smacknmo

My husband and I will be leaving on a Med cruise from Nice next October. We have decided since we have never been to the Cote d'Azur to make Nice our home base and visit some of the surrounding towns. I searched the forum for hotels but a lot of the recommendations were older than the last couple of years. Any recommendations would be very much appreciated. Any tips on the "must sees" while we are there would be also greatly appreciated, Since we are only in Nice for 31/2 days we are trying to maximize what we see. From what I have read from past posts, it appears as though it is easy to get around that area.

SemiMike

We liked the Hotel Windsor, and our favorite day trip was to Entrevaux. It's all in our phototravelogue, here: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...g&x=0&y=-run25

cigalechanta

I liked the hotel, La perouse. Be sure to try the socca, the dish of Nice , a kind of crepe. If you like aret, the Chagall museum. The Cathedral of Ste.-Reparate is worth a visit. one of the few baroque cathedrals in France. Old Nice is a must the flower market and the food are exceptional.

Enjoyed your photos, semtmike!

smacknmo

Thanks for the info, I also enjoyed the pics,Mike. Thank you.

jkbritt

Ibis, about 150 meters or less from the train station was 69E per night this summer. Breakfast, bought when we arrived, was 7 Euro per person. Cheaper there than booking breakfast on line.
Took the local bus to Grasse. 1 Euro per person each way. Great deal. Grasse is a wonderful mountain town. They have several perfume factories and museums with perfumes for sale- worth a half a day visit.

Laurel61

Definately would visit the town of EZE. Beautiful views from atop the mountain Chateau, Fragonard the perfumerie is also there. Cost 1 euro by bus and takes about 25-30 minutes.

St. Paul de Vence is also beautiful 1 Euro by bus approx. 20 minutes (small quaint village Great Food).

Antique market on Monday's in Nice (Old town center)
Eat Gelatto at phinnocchio's in the old village they have fun and exotic flavors; ex. Cactus,Peppered Rose & Vanilla, and of course Zitron yum yum.

For the beach Antibes (locals go here) or Monaco really nice.

smacknmo

Thanks for all the info. Laurel, we will be arriving in Nice on a Thurs morning and leaving Sunday eve. Are there any good markets during our time there? We love the markets in Paris!

jkbritt

There is a wonderful fresh foods market in old Nice. It covers probably 10 blocks. The city has made sidewalk covers from metal and the vendors are in the shade as are the shoppes, for the most part. There were a few clothes about, and wife really shops these, but there were not many. We also really liked the open area in Nice with the statues that change color. At night, there were a lot of bands playing, jugglers juggling, young people doing weird dances to juke boxes. We found a band from Mexico playing S. American Indian music in Milan. Bought the cd! One admonition- when walking about at night, around this area, keep your cash and cards close. I think this would be a great area for pickpockets. Also, buying food in the area is probably really expensive. I would head back into town, away from the central plaza to get food.

JulieVikmanis

We stayed at the Goldstar Resort Hotel about two blocks away from the sea and pretty much walking distance to most areas including Old Town Nice. I believe that it is Russian owned, recently renovated, and trying hard to be "hip". We booked through 1-800-hotels for only 177 US prepaid. It was a fabulous deal. We opted for the "consul suite" which meant we had a bedroom, separate sitting room, lovely all marble bath, separate toilet room, and even a mini-kitchen complete with dishwasher. The included breakfast was very nice and served in the hotel dining room which again, was quite cool. We especially liked that we could be seated in little mini-balconies in the lovely Nice morning sunshine. The only problem was the $25 per day parking (which isn't a bad price for Nice as far as I can discern) in a garage with the narrowest entrance ramp ever. Every turn took my husband at least 3 repositions, so we never took the car out for the three days we were there. Apparently driving back out was less difficult, but husband dreaded the thought of doing it for all three days. So, if you won't have a car (and you really don't need one) I can't recommend the Goldstar Resort Hotel more highly. It is as good as it looks on the website.

