Antibes
 

Opinions-good location for a base to travel the French Riviera?

Yep - but Nice is better.

Stu Dudley

My opinion is to say hello and thank you in France, that belongs to the basics.

Ah.

I see that you didn't either say hello / thank and didn't even bother acknowledging my answer on your question for St Martin in jan 2017.

Stu, Nice with a car may be difficult I'm told.....we have 3 nights and arrive early by train from Italy. So Antibes may be better for us with a car. So many choices, I have friends that suggested a B&B in Grasse, looks beautiful but a bit out of the way. Especially for 3 nights. Thanks.

We've spent maybe 5 weeks vacationing in Nice. We've had a car for about 4 of those weeks. If we can't find street parking, we park in garages. If you are arriving by train and only have 3 nights - you really don't need a car. We use our car to explore the fabulous Nice Hinterland - but with only 3 nights (perhaps 2 1/2 days) I suggest that you just explore the coastal towns by bus or train - and Nice has the best bus & train options.

Grasse is perhaps out least favorite village in the Cote d'Azur & Provence region (of those that are mentioned in tour books). We've visited it 3-4 times & always thought it was a tad grungy. Traffic in & out was difficult also.

Stu Dudley

You would need a parking space if you are staying in the center of Antibes, same as in Nice.
You don't say when you are going to be there, but if it's July/August be aware that roads are very congested, and it will take time getting anywhere by car.
Decide what it is you actually want to see; if it's all along the coast, it's easy to use the train. If you want to visit the countryside hilltop villages behind the coast, better have a car.

If you're there in the winter months, Antibes can be a bit dead. Nice is lively year-round.

Thanks we are going in September.....need to do more research. I really like a car for convenience....to go at our own schedule.

September is fine, for driving. Antibes is a nice town, quite small. Plenty of restaurant, and in September everything will be open. With a car, there are some nice drives. Around Cap d'Antibes. You can follow the coast to Cannes, and further on to the Corniche de l'Esterel. Or the other side on the Corniche towards Monaco.

Just be aware that you will not find free parking in the old town - so make sure your hotel has parking.

We once rented a home in Cap Antibes and found driving from there not to be a problem. It depends on what you want to do but just staying in Nice and using public transportation to just explore the coast with what little time you have would be easiest.

Yeah what are garages charging in Nice, at least 20 Euros a day?

Some might have weekly rates. I think they might call them subscriptions.

It's a long way from Old Nice, which is nice part to stay in, and the train station to visit other towns along the coast, though they have a pretty new tram system.

I would stay in Beaulieu sur Mer/Cap St Jean Ferrat.

You can take the train into Nice.

Thin

Leaving tomorrow for the Riviear. Weather is pourave today, and perfect in Belgium. Go figure.

Thanks definitely check out the parking. We will also be keeping the car to continue to Provence for 4 nights. Thought having the car for the week would be convenient.

>>Old Nice, which is nice part to stay in<<

Not my opinion. Old nice is too noisy & too crowded for us. We like staying between the Negresco and a couple of blocks east of the Negresco.

Stu Dudley

Beaulieu sur Mer/Cap St Jean Ferrat.- looks pretty. Easy to get around from this location? We may have to add on another day. So many choices, you all are wonderful travelers, great information!

Cap Ferrat is a lot of oceanfront villas.

Probably for billionaires.

I didn't know there were hotels on the peninsula.

Antibes happens to be my favourite town in the area. I once spent an entire summer living there. You couldn't pay me to stay in Nice but to each his own. What I prefer or what anyone else prefers doesn't matter. What matters is what will suit your needs best and that depends on what you want to see and do with your time.

You mention moving on to 'Provence' for 4 nights. Provence includes your mentioned Nice, Antibes and Grasse. I don't know what area you think it covers.
http://0.tqn.com/d/goeurope/1/S/g/c/2/provence-map.jpg

So that being said, you could base yourself for your entire 7 nights in one place and do a few day trips by car if you wanted to. I would not rent a car for the entire week. It is actually easier to visit along the coast by train. I often rent a car for 3 days (there is usually a price drop for a rental of 3 day or more) out of a week.

Depending on what you are interested in seeing and doing in the region, you could base on the coast in a place like Antibes or you could base yourself further inland in a more central location

For example, the Gorges Du Verdon are only 2 hours by car from Antibes. To Avignon is 2.5 hours. Monte Carlo, an hour by train. You can walk from Antibes to Jaun Les Pins in 20-30 minutes.

There's a line attributed to Graham Greene about Antibes being the only town on the Côte d'Azur not to have lost its soul. Whether he said it doesn't really matter; it has the ring of truth. You could do worse than spending a week there.

As for where to actually stay, you could do worse than here:
http://www.jabotte.com/en/

Grasse is way up in the hills, and so are most of the B&Bs. They can be difficult to reach, as we discovered on 2 visits--especially in the dark of night. Best to stay down in the valley, perhaps in Mougins or Mouans-Sartoux. The latter is a very nice small town virtually unknown to non-French tourists.

If, however, you do want to stay near Grasse (not in the town, which has become rather bedraggled), I heartily recommend a very chic B&B built and owned by a woman who speaks English, German, and French--and can teach all 3. It's not easy to find the first time around, but the house and rooms are quite a bit above average, as is the breakfast (Madame is a fine baker).

http://www.chambresdhotes.org/englis...iled/1300.html

The mattresses came from California and are very comfortable, as are the rooms in general. There's a communal sitting room with a big collection of DVDs and music, as well as tea and coffee components.