annhig

Hi y'all,

doesn't look like much of a problem, does it? but as ever, at the planning stage of any trip, long or short, there are too many choices to make!

here's the basic deal - we [me and DH, leaving the kids at home to house-sit this time] can fly out of Exeter [only 100 miles away, whoopee] either to Avignon or Nice on a saturday, and fly back again from either airport on the following wednesday. giving us 4 nights, including our 30th wedding anniversary.

I fancy starting in Nice and ending in Avignon, 'cos I like one-way trips, and those flights would give us the longest time there - a whole extra half day - which matters in a 4 day trip.

however, I can see the advantage of just picking one and choosing a near-by base - avignon for arles, pont du gard, nimes, etc., Nice for the cote d'azur, luberon,..

as i think i posted elsewhere when hijacking other peoples' threads, we've been to Avignon a long time ago and aren't too fussed about going back, but that may just be my memory deceiving me.

I've no objection to saving money, but given the nature of the trip, we could splash out a bit on accommodation, though I'd rather spend it on some good meals.

what would you do to make this trip memorable?

regards, ann

PS Stu already kindly e-mailed me his invaluable provence/cote'dazur itinerary, which I've started to read, but at 77 pages, I'm doing it in stages!
thanks stu!

traveller1959

Your plans sound like a perfect itinerary.

I would stay for two days on the Cote d'Azur (according to taste in Nice, Antibes/Juan-les-Pins, Cannes or even on the Cote des Maures) and for another two days near Avignon.

If you do not like Avignon (the city center is quaint) you can stay at any other place in the area: St. Remy, Les Beaux, Arles...or even in Bagnols sur Ceze, there is a nice affordable castle hotel.

StuDudley

My itinerary is only 27 pages - how did you get 77???

Sounds like you really only have 3 1/2 full days. I would just stay in 1 spot. Plenty to do in each area. No need to loose another half-day in packing/checkout/travel/checkin/unpacking. It's 2 1/2 hrs between Nice & Avignon.

If you want to see some coastline, then stay in Nice or St Paul. You'll find plenty of cute-little-villages around St Paul, Nice Hinterland, and west in the Var around Cotignac.

Four nights is not much time - be efficient.

Remember, many/most shops in Old Nice will be closed on Monday & many on Sunday also. Use that time to explore the Nice Hinterland, or visit St Paul & Eze.

Stu Dudley

MaureenB

If you want a hotel in Nice, that's not too expensive (doesn't have a view), we liked the Hotel le Grimaldi. It's a lovely boutique-type hotel with great service, in a good location for walking everywhere.

Here are trip report about it:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34810691

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annhig

Stu -

you're absolutely right - your itinerary is ONLY 27 pages, but the way it came through on my computer made it 77 until I saved it to WORD.

you're also absolutely right that we should really staying one place with a trip lasting only 4 nights. in fact, if i were answering my own thread, I'd be telling me I was mad. however, we DO have effectively 4 days if we do it my way - Sat pm, Sun, Mon, Tues, and WEd. am.

thanks, Maureen for the link to the hotel grimaldi and your trip report. it's really helpful.

traveller - thanks for the encouragement. I'm thinking along the lines of 2 nights in Nice/nice area [using sunday to explore the region behind Nice] and then travelling onto Provence on monday, when as you point out, Stu, lots of towns will be shut, so being out in the countryside will be no problem.

my other idea is to head east towards st. tropez for a night, then two nights in the camargue, and a final night in Arles, prioir to heading home.

what I don't want to do is to spend a lot of time stuck in traffic, which I anitcipate might be a problem if we arrive in Nice at sat lunchtime. given that the airport is to the west of Nice, would it be a good idea to head straight off away from the town, or plunge straight in for the afternoon?

and, the most important question of all - where should we head for our first lunch?

decisions, decisions

regards, ann

StuDudley

Everyting in St Paul & St Tropez will be open both Sunday & Monday in June.

I would just stay put in the Nice/St Paul area. There's LOTS of diverse & interestings things to do & see there. It took me about 3 trips to that area before I discovered the sites in the Nice Hinterland. This area is just as interesting & scenic as the stuff immediatly around Nice - in fact, I really enjoy it more because of the fewer tourists. North of Nice there's lots of canyons, scenic vistas, & non-touristy cute villages. See my itinerary for ideas. Take my Chateaudouble, Tourtour, Cotignac, Lourges loop in the itinerary if you want a countryside drive with vineyards, rolling hills, perhaps some poppies if you're there in earlier June, and more cute villages. Have lunch in Tourtour or Cotignac.

