You could also skip Aix and spend 3 nights in the Luberon and maybe 2 somewhere else like St Remy.
Going in late June gives you the Lavender in bloom but hotel prices will be higher and I suspect the area will be more crowded.

ciaociao

Geetika - Great comments, thank you. We live in Northern California, not too far from the wine country and would love to visit a local winery in Provence. Do you have any favorites or recommendations of wineries that are particularly lovely.

Stu - I agree with you on getting started early in the morning to avoid crowds. We are thinking of going in late May or 1st week of June because we would like to avoid the crowds as much as possible. I'm hoping the weather will still be nice in May??

Woo hoo, I have my work cut out for me now. I hope to post an updated itinerary soon. If anyone of you have favorites (places to see, towns, restaurants, etc.), let me know!!!!

Merci!

StuDudley

I'm also from Northern California (28 yrs in So Calif & last 41 in Nor Calif). We've visited Provence and the Cote d'Azur for a combined 40 weeks - evenly split between the two regions. We stay for usually 2-4 weeks at a time and are almost always in Provence the last week of June (like this year) for the lavender. Obviously, we are "seasoned" travelers and know how to avoid crowds (like early am, late afternoon, and doino your site-to-site and "scenic drive" traveling mid-day when villages & sites are more crowded). We have never felt like it was over crowded in late June - just stay away from St Remy, Gordes, St Paul, St Tropez, etc mid-day.

I would not plan to visit any wineries on your "too short" trip - if you live near the Calif Wine country. It's a different "experience" than here in the Napa/Sonoma area.

From our 40 weeks of vacationing in Provence & the Cote d'Azur, I've put together a 35 page itinerary which describes our favorite cities, villages, scenic drives, lavender fields, sites, farmer's markets, wineries, etc. It even has a section on Provence fabrics. I've sent it to over 3,000 people on Fodors. If you would like a copy, e-mail me at [email protected] & I'll attach one to the reply e-mail. Specify that you want the Cote d'Azur/Provence itinerary, because I have several others also.

Glad we got some rain.

Stu Dudley

StuDudley

PS

France has many school & bank holidays in May. If you're there on one of these holiday weekends, it will be more crowded than a non-holiday mid-June weekend. Weekend crowds in late June in Provence are about the same (maybe less) than weekend in late June through Sept on a weekend in St Helena/Napa. We were in Nice the first 2 weeks in June in '14, and the "private" beaches where we "sun" were about 20% full. The Provence/Cote "mad rush" does not start until mid-July.

Stu Dudley

ciaociao

Hi Stu,

Or should I say, neighbor! You are probably right about the wineries. I'm traveling right now (business), so my time is not my own but.....I would be thrilled to get your itinerary. I will send you an email. I will be back with more, soon. Thanks!

Pepper_von_snoot

Beware! Beware!

The monkeys all dance
Like Fred Astaire
The pickpockets are everywhere!

Especially on the Promenade des Anglais, mon frère.

There is also a pickpocketing team working near Villa Kerylos in pretty little Beaulieu-sur-Mer!

What a nightmare! It is enough to put you off your Pastis and Socca.



However, I have to write that Beatrice Rothschild's Villa Ephrussi
(down the road from Villa Kerylos) is absolutely stunning, especially the gardens. There is a "singing" fountain that plays the flower duet from Lakmé.

See you at Wayne's Bar, Miss Thing.

Thin

ciaociao

Hello everyone! Thank you again for your comments and recommendations. It's really helpful. Stu, thank you for your itinerary. WOW! You should be on Fodor's payroll!

Between work and house guests, I've had a difficult time getting my arms around this. I need to finalize my plans, at the latest, by end of November. Again, we are looking to go toward the end of May or early June to miss some of the Summer crowds. Planning 10 days.

I would love to get your input and suggestions on the rough itinerary below. Does it make sense logically, too much packed in, what not to miss etc. We plan on having a car where and when needed. We love visiting the museums (art), beautiful villas (architecture, history), quaint towns, food, getting a feel for the towns and the people, scenery, shopping, etc. We aren't big hikers or serious history buffs. Love the culture and beauty of the beautiful, land and art.

Cote d’Azure – 4 nights (Maybe base ourselves in Antibes or SJCF? I know Nice is the obvious choice but not sure we want to stay in a big city.)

