Vacation2014

Hello all,

I am planning a last minute weekend in the cote d'azur, and have been reading a lot about all the different cities Nice, Cannes and Juan Les Pins. I know that in Nice there are stone beaches and Cannes/JLP have sand beaches. I just want to have a fun relaxing weekend, lay at the beach and also go for strolls around town. Maybe some shopping etc. What would you recommend?

TPAYT

Depends on your budget and lifestyle.
Cannes--very high end
JLP--more casual

Also consider Antibes---some very nice sandy beaches. Our favorite beach club, Keller Plage on Garoupe Beach, great restaurant for lunch, but pricy, plus sandy beach and walk along the rocks.

LifeinFrance

I agree with TPAYT, it really depends on your interests and budget.
Cannes is more pricey in general than Nice. Some Cannes attractions are the Marché Forville, strolling the Croisette and boutique shopping on the rue d'Antibes.
Nice has pebble beaches, but there are many great museums and the old town is worth a stroll especially to see the daily market on the Cours Saleya.
Juan les Pins has nice sandy beaches but no major tourist attractions as such. There are a lot of beach restaurants and bars. On 01 August, there is a free public fireworks display in Juan les Pins off the beach, it starts at 10pm. You can take a sightseeing tour from Juan les Pins to Antibes with a tuk tuk company, go parasailing in the bay, hire a beach lounger (prices vary from €10-€25 a day) and there are lots of historical buildings in Juan les Pins as it was very popular in the 1920's and 1930's

Rubicund

When you go on your summer vacation
You go to Juan-les-Pins
With your carefully designed topless swimsuit
You get an even suntan, on your back and on your legs.

Love that song and every time I hear of Juan les Pins it goes round in my head.

Tulips

Juan les Pins - sandy beaches, lots of bars, small boutiques open until midnight, more of a young, party atmosphere. Restaurants with lounges on the beach, for a drink or a meal.
Cannes - also large sandy beach, with beach clubs and restaurants. More glitzy, expensive boutiques, but also the old town with Forville Market and lots of restaurants
Nice - pebble beach, but if you wear shoes it's not a problem. Also lots of nice shops, lovely old town with market every morning, more museums and things to do than in the other towns.

For what you describe I would go for Cannes - though your options may be limited to what you can book this late, in high season.
In Juan les Pins, we recently passed the Hotel St Valerie, right in Pinede close to everything but in a quiet street. I thought it looked lovely.

Also a fan of Plage Keller, but do book your beach chairs and lunch in advance.

Tulips

Rubicund Not so much topless sunbathing nowadays though.

dfourh

Another vote for Antibes. Shopping there is nice. Classy place but in the big-money sense.

PalenQ

the change in topless bathing in France has been huge - rarely see anyone under 90 topless anymore - whereas it used to be de rigueur for all ages.

I remember about 20 years ago going to the local piscine (swimming pool) and seeing many women of all ages topless - ws kind of nice looking at all the younger gals!

But now my French friends say that all has changed and that topless is out of fashion - tant pis to me!

Vacation2014

Sounds all good Is there anything to do in JLP, besides the beach and restaurants? Are the beaches in JLP only private or do I have to pay entrance?

StuDudley

There are certainly fewer topless women than there were 20 years ago. But there are still several under 35 years old - perhaps 5% of the women under 35 were topless when we were in Nice 6 weeks ago. I think there may be a higher percent along the Pampalonne/St Tropez beaches (didn't visit this year).

Stu Dudley

Vacation2014

Besides topless woman, are there any other attractions?

StuDudley

We've spent 20 weeks vacationing on the Cote d'Azur. We just returned from 2 weeks there. I have a 31 page Provence/Cote d'Azur itinerary that describes our favorite sites, scenic drives, villages, markets, beaches, etc. 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 a one to the reply e-mail.

Stu Dudley

PalenQ

Besides topless woman, are there any other attractions>

bottomless men - when I took the GORGEOUS walk from Cap d'Ail train station to Monaco I was shocked at how many folks were swimming au naturel - of course that is an isolated area without any formal beaches - just rocks tumbling into the sea.

But for a neat short walk along an untouched part of the Riviera where the signature cyrpess tress impossibly cling to boulders tumbling toward the sea take this short about 2-mile flat walk on footpaths the whole way.

One of my very favorite things to do on the Cote d'Azur and the water is really a clear azur-hewed color. If you did not bring your swimming suit, you can still swim here.

http://french-riviera-blog.com/2011/...-coastal-path/

Take the train from Juan-les-Pins or Cannes or any seaside station to Cap d'Ail station - the path is just below it - turn left (east) and be gobsmacked with the untouched beauty that has disappeared along much of the Cote d'Azur with heavy development of modern hotels, etc.

Tulips

Juan les Pins is mostly beach, cafes, shops. Not much to do in the town. There's a train station, that easily takes you to other places along the coast.
There are some free beaches, and many places where you pay for a 'matelas', lounge chair. This is the case for most beaches on the Cote d'Azur.

LifeinFrance

Juan les Pins has free public beaches on the main seafront (located near rue des Iles) and further towards Golfe Juan which is less crowded but no facilities (i.e. toilets, showers). There are a few public beaches heading towards the Cap d'Antibes that are worth a visit - plage Gallice (sand), plage des Ondes (sand) which is popular for stand-up paddleboarding and then a few rocky beaches on the Cap d'antibes walkway. All of the beach restaurants hire loungers.