I've never been that interested in the Camargue enough to take me away from exploring other regions of Provence. You might solicit other's opinions as to whether it's worth a visit to that area instead of spending time in the Nice Hinterland, around Cotignac, St Tropez/Gassin/Ramatuelle/Bormes/Grimaud or the Luberon/Alpilles in Provence.

Your "other ideas" seem like you're trying to pack 8 days worth of stuff into 4 days.

Stu Dudley

annhig

Stu,

you sound just like me responding to someone else's thread. it's interesting being on the receiving end.

ok - arriving sat lunchtime at nice airport - question one- where would YOU go?

which direction to
a) get lunch before they all shut b) avoid sat pm crowds.

question 2 - looking at your itinerary, [so much to take in, I'll have to get the map out and follow it in detail] which direction should we head in to see some lavender, [which doesn't grow terribly well here in damp climes of cornwall] given that we'll be there at the ideal time of year?

regards, ann

robertino

I think I would stay in Nice for all 4 days. We really loved our room at the Suisse with a balcony overlooking the bay.

If I were going to venture farther west into Provence, and only had time for one place, I'd go to Aix. Very special. Like you, I didn't much like Avignon. But if I wanted a good central base to see Nimes, Arles, Les Baux, Roussillon, etc, I'd choose St. Remy. We loved our hotel on the outskirts of town.

StuDudley

Lunch kinda depends on what your plans are for that first day & where you are staying. If you're staying in Nice, take a taxi in & if you're staying close to the Cours Saleya, have lunch at Safari (reserve ahead). If you're staying farther west, have lunch on the pedestriann only R Massena (dozens of places there). If you're staying in St Paul, have lunch in St Paul or Vence.

In June, the lavender blooms in late June, but for some reason the Valensole Plane blooms a little earlier - and it's closer to Nice than Sault or other lavender regions.

Get on the A8 heading west. Get off at Brignoles & take the D554 heading north through le Val & Barjols. Catching this road off the A8 is a little tricky - you must first drive towards Brignoles, then double back to le Val. After Barjols, take the D71/D13/D11 to Riez. My 27 page itinerary will describe this Valensole lavender tour in detail. There's lots of lavender in this region. After viewing the lavender, you can take a side trip to Moustiers, and/or drive back to Barjols then Carces and do my excursion through the cute villages of the Var (Cotignac, Tourtour, Lorgues) in reverse. Riez would be a good spot for lunch along the way. A small side street north of the main road through town & parallel to it has lots of small outdoor restaurants. There are some outdoor restaurants on the main road through town also.

Stu Dudley

annhig

hi, stu,

you are a positive encyclopaedia. I really must sit down with the map and your itinerary before I post any more Qs - I'm beginning to feel guilty! I'll check out the safari and the route you mention.

Robertino - thanks for the steer to the hotel suisse. I was slighly surprised to find that venere were saying it was full, but their official web-site has vacancies for about E160/170 per room plus E15 for breakfast. it's a bit more than we usually pay but it looks just the ticket, right by the old town, and you don't have a 30th wedding anniversary very often.

our main leisure interest is/are? gardens, so I'm looking particularly for gardens to visit. I've found le jardin d'eze [via a great web-site called www.parcsetjardins.fr] - any more i should think about?

all suggestions gratefully received,

regards, ann

Judy

If you've not seen the gardens at Villa Ephrussi Rothschild just outside of St. Jean Cap Ferrat, you must go there. While the views from the garden in Eze are quite spectacular, the gardens at the villa are much more impressive.

For that first lunch, you may want to consider Les Terraillers in Biot. We had a wonderful lunch there last week. It has a michelin star. Biot is just a little west of the Nice airport.

We also dined at La Colombe d'Or in St. Paul de Vence and highly recommend that as well.

Have a wonderful trip!! When are you going?

StuDudley

Les Terraillers is indeed an excellent restaurant - it's our favorite in the area. However, lunch there will consume about 3 hours that day - 30 mins to get there & back, plus 2 hrs for lunch. Go there for dinner - perhaps your 30th. That's where we celebrated our 30th!!!

Stu Dudley

annhig

Hi again, judy and stu,

i do like the look of les terrailles, [thanks Judy] but I agree that it's not really a place for our first lunch, especially as we won't arrive til 2pm. for an anniversary dinner it would be great.

thanks too for the tip about the Rothschild garden. I've had a look at the web-site - do you know when the fountains are on? all the time? it didn't say, either in French or english so far as i could see.

we'll be going towards the end of June - the anniversary is on the 24th. I'm still toying with 2 nights in Nice, 2 further west towards Avignon. i like robertino's suggestion of Aix.