COTE'd'AZUR - 4 nights

Day Trip 1
St. Jean Cap Ferrat (Villa Ephrussi de Rothchild)
Walk to Plage de Passable beach area
Beaulieu-sur-Mer to see Villa Kerlyos
See Port de St. Jean
Is this a comfortable pace. Add more?

Day Trip 2 (is this too much for one day or wrong order)?
Menton -
Antibes – See the town & Picasso museum

Day Trip 3 (this seems all over the map and too much??)
Eze, St. de Paul, Vence, (visit the Chapelle du Rosaire), Gorge du Loup/Gordon

=========================
PROVENCE/LUBERON - 4 nights
Could we base all 4 days in Aix or what would you recommend?

Aix – 1 night only? (not Sunday or Monday). See Cezanne’s studio
Stay near: Gordes, Roussilon or Bonnieux

Day Trip 1
Gordes and Rouissilon

Day Trip 2
Bonnieux, and/or Isle-sur-la-Sorgue?

Day Trip 3
Vaison/Cotedu Rhone Winegrowing area, Alpilles (St Remy/Les Baux)

WoinParis

I will let stu answer since he is the expert

StuDudley

Cote d'Azur

We easily did Trip 1 by bus from Nice. Study the bus routes from home so you can be familiar with them before you get there. My itinerary indicates which buses to take. It would complicate things and take longer if you stay in Antibes and do it from there. You might need several train/bus connections - or do it by car (which I would not want to do).

Trip 2. If you stay in Antibes - no need to allocate a half-day to see it - you'll be able to explore it all you want at the beginning of the day or after you return from other day trips. If you stay in Nice - these villages are in opposite directions & difficult to do in one day - unless you enjoy time on buses & trains.

Trip 3. Do by car & visit Eze last - in case you run out of time. Be sure to visit Tourrettes sur Loup - we like it more than St Paul

You love art museums and you are not visiting Nice??????? That's where all/most of the famous art museums are located.

Provence
Trip 1 & 2
You can visit most of the Luberon villages & countryside in one day if you get an early start.
8:00 or 8:30 - Get to Gordes, pull the car over at the view "spot" & take a picture. Park the car in the lot, and visit Gordes. Have a cafe creme & croissants for breakfast at one of the outdoor cafes. Walk down to the Lavoire & back. Explore Gordes.

10:00 leave Gordes.
10:30 arrive in Oppede le Vieux & explore a bit
11:30 leave Oppede, drive to Menerbes
11:45 arrive in Menerbes & explore. Grab a sandwich for lunch & sit on a bench with a view & have lunch.
12:45 leave Menerbes
1:00 arrive in Lacoste, drive up towards the village & view Bonnieux across the valley. No visit of Lacoste. Drive to Bonnieux.
1:45 Visit Bonnieux (sandwich, if you didn't have one in Menerbes)
3:15 leave Bonnieux & head to Roussillon.
3:45 arrive in Roussillon, park the car, and explore Roussillon. Visit the Ocre fields. Have an afternoon coffee at a cafe.
5:45 Leave Roussillon. If you still have some energy left, visit Goult - otherwise, call it a day.

Trip 3
Vaison & Cote du Rhone are at opposite ends of Provence from St Remy/Les Baux. It will take about 2 hrs to drive from Les Baux to Vaison. And then you'll need to return to wherever you are staying. Pick one or the other. Or do both on separate days if you visit some/all of the Luberon places in one day.

Stu Dudley

ciaociao

Stuuuu,

Great comments. Sincere thanks for your time and braintrust. I'm going to print this and re-work my itinerary. Will post and updated version for review and comment. Merci, Grazie, Thank you

Iwan2go

We have not been to the Cote d’Azur as many times as some others, but did make two trips there, the first in late April and the second in early December. The first time we stayed in Vallauris, near Antibes, then drove north of Avignon for a few days. The weather was fine, and we didn’t have too much trouble driving there (no GPS, would be easier with it now). It was easier outside of the Cote d’Azur, and we determined that the next time we’d try it without a car. We were based up on a hill in a lovely B&B, but it took a little while to get places.

We loved, loved the Villa Ephrussi - and you can walk about a mile, maybe to the Villa Kerylos, which is one of my favorite places ever. So sad to hear Thin say there are pickpockets now.

