cigalechanta

I second the Columbe D'Or in St Paul-de-Vence, and La Telline in Gageron in the Camargue. I also read in my French Magazine that the new chef at La Chassagnette is very good. Years ago we stayed at La Perouse in Nice overlooking the water but an easy stroll to old Nice. We prefer staying in the Alpilles or the Luberon.
The gorge is a beautiful drive but that would mean an extra day.
I prefer Cassis over St Tropez
but everyone has their own favorites
like Avignon VS Aix-en-Provence.

annhig

hi y'all

Aaaggggghhh. I diagnose that I am suffering from PTS - perfect trip syndrome.

Stu - perhaps you are right - I am being greedy.

just suppose we stay put for 4/5 nights, do we stay in Nice or elsewhere?

I have to say stu that your comments in your intinerary about the food in nice not being brilliant to say the least makes me reluctant to spend all our time there, but I'm not very fond of driving to eat either, simply because I like to drink too! not THAT much, but enough - say an aperitif and 1/2 bottle of wine - to make driving a bad idea. therefore a base with a no. of good restsurants within walking distance would have a strong appeal.

regards, ann

PS anyone ever stayed at the Hotel Bastide de Calalou near Aups? [it's up above grasse, near the gorges de verdon]. it looks near perfect for a country hotel. anyone know different? BTW Stu, even i wouldn't be trying to do grasse, the gorge and Moustier as a day trip from Nice - we'd be doing it en route, and then stopping somewhere near the gorge for a day's walking and R & R.

cigalechanta

I have had some very good meals through the years.
Here's the newest that I read are very good:
http://www.edinformatics.com/travel/...rants_Nice.htm
we liked L'ane Rouge, Acciardo, Aphrodite, La Merenda

nametaken

Since you only have four nights, pick a place with good restaurants and a nice hotel and go for it. Congratulations on your anniversary. If you did not like
avingnon in the past;you will not like it this time either. Look at Uzes as a possibility--it is near Avignon, Pont du Gard, Nimes. Chateanuf du Pape etc.Have a good time, and leave a little time just to be together.

stokebailey

PTS; I get that, too!

Odin

If you do have lunch in Tourtour (suggested here as part of an itinerary), I can recommend La Table for a special occasion but only has a few tables. I've not stayed at the Bastide de Calalou but have stayed at the Bastide de Tourtour and La Petite Auberge de Tourtour.

The centre of Aix is lovely but crowded and touristy. I'm also not a fan of St Tropez nor Port Grimaud but love the village of Grimaud (that could be a good place to spend couple nights). Or La Garde Freinet.

Is it possible to fly to Marseille?

annhig

thanks folks.

I'm going to horrify Stu, as I'm now thinking about 3, yes, 3 different stops in 4 nights! but i think it makes sense -

2 nights in Nice - will give us all of the afternoon and evening of the day we arrive plus the whole of the 2nd day,

1 night at calalou near aups [so we can take our time to look at grasse & gourdes] and

1 night at moustier, so we can take our time to wander through the gorge and enjoy a michlin starred restaurant on our anniversary.

then we'd have the whole morning to drive to Avignon airport.

cigalachanta - I'll be looking up those restaurants tomorrow. [it's gone midnight here]

odin - Marseilles is only available from Bristol after 1st July. sadly this doesn't work for us.

nametaken - the advantage of flying into Nice and out of Avignon is that it maximises our time in France - effectively we get 4 days, rather than the 3 1/2 or less that we'd get if we did it the other way round or just chose one. hence the plan to start in nice for a couple of nights and then work our way towards Avignon. if we could get 4 days by flying in and out of there, I'd probably have gone for your ideas but the flights don't work out that way.

regards, ann

StuDudley

>>so we can take our time to look at grasse & gourdes] and

1 night at moustier, so we can take our time to wander through the gorge and enjoy a michlin starred restaurant on our anniversary.<

Well - you've picked several of my least favorite places in that area. I'm not a fan of Grasse (visited 3 different times) - too gritty for me & the perfume tour put me to sleep - my wife didn't enjoy it either & she usually likes that kind of stuff.

Never heard of Gourdes - and neither has ViaMichelin. If you really mean Gordes, you'll be nowhere near there on the way to Aups and not around Moustiers either.

And like I stated earlier, I'm not a big fan of the Gorges du Verdun - but if you've never visited a gorge before - it's an pretty good/OK one. The Route des Cretes there is the scariest section of road I've ever traveled on.

I think you will finish with the gorges earlier in the day than you think, so do the Valensole lavender drive also.

It's a 2 1/4 hr drive to the Avignon airport from Moustiers. So after having breakfast at the Bastide (which you should do if you're paying those prices) hope your plane doesn't leave before 1:30.

Stu Dudley

cigalechanta

If you do go to the Bastide (we stayed two nights for one of my anniverseries, check out the boutique. I bought a metal cigale but went there mostly to buy their heavenly bath oil and salts. I have since bought them on line.

cigalechanta

P.S. a less expensive but VERY good dining spot in Moustiers is Les Santons.

StuDudley

We didn't enjoy our dinner at Les Santons as much as cigalechanta did.

Stu Dudley

2010

A wise woman once said to me, "Less is more." Wait a minute, that was you!!!

I can't think of anything lovelier ... or more romantic ... than staying in one spot in the south of France with DH! It's your 30th wedding anniversary after all! You can explore the coast line by day & return to St Paul de Vence, St Tropez or Nice as some have suggested.

Good luck with your plans!

2010

annhig

hi, y'all,

I'm beginning to feel a bit naughty, getting you all het up!

stu, your reprimand was entirely deserved, if a tad sharp - it was after midnight and I didn't have my map in front of me - and this morning I remembered what a "gourde" is -a type of inedible pumpkin, at least in england!



fortunately our flight from avignon departs at 15.05, so we ought to be able to make it comfortably from moustier, if that's what we decide to do, but point taken about the route.

Ok - supposing I give in and 2010, remembering what I've said to others- where do we pick as our base for the 4 days, remembering that our flight out of Nice will depart at 10.50 am, so we don't want to be too far away from the airport? the day we arrive is no problem as it's a lunchtime flight so we've plenty of time that day.

is it nice to be in Nice? or should we choose somewhere like st. tropez for our trist? - if we're going to be in the south of France, we ought to be by the water if we can.

regards, ann

cigalechanta

Ann, should you decide to stay in Nice, this hotel has rooms overlooking the ocean. We stayed there many moons ago so the rates have gone way up:

http://www.hotel-la-perouse.com/

annhig

oo la la, cigalechanta, ce n'est pas moins chere! 400 per room per night for a "standard" room.

anniversary or not, i think i'd rather spend out on food than lodgings.

but thanks for the thought.

regards, ann