I'm planning to drive up the Italian Riviera in early November and spend 2 days between Nice and Monoco. Any suggestions on the best town to stay in to get around and get the best taste of the area? Thx<BR>

I would recommend staying in Nice as it is most central and the capital of the Riviera. Alternatively, Cap d'Antibes, Ville Franche, are both nice towns. Monaco lodging can be limiting at times and very pricey. We stayed in adjoining Beau Soleil and walked into Monaco!

We stayed in Nice Sept. 2002. It was our first trip to France. We enjoyed the hotel Le Grimaldi, pleasant, good location.<BR> www.le-grimaldi.com<BR>BUT we did not really care for Nice. It seemed tacky, LOTS of tshirt/souvenir stands, etc. We liked the area though, and said we would chose one of the smaller towns along the coast when we go back there.

Hi Stephan,<BR><BR>If you like staying in smaller towns, I would suggest Villefranche-sur-mer. It is a quaint fishing village, but not so small that there is nothing to do. Nice restaurants, small shops, the citadel. Very picturesque, the web site is www.villefranche-sur-mer.com, I believe. It is about 5 minutes by train from Nice, in between Monaco and Nice. There is a train station in town and it very easy to travel along the coast this way. It is also a beautiful walk to the nearby towns of Beaulieu and St. Jean Cap Ferrat. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Have a wonderful trip!

We just returned from our South of France trip in September.<BR><BR>I would recommend staying in St. Jean Cap Ferrat. A beautiful place. If our hotel's limited parking lot was full after we returned from our day trip, we could easily find parking on the streets. <BR><BR>The little town has a lovely stoned path around most of the peninsula. You can walk along the mediterranean sea and look at the beautiful homes, boats, montains and beaches. <BR><BR>Rothschild Villa and gardens in St. Jean Cap Ferrat is worth a visit also.<BR><BR>We experienced good restaurants there and if Ville Franche's restaurants are full (if a cruise ship is in their port like it happend one night with us) you can always drive back to St. Jean Cap Ferrat in l0-15 minutes to dine there. Ville Franche is very pretty and worth a visit as well as Eze (another l5 min. drive away).<BR><BR>Have a fab time.

<BR>For moderately-priced accomodations, try the Hotel Welcome in Villefrance-sur Mer. And for expensive the Hotel Metropole in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, which is right up the road.

We stayed at Inter Hotel Frisa in Beaulieu-sur-mer in September and I would recommend it. Great location across from the yacht harbour, easy walk to restaurants and to the train station. Hotel staff very pleasant and accomodating, and the hotel was reasonably priced.