French Riviera experts, please, help to dicide where to base.
Feb 13th, 2002, 10:10 PM
#1
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French Riviera experts, please, help to dicide where to base.
We are prepearing to book the second part of our September Italy-France vacation and can not decide where to stay for the 4 day French Riviera part of the trip. Neither my husband nor I have ever been to FR, so we are not familiar with the area. The choice is between basing ourselves in Nice(hotel Grimaldi sounds very nice) or in either Tourettes sur Loupe, small mountain village,(Auberge de Tourrettes sounds absolutely charming) which supposed to be only 20 min. from Nice airport or just outside Saint-Paul de Vence "Grande Bastide" or "La Bastide aux Oliviers". We will have a rental and our main concern is that it would take too long of each day to get out of the "hill area" (we are planning to explore Eze, Antibes, Nice, Monaco and maybe Cannes along with Saint-Paul de Vence. On the other hand traffic in Nice could be bad???? It will be the very beginning of Sept. We do not speak very good French and obviously do not know the roads. Which is the best way to go in your opinion? Also, what are the sights and restaurants not to miss? We are in our early-mid 30s, like architecture, history,water and like to try regional cousine; we are not modern art lovers nor are we interested in $200 per person meals. Forgive me for cramming so much into one question. Thanks for your help!<BR>
Feb 14th, 2002, 05:29 AM
#2
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Hello,<BR> I studied in Nice a few years ago and I believe I know the Riviera pretty well. I suggest you stay in Nice. For the places you inted to visit, Nice is more centrally located. The other places may involve you trying to navigate your way out of the mountains and that will consume time you would otherwise use to tour something interesting. <BR> Nice, although a sizable city is in my view walkable. I lived in the university dorms which are not far from the airport. I was able to walk to the train station and Place Massena. The train will take to to Antibes (west), or Villefranche, Eze, Beaulieu sur Mer, Menton, and Monaco(east). In an hour and half by train you will be in Ventimiglia (Italy). <BR>Sights: Villefranche sur Mer: the fortress offers a nice view. Eze sur Mer: Chaeau de Chevre d'or. It was worth the 45 minute climb on a mountain trail to get there. Do not worry, you can get there by bus from the train station. Normally the climb is 90 minutes but I was in very good shape then. The Chateau is actually a hotel and therestaurant is pricey but it is worth it for the view. I would go back. <BR>Monaco: the view from the palace andwalking around in Monte Carlo. There is an outdoor cafe near the Casino, worth a stop for some coffee while absorbing the sights. To the west, I went to the beach at Antibes and visited Cannes.<BR> I hope this helps.<BR> Good Luck
Feb 15th, 2002, 05:36 AM
#4
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I'm no expert, but my wife and I did stay 2 nights at Auberge de Tourrettes (www.aubergedetourrettes.fr) in March of 2001. We loved it there. Tourrettes-sur-Loup is pretty hill town (i'll plug my photos at http://community.webshots.com/user/zaepfels ) And make sure you eat in the restaurant at the inn at least one night -- the cuisine is excellent, expensive, but worth the splurge ($100 for the two of us). Get the room on the back of the inn with the terrace and view of the med. We only saw the med one night because of the weather but it was still fun to have breakfast on the terrace. The hill country and towns provide spectacular scenary. We stayed one night in Nice and I was not that impressed with Nice. But then we didn't have much time to explore the city. The coastal town I thought would be good for a base for a future visit was Villefranche-sur-Mer. It had a pretty waterfront with a number of hotels and restaurants. <BR>Our french was almost non-existant and we didn't have any trouble communicating with the locals (who are much friendlier than Parisians). Driving was not a problem, actually quite fun, but I found driving in Nice a bit tense. I found the Michelin green guide book for the Cote d'Azur quite helpful in narrowing down our itinerary. If you have any other questions, feel free to email me.<BR><BR>Have fun!
Feb 15th, 2002, 08:24 AM
#5
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We stayed in Le Mas d'Artigny hotel a little outside St Paul de Vence and had no problems whatsoever getting to the places you mention.<BR><BR>We visited Nice, Eze, and some perched mountain villages and found our location ideal.<BR><BR>Being out on its own the only disadvantage was that, the hotel restaurant being too expensive for us, we had to drive to restaurants in the evening, but this also wasn't a huge problem.<BR><BR>Park in the lit areas, our rental car was broken into (we had left nothin in it) and the police told us afterwards that there was a LOT of petty car crime in the region.<BR><BR>Kavey<BR><BR>PS I posted a trip report here on Fodors, I think you can find it if you search for Utelle.
Feb 15th, 2002, 08:53 AM
#6
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Some friends and I hired a villa in Tourettes-sur-Loup last July, and had an idyllic holiday. T-sur-L is a charming village, easy to reach with good (if very windey) roads leading to it! We had great day trips out to Nice, Vence, St-Paul de Vence, Eze, Antibes and the beautiful roads that snake up the hills above the coast. A must see is the Foundation Maeght which is a modern art gallery in St Paul de Vence (I know you said you weren't interested in modern art but it really is a stunning place), and also a small chapel on the road to Vence which was designed and decorated by Matisse.<BR><BR>We had dinner at the Auberge, which was great if a little on the pricey side, and also at Le Colombe d'Or which was one of the most memorable meals of my life, and also one of the most expensive! We ate at most of the restaurants in the village, and found all to be fine - some a little more rustic than others . . .<BR><BR>I love the whole area, and would imagine that in early September the roads will not be too bad - the French will be back at work, most British holiday makers will have returned to the UK and school holidays are mostly over. Have a great trip!
Mar 17th, 2002, 04:49 AM
#8
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I still remember memorable meals at Le Colombe d'or from 20 years ago! The locals play boule outside. In the restaurant (also a hotel), you eat amid fabulous artwork that was given in exchange for meals during and after WWII. <BR>Don't miss Cap Ferrat, a quite penninsula between nice and monaco. the homes are amazing, views spectacular, and every restaurant offering a great meal Visit the Matisse chapel in nearby Villefrance sur la mer, and you can have an inexpensive, but very good meal in the harbor there.
