Aix en Provence and Nice ??
 

Is it possible to visit both Nice and Aix in a four day trip? I am traveling on my own, will probably rent a car and wish to see a little of Provence and the coast.

I will be searching for smaller guest houses or places more fun & comfortable for a person traveling alone.

Yes, it is possible, but I think you might be spreading yourself a bit thin.

Aix can be a long day trip from Nice, a few hours by car. Nice is a great base for the Riviera, as it is closeby to both Monaco, Italy on the east, and heading westward, all the hill towns near Nice, Juan Les Pin, Cannes, St Tropez, and farther east Aix and Avignon.

Thanks, Intex, for your quick response. I will now probably try to stay one night in Aix or possibly someplace between the two cities - to make the excursion more viable. Any suggestions on places to stay in Aix or nearby?

The fastest way from Aix to Nice is just 2 hours by car.

But I would recommend a sightseeing trip:

- You start in Aix and take the autoroute to Cassis. There you may see some of the Calanques (there are boat trips from Cassis to the Calanques, but it may take some hours).

- From there you take the autoroute to Hyeres and from there the D98 and then the D559 along the coast. See the quaint village of Ramatuelle and the gorgeous beach of Pampelonne, before you make a short stop in St. Tropez.

- Continue to St. Raphael, Agay, Antheor. You will enjoy the most scenic drive at the Cote d'Azur.

- In La Napoule, go back on the autoroute and proceed to Nice. (If you are not too exhausted you may drive along the beach in Cannes to get an impression).

It will be a full-day's drive but you will see a lot.

If it is too much for you, then start in Aix, take the autoroute to Frejus (exit 37), from there to St. Raphael and Agay...

Thanks for the help and the suggestion, I'm feeling like I can really do this.

depends of the time of the year- the roads can be very busy in the summer. Even in May, there was a lot of traffic on the road by the sea.
We stayed the night in Aix and it still seemed a long trip from Nice.
There so much to see around Nice ( and we had a week)- I am not sure it was worth it.

Thanks Danon. I just made the reservation for April 27th and now I'm a little nervous about getting it all together in terms of hotels by then, but if you have a recommendation on any of the little towns nearby, I would certainly appreciate it.

I am sure you will have a nice trip.
Others have made good suggestions. We
had spent more time around Nice.

The journey from Aix to Nice via the autoroute takes just about 2 hours; going on the more scenic roads (especially the 2-lane coastal road) requires considerably more time. As we found to our sorrow, there aren't very many interesting places to stay between Aix and Nice other than up in the mountains.

Thanks for the info, I'm thinking of trying the coast road at least one way, and spending a little time driving out from Aix.

We just returned from a 28 day France trip, including 6 days in Provence (Aix, 2 days, & St. Remy as a base, 4 days) and then the Côtes d'Azur (Cassis (immediately east of Marseilles), 2 days, Villefranch-sur-Mar (immediately east of Nice), 6 days and Eze (above Cap d'Ail) 4 days.

If your objective is to get from Nice to Aix (or vice versus) as quickly as possible, you take the expressway (tolls) and it's, as others have said, 2 hours.

If you want the scenic route(s) on the coast, it can easily take 4 hours (excluding any stops). We did the latter..and stopped in St. Tropez...which (it was a Sunday) PACKED.

Frankly, I would skip St. Tropez AND Cannes, for that matter...unless you just want to be able to say you'd been there. Cassis was fun and kind of off the beaten path. As was Villefranch. Were I you, I'd spend a day in Aix and a day driving through the Luberon (Gordes, Menerbes, Bonnieux), drive EARLY the next day to Nice on the freeway, spend the remainder of the day in Nice and then the following day in Villefranch/Cap Ferrat, Cap d'Ail, Eze and Monaco.

But you WILL be busy!!! (And, for God's sake, GET A CAR WITH GPS!!!!)

Hi,

If your still looking for hotels around Aix try this web site. We stayed in these hotels last spring and I plan on using them again in September. The rates are extremely reasonable and since they are all pretty much new they are very nice and clean. I would equate them with a cleaner nicer version of a Comfort Inn here in the states.

http://www.etaphotel.com

They have many around France and I find them most afordable.

Good Luck and enjoy..

Pat

Yes I agree with Ramblero on the car with GPS, since I have been using the GPS I find it so much easier. However, having said that, I bring my own from home much more user friendly, in my opinion. Just a thought.

Pat