KellyNYC

I am renting an apartment in Nice for a week in August. I have read a good number of quidebooks but want to know if you all have any "don't miss" recommendations for the area. FYI: I plan on going to the museums.

Thanks!

Underhill

If you have an assortment of guidebooks you probably have all the "don't miss" recommendations already. Will you have a car? That makes visiting the hill villages easier, and places like Renoir's house in Haut-de-Cagnes and the Fondation Maeght near St-Paul-de-Vence. Vieux Nice is, of course, the first Don't Miss! For a change of pace, you might enjoy checking out the large shopping mall near St-Laurent-du-Var, perhaps lunching at one of the restaurants along its port. I could easily do pages of lists of things we've enjoyed seeing besides the excellent museums if you're interested.

mpprh

Hi

whenever I'm over there I visit Gourdon.

I've been visiting the village for 30 years : the sad part is my old photos show the Med but now it's rare because of the pollution.

Catalina Island ?

Peter

The Languedoc Page
http://tlp.netfirms.com

cigalechanta

an unusual museum to visit is the Musée Peynet in Nice. But there are other humourists works on exhibit there. Peynet is famous for his "lovers."I have been a fan since I was a young girl.

Underhill

I just remembered that the name of the big shopping mall near St-Laurent-du-Var is Quatre Mille. There's a good Galeries Lafayette, quite a few interesting smaller shops, and lots of free parking.

KellyNYC

Thanks all. We are not planning on renting a car but you never know.

One question: what is catalina island?

passantd

I went to Nice two summers ago...it is a nice place -- no pun intended. However, the beach is extremely rocky and the water extremely salty. The food is amazing but there really is not a lot to do in nice itself. You need to venture out of Nice and go to other places. You can very easily jump on the train and go to Cannes, Saint-Tropez or Monaco. We wanted to rent a car but neither of us drive stick shift very well and automatics are hard to come by on short notice -- but they are available.

Underhill

Cataline Island? The one I know is in southern California.

SalB

Catalina Island is off the coast of southern California. You get there by ferry from LA. I think the reference was to the smog. You usually can't see Catalina because of the smog and Peter couldn't see the Mediterranean from Gourdon because of air pollution.

hanl

Hi,
We rented a gîte just outside Nice a couple of summers ago, in the so-called "arrière-pays niçois" (the Nice hinterland). We loved the inland areas so much that we hardly bothered with the Côte d'Azur (although, admittedly, the weather was so hot that it was almost unbearable on the coast)...
We stayed in Berre les Alpes, a gorgeous little medieval village, north-east of Nice, perched atop a rocky summit. Also worth visiting is the beautifully preserved hilltop village of Coaraze.
We also enjoyed visiting Grasse for the day.

BTilke

Hi Kelly, I am leaving for Nice tomorrow morning..I have a day there, then off to Milan for business, then a couple of days in Nice on the way back (like you, no car). I plan to try one of the two local tourist trains, either the Train des Merveilles or the Train des Pignes (both are used by locals as well). They are supposed to offer incredible views and a chance to get off the beaten path up into the more remote hills of Provence. I am leaning toward the Train des Pignes, which according to my Eyewitness Travel Guide to Provence and Cote d'Azur (page 181 if you have it), goes over 16 viaducts, 15 bridges, and past waterfalls, etc. Will let you know what it's like when I return!
(I posed a message here a couple of days ago asking about the Train des Merveilles, etc., and got no responses, so perhaps I will be the Fodors guinea pig for these activities).

BTilke

FYI, there are posts here on Train des Pignes, so you could check that out. None on Train des Merveilles, though. In Digne les Bains, at the end of the Train des Pignes route, there will be a lavender festival in August. If the dates of the festival coincide with your trip, sounds like a nice thing to do.

KellyNYC

BTilke: The train sounds great. Please do post on it when you return. I have been in Nice one other time for two days so have a good idea of the town itself. But I didn't go anywhere else in the area. So any tips you have on your return would be great. Thanks!