Laurel61

Warning it's LONG lol.
There are daily markets in the old town(i'm told during the day) we were always out and about except for the monday antique one. My friends said the fresh produce was daily. As jkbritt stated the music is always playing in 'old town' and the stautes are lit up all different colors at night down by "Place Messina", ice cream/gelatto is around the corner too. If you vear off the main area(place messina) you can go were many old shops are and purchase pretty cloths for your table with the typical provencal look for under 15 euros. If you like chocolate definately visit Le Lac (chocolatier) Amazing-they also have Many many Yummy pastries like no other.
If you want a Big Market like in Paris you can take the train from Nice-Vintemille(aka vigmilia, Italy)for Fridays market. costs about 18 euros round trip and takes only 25 minutes(your on the border. They have a Huge fresh produce/Fish/Flower market inside and then a Huge Swap meet like market(all new stuff) outside in front of the beach. The market goes until 4pm but I suggest you get there early to take it all in. For more info just let me know. When I lived in Nice for 2 months this summer we went to Italy Every Friday for the market. If you can't do friday there is another one on Saturday in San Remo Italy about 1 hour from Nice by train(have not been to this one personally).
Sorry it's so long I just had a great time there and in Nice.

Laurel61

Semi-Mike
Wow the photo's bring me back to my trip this summer. Excellent photo's and thanks for putting me right back in Nice and Paris. I sure wish I was there Now. 2 1/2 months there was NOT enough.

alldaytravel

My husband and I just returned from Nice in September and were there for 3 1/2 days. We were able to see Nice, Monaco, Villefranche-sur-mer, Eze, St. Paul de Vence, Cannes, and Antibes in this amount of time. We woke up early, went to bed late and planned our bus and train schedules wisely, but it is doable and we loved every minute of it. I found it very easy and convenient to get around by bus and train in this area...

We stayed at the Hotel Windsor which is well situated if you are taking the train and bus along the Cote d'Azur...I thought the hotel was fine, not fantastic, but I think it depends on the room that they put you in because they are all different. The garden in the back was nice and there is a GREAT restaurant right down the street called Cave de L'origine...We really loved this restaurant, so you may want to eat here regardless of which hotel you stay at.

"Must do's": -
In Nice, Cours Saleya market and Old Town wandering
Eze - gorgeous, especially views from Botanical Garden
Villefranche-sur-Mer - I loved this quaint town and enjoyed wandering around as well as spending some time on the bay here
St. Paul de Vence - I really enjoyed wandering the cobblestone streets and alleys here - pretty views of the hills/country here as well...

I really enjoyed Old Town Antibes as well...Monaco Casino was cool and I enjoyed our time here. Didn't really love Cannes personally, but it was fine for a quick visit.

I found that this area is very well suited to wandering around, enjoying the beautiful scenery and quaint towns - not so many "must see" sights, but a really scenic area and you will enjoy yourself. Have fun!!

TDudette

Wonderful shots, Semi-Mike!

We were in based NIce in 2006 but our hotel was near the rr station so you probably would want something closer to old town and water. We did take a mini-bus tour (The Travel Expert) that took us to several towns (Nice, Eze, Monaco, St. Paul de Vence and Cannes) in one day and we felt it saved a lot of time even though we just got glimpses of many things. Most hotels have info for such tours. We returned by train to Monaco to go to Casino in the evening (we had to show our passports BTW).

Le Tire Bouchon was a wonderful restaurant! (www.le-tire-bouchon.com)
La Zucca Magica was a fun vegetarian restaurant (4 bis, Quoi).

Please let everyone know about your trip and have a great one!

smacknmo

So much wonderful information! Will be on the look out for the linens and the chocolate. Our cruise is stopping in Monaco so we can concentrate on Eze etc while we are on our own. I am checking out the hotel websites that you all suggested. Many thanks!

Surfergirl

My favorite hotel, in a great location, is Hotel Grimaldi at 15 rue Grimaldi. I just checked the prices for next October, and the prices listed are 117 euro for standard room, and 144 for a superior room. In fact, the 189 euro for a junior suite would still be in your price range, although a little over at current rates. Currently, 144 euro = about $210.