hc91

We are planning a 10-day trip to Soutern France at the end of the month. It's very last minute, any advice on itinerary is appreciated!

day 1: Paris
day2: Annecy
day3: Chamonix
day 4-5: Avignon, Arles
day 6-8: Nice, Monacco, Eze, nearby towns
day 10: Paris

- Is day 2/3 too rush?
- What is the best way to travel around the places? Train? We thinking whether to rent a card in Avignon or Nice...
- Is driving and directions hard to manage, can we rent a car with GPS?
- Any recommendations on accomodation?
Many thanks!!

lemidi

Hello
-Definitely rent a car if you can. It's the only way to really explore and see as much as you want otherwise you will be at the mercy of train schedules and only towns with train stations. Train is perfect for Nice to Monaco though...
-Many car rentals offer a GPS option for a fee.
-I can't say enough about the ease of driving in France not only for the nice road system with abundant rest stops and security features but also the navigating.
-Navigating around France is very easy and if you have a good sense of direction you could even get around without a map although you probably want one if you've never been to this area. At every intersection, which is a circle or "rond-point" there will be a sign at each exit with the next town no matter how small and then the next major town is also listed so that you will know which direction to go. There is usually also an option when exiting a village for "toutes directions" (all directions) so that you will find where to go to get out of the town. When going into a town there is always a sign for "centre-ville" near the entrance so if in doubt get to "centre ville" and you will inevitably be where you want to be or you will find a tourist office and/or parking lot that can get you where you want to be.
-www.viamichelin.com and www.mappy.com are great for driving costs and distances/timing.

Have fun.

ira

Hi Hc,

I suggesting breaking the Paris/Annecy portion with a stopover in Dijon.

You might also consider taking the train from Paris to Dijon (it takes slightly less time than driving) and starting your motor trip from there.

I also suggest the train from Nice to Paris.

See www.voyages.sncf for schedules and prices.

PBProvence

I'd skip Annecy and Chamonix, simply because you have limited time and traveling by train will take up a substantial portion of it.

I suggest TGV to Avignon, pick up a rental car and add another day in this area.

Drive to Nice with perhaps an overnight in Cassis.

I also suggest flying back to Paris... the TGv from Nice will take over 6.5 hours - the better part of a full day.

I hope that none of the traveling days for you will be on the last weekend of August (the 26th, 27th)! There will be tons of traffic on the highways and most trains and probably flights will be heavily booked.

Patricia

StuDudley

I also suspect that you will have a lot of difficult finding a hotel 1n Provence & Nice this late. Might be a little better on the 28th - 31st.

Stu Dudley

hc91

Thanks so much for all your useful advice! We've decided do the other way round due to flight changes.

26 Aug pm: Arrive Nice
27 Aug: Nice
28 Aug: Monaco, Eze, St Paul de Vence (public transport)
29 Aug: train from Nice to Avignon
30 Aug: Avignon - rent a car
31 Aug: Day trip, Drive to Arles, St. Remy
1 Sept: train to Chamonix
2 Sept: train to Annecy
3 Sept: Annecy to Paris
4 Sept pm: Depart Paris

We have been to Paris before so dun need to spend much time there. I'm worried that Annecy and Chamonix will be too rush too, so thinking of dropping them. Advice needed!

Stu Dudley,, You are right, accomodations are very quite full now, any advice/recommendations appreciated!

Also, do you think I should buy a train pass (by EU rail?)

Many thanks!!

Underhill

You don't need a railpass; you can buy tickets directly at the French railway site, sncf.com. See the very useful guide by MorganB on this site--just do a search for his name to find it.

Underhill

For hotels, try lastminute.com

For B&Bs, do a Google search for

chambresdhotes plus whatever town you want to be near.

Good luck!

moldyhotelsaregross

For hotels, check www.venere.com . I plugged in your dates and found more than 40 hotels available based on double occupancy.

hc91

Thanks a lot for the links.

Is Chamonix and Annecy similar actually? Which one is better if I have to skip one? Are there any transportation to go up to the mountain?

Underhill

Chamonix is a mountain village well known for ski resorts. Annecy is a charming small town on the edge of Lake Annecy. So...mountains or lake for you? Annecy has a canal running through it and beautiful old buildings, if that helps.

StuDudley

Chamonix is very bland, IMO. There is no charm to it whatsoever. EXCEPT it is the base for taking the gondola up towards Mt Blanc & beyond - which IS exceptional - if the weather is good.

Annecy has a little more to entertain you. The city is very charming (especially on market day), the lake is scenic, the mountains around there are fun to explore, etc. However, if you don't have a car, about 1/2 day is all you need in Annecy. The interesting part of Annecy is smaller than you might think, and a little too tourist for my tastes.

Regarding your itinerary:
26 Aug pm: Arrive Nice
27 Aug: Nice
28 Aug: Monaco, Eze, St Paul de Vence (public transport)
29 Aug: train from Nice to Avignon

I wold rent a car in Nice & drive to Avignon - you will get there faster by car & you can leave Nice anytime you want (after picking up the car). The driving route on the freeway is quite scenic in spots - especially around the St Tropez exit. If you drive inland from the freeway, you can visit some very charming villages (Fayance, Tourrettes, Seillans, Bargeman, Tourtour, Cotignac, Lorgues), and some very interesting drives through vineyards & canyons.