The second time, with our 30-ish age son, we rented an wonderful apartment in Nice and used public transportation (Nice Pebbles, apartment Esprit - could not be in a better location, looks like 80-140 GBP/night, depending on the season). Worked like a charm. There’s a tram in Nice that goes right to the train station, which we used for trips to Menton and Antibes, buses to St Paul de Vence and the Matisse and Chagall museums in Nice. As you say, you may prefer to be outside of Nice, I’m just throwing it out there as it’s convenient and you don’t need to worry about a car/driving/parking.

We stayed near Avignon for five nights another time and visited the Luberon, St. Remy, Les Baux -de-Provence, Isle sur la Sorgue - oh my gosh, all of it is SO beautiful. It’s not hard to access Aix from the Luberon, BTW, you could stay in either location, IMO. We had a leisurely day and visited Gordes, the monastery at Senanque, and Roussillon. Isle sur la Sorgue is a lovely village, full of antique stores (and a Sunday morning market). When we go again, I’d choose to stay in ISLSorgue and take day trips.

No matter what you decide, you will love it!!!

Pepper_von_snoot

I walked to the Chagall Museum from Galeries Lafayette. Hiked up Jean Médecin past Nice Ville Station and turned right somewhere.

It was an uphill climb, but I made it.
Don't try if you are not hale and hearty.

I will also report that there was some very good Côtes du Rhone 2014 AOC on sale at Monprix in Place Garibaldi for 5€.

Unfortunately, nothing was on sale at Chanel.

Thin

ciaociao

Hello Stu, Iwan2go, and Pepper!

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend. My goodness...what a few weeks it's been. Well, I reviewed and incorporated your comments (hopefully), to come up with a proposed itinerary. Pepper, we are also bringing our 30 year son with us on this trip. We are really looking forward to it.

Let me know what you think about the logistics and timing below. I'm afraid I'm trying to squeeze too much in and we do like to linger a bit to get a feel for the areas we visit. Always, a balancing act. The next step will be identifying places to stay. If you have any suggestions or favorites, let me know (in addition to what you've already posted). I haven't looked in a while at costs. We may have AMEX and American Airline points that we can covert for hotels as well. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!

June 3, Saturday – Leave San Francisco

June 4, Sunday – Arrive in Nice – Stay in Nice, Villefranche Sur Mer or St. Jean Cap Ferrat

June 5, Monday – Day Trip via Bus
--St. Jean Cap Ferrat (Villa Ephrussi de Rothchild)
--Walk to Plage de Passable beach area
--Beaulieu-sur-Mer to see Villa Kerlyos
--See Port de St. Jean

June 6, Tuesday – Day trip via Bus
--Menton (Visit town, Jardin des Colombieres)
--WHAT ELSE SHOULD WE SEE/DO? EZE-LE-VILLAGE AND/OR LA TURBIE, SAINTE AGNES, PEILLE

June 7, Wednesday – Day trip via Train
--Antibe (Visit town, Musee Picasso)
--WHAT ELSE SHOULD WE SEE/DO? EZE-LE-VILLAGE AND/OR LA TURBIE, BIOT (MUSEE NATIONAL FERNAND-LEGER)?

June 8, Thursday – Pick up Car
--St. Paul de Vence, Vence, Tourrettes sur Loup, Gorge du Loup, Gourdon, GORBIO? IS THIS TOO MUCH

June 9, Friday – Drive to Aix – STAY THE NIGHT OR DRIVE TO LUBERON? (shops closed Sun & Mon)
--Lunch at Deux Garcons
--STAY THE NIGHT OR DRIVE TO THE LUBERON?
--From Aix to Luberon see Chateau in Luberon, Oppede le Vieux, MEMERBES?

June 10, Saturday - Luberon – STAY IN ISLE-SUR-LA-SORGUE, SAIGNON, GOULT?
--Bonnieux (shops closed Sun & Mon), Saignon (market on Sat, shops closed Sun & Mon)

June 11, Sunday
--Rouisson (shops open sun & mon), Joucas, Les Baux and/or Uzes. IS THIS TOO MUCH?

June 12, Monday
--Gordes (shops open sun & mon) (Senanque Abbey), Moustiers (beautiful village/french pottery)
--Dinner at Auberge La Feniere or another night if we are close