I just won't be told, will I?



I'm going to have a good look at la colombe d'or in St. Paul de vence too.

regards, ann

StCirq

If you're going to be in the Camargue for two days be sure to have a meal at La Telline. It doesn't have a website that I know of and it's just a family's house in the teeny little village of Villeneuve, but the experience is absolutely among my most memorable dining moments.

StuDudley

>>I just won't be told, will I?<<

You're being told - you're just not wanting to follow suggestions from others who have "been there & done that".

The area immediatly around Avignon is not one of my favorites and I've never seen any lavender around there. You need to get into the Luberon valley, around Sault, north of Mt Ventoux, or farther north around Grignan to see large lavender fields.

If you arrive at 2, I doubt that you will find many restaurants that will seat you past 3:30-4 - unless it's a Flunch type place.

Stu Dudley

MaureenB

Ann, we stayed in Nice three nights, and this is from my trip report of mid-May 2006:

"The next day we decided to take the short bus ride on the #81, to visit the Villa and Jardins Ephrussi de Rothschild, near Saint Jean Cap Ferrat. (The bus is just 1.30EUR each direction, which you pay in exact change on the bus.)

It was a nice visit, especially to see the views of the sea down below on both sides of the hillside. I thought the price was a bit steep, at 9.50EUR for an adult, because the Villa isn’t really all that interesting (sorry!), but the gardens are gorgeous. There’s also a nice little café there, for a light snack or drink or meal, which was a welcome break from all our walking.

From the Villa, we did the easy walk down to the port of St. Jean to walk around and check it out. There are nice boats in the little harbor, with cute restaurants and shops. It’s very tiny, so doesn’t take long to walk from end to end of St. Jean. We spent just about an hour and a half there, then caught the #81 back to Nice."

I believe the fountains were on in mid-May. I remember a bride and her groom were having their photos taken in that area.

It's a beautiful garden to wander in for an hour, then catch a break in the pretty garden cafe.
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Judy

annhig, last week the fountains at Villa Ephrussi were completely torn up for renovation....certainly by May, they should have completed the work!

annhig

Maureen

thanks-this looks lovely for an afternoon walk.

Stu - yes, arriving at 2pm isn't convenient, at least for lunch. i guess we'll just have to head straight for town and see what we can pick up. a good reason for just taking hand-luggage.

good news - i am very taken with the hotel suisse.

regards, ann

annhig

OK stu/ anyone else

i had a look at the map - not before time you might say.

plan A - fly "flybe" to nice from exeter [arriving about 2pm - just after lunch, what are those flight schedulers thinking about?], spend 2 nights at the hotel suisse, then drive via grasse up to the gorges du verdun area, spend 2 nights, drive to avignon for pm flight home.

Plan B - fly easyjet to nice from Bristol arriving mid-evening, stay 2/3 nights as before, then drive up to the gorge area as above, flying home from Nice late evening on day 5 [we get an eatra day this way and it's £100 cheaper on the flights, so we can spend that on an extra nights' lodgings.]

with Plan B, would you do 3 nights in Nice and 2 in the gorge, or vv?

any nice hotels in the gorge area?

regards, ann

StuDudley

Where did the Gorge come in ?? I thought you were interested in the Lavender fields in that area - not the gorge.

I would stay in Nice 5 nights and visit the lavender fields around Valensole as a day trip from Nice. Then visit the Gorges behind Nice instead of trying to squeeze a visit to the lavender fields (via Grasse), Gorges du Verdun, & Moustiers (perhaps) all in 1 day. That's a lot of in-the-car time.

I would suggest that you become familiar with many different day trip possibilities around Nice, stay there for 5 nights, and then see what trips appeal to you once you get there. If you plan 2 short days in Nice & 2 short days elsewhere, that kinda commits you to a very fast paced and "fixed" itinerary. If you stay 5 days in Nice & love the coast, you may not want to take many day trips into the countryside or Gorges. If you love the cute little village, you may want to explore those primarily. If you love the rugged terraine in the gorges behind Nice - then spend more time there. You may also not want to spend a lot of time in the car.

Two days in the Nice area & 2 days in the Avignon or Gorges area seems like too little time in both.

I prefer staying in the Luberon near Gordes to staying near the Gorges du Verdun (which I was a little underwhealmed with - but I've visited many gorges - perhaps you have not)

Stu Dudley