30 Aug: Avignon - rent a car

If you arrive on the 29th and visit parts of Avignon then, it won't take all day on the 30th to see the rest, IMO.

31 Aug: Day trip, Drive to Arles, St. Remy

I think you are city-hopping. How about a drive through the beautiful countryside - where many (including myself) find the "charms" of Provence. The Luberon would be a good choice, and so would a trip towards Sault or around the Dentelles. If you choose to only see St Remy & Arles, try to squeek in Les Baux also.

1 Sept: train to Chamonix
2 Sept: train to Annecy

Wow - you've left most of the "big ticket" sites in Provence unexplored - Pont du Gard, villages & countryside in the Luberon, les Baux, Vaison & the Dentelles, Uzes, remote villages, outdoor markets.

3 Sept: Annecy to Paris
4 Sept pm: Depart Paris

I'll give you the same advice that PBProvence gave you. Skip Annecy & Chamonix - that's way too much time on the train. It's at least 6 hrs to Chamonix with 2-3 train changes - this will occupy most of your day on the 1st - not much time to take the gondola to areas around Mt Blanc and see Chamonix a bit.

It's only 3 1/2 hrs to Annecy (1 train chg)- so if you realy need to see something else, just stick with Annecy & forget Mt Blanc/Chamonix.

If this were my trip I would stay in Provence till the afternoon of the 3rd. Then take the TGV to Dijon and stay overnight there (very interesting town). Next morning, take the 6:30 am TGV that gets you to CDG at 8:20 - hopefully in time for your flight home.

Stu Dudley

Romelle

I spent two weeks a couple years ago in southern France - February. Started in Perpignan (right by Spain) and worked my way across to Menton (next to Italy). All train, and it worked very well.

The focus of my trip was to see a lot of the places where the Impressionists worked and lived. Also went to the Menton Lemon Festival (incredible to one from Minnesota, since I left raging blizzards and found sunshine and blooming almond trees).

One special stop was Grasse, where I spent an entire day touring perfume factories and museums and acquiring a selection of their wonderful perfumes - counting tiny samples, I had 26. Back home I conducted this big research project to find the perfect one. Loved it.

A car would also work well, and the math is different with two people rather than one. I just like riding trains and really don't like driving in foreign countries. I do pack very light, and know as a grandmother I look a little odd with my backpack, but it works well for me.

Romelle

gung

Hi, I am also planning a trip in the Southern France area the last week of August. I will be staying in Nice for about 4 days. Does anyone know if St Paul de Vence and Villefranch sur mer are good places to visit? Any recommendations on which nearby towns/villages in Nice I should visit and how easy it is to get there? Help is appreciated. Thanks ~~

-gung

Underhill

From Nice it's perhaps a half-hour drive up to St-Paul-de-Vence; a car is useful, but you can also take the bus or the train to Cagnes-sur-Mer and a bus from there. The town of Vence, in the hills above St-Paul, is also very nice, as is Tourretes-sur-Loup.

Villefranche-sur-Mer can easily be reached by train from Nice; it's not far. Farther down the east coast from Nice is the peninsula of St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, where the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild is very much worth a visit. There are lovely views from both sides of Cap Ferrat.

Still farther to the east is the perched village of Eze, with fabulous views over the coast.

Azureskies

Take the 400 bus from Nice to St Paul de Vence. You can also take the 100 bus to Ville Franche. Both are nice villages. St Paul de Vence is a lovely perched village with views of the mountains and the sea. It is known for its art galleries. Ville Franche is charming but there is not much to do. A wander through the streets, fort and alleyways would take a maximum of 1 hour. There is a nice beach there, however, with good views of Cap Ferat. If you're feeling energetic, a walk back to Nice along the coast takes about 1.5 hours. It is a great walk with breathtaking views out to the sea.

gung

Thanks for all your suggesions, they are very helpful!
I was also reading the previous reply from StuDudley, about the 6+ hrs train ride from Avignon to Chamonix. Does it really take that long? Is there really no quicker way to get there from Avignon? Coz I really wanna see the mountain but trying to avoid wasting the entire day on the train. (Too bad Annecy doesn't have a closer and more fabulous view of the Alps)

-gung

StuDudley

Avignon TGV to Chamonix-mont-blanc

See for yourself. Dates are in DD/MM/YY format

http://www.reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

Stu Dudley

portobelloB

I would recommend saving Annecy and Chamonix for another trip.

IF you have a car you could consider adding a couple more days in Provence area and consider any of these places to your itinerary - Aix en Provence, St. Remy, Les Baux, Cassis, Antibes, Cannes - Lerin Islands to visit.

Bon Voyage!

hc91

Hi all, thanks for all your suggestions!

I have trouble buying tickets on sncf.com. When i got to the order page, it only allowed me to input an address in france to receive a free posting of the ticket. There's no way i could choose to collect the ticket at the train stations in france! MorganB mentioned that problem, and suggested another website, Thalys, but i couldn't find the inter-city trains within france!

! Do they have e-ticketing? How can i select e-ticket/collect ticket at station?? It just won't let me proceed!