Birthday celebration in the Cote d'azur
 

Hi all,

I'm planning on spending 4 days and 4 nights on the cote d'azur in mid-april for a birthday celebration.
I'm happy that its before the busy season but I guess that means little sun so and outdoor pool option is looking less likely.

The group of 10 will be flying into Nice
4 people will fly into Nice on a Wednesday
6 people flying into Nice on the Friday for the last 2 days.

The main areas of interest seem to be
St-Tropez
Monaco (helicopter)

I want to spend a bit of money but my pockets are not as deep as the A-listers who frequent during the summer months. I,m currently weighing up the option of hotels vs, appartments and villas.

Does anyone have any suggestions?
Should we travel around for accommodation (e.g. St Tropez 2 days, Monaco 2 days?) or be centrally located, (e.g Nice)?

I've heard that Menton, Cap Ferrat, Vence, VilleFranche etc are very pretty but we'd want to be somewhere where the nightlife is pretty decent.

Thanks for your help

Monaco? Helicopter?

Why? Monaco is nothing but a wildly overpriced concrete jungle. You want to throw money at an obscenely overpriced destination when all of the wonderful things of southern France are so nearby? Well, OK. But I'd just go to Nice, a wonderful place, and enjoy the heck out of it and preserve my bank holdings.

Hi thanks for your reply.

I think a few people had told me that flying into Monaco by helicopter is cheaper than taxi from Nice, I'm not so bothered by how we get there but would like to spend and afternoon or evening in Monaco.

If you have any tips for Nice would love to hear them :)

Cheers

You really don't need a helicopter to fly into Monaco unless you're James Bond. There's a local train that will get you there in 20 minutes, and save you tons of money. Spend your money elsewhere- in the many beautiful towns/cities along the coast.

In fact, unless you're a huge fan of touring the Grimaldi residence and gambling at the casino, I'd skip Monaco completely. There are so many more interesting places to go.

As for your other questions, yes, base in Nice if you want nightlife and a range of reasonably priced accommodations. However, it's very difficult to tour St. Tropez from Nice. It's not close to Nice, and without a car it's tricky to get there.

There are a couple of rental agencies in Nice if you really want an apartment, but if it's your first visit, you might prefer a centrally located hotel with a good front desk.

If you post your budget for accommodations, I can make some suggestions. I'm sure other posters here will, too.

I would put Monaco at the bottom of the list. You can get there by train or bus(1Euro) from Nice but I would skip it.
Cap Ferrat is beautiful,also Antibes. St-Tropez is farther out and not on a train line plus pricey. Nice itself is wonderful and I wouldn't shortchange it. For a first time visitor, a hotel with concierge is preferable.Many good dining options in Nice.