Cote d'Azur - Good Beach Base
 

We are planning a week on the Cote d'Azur the first week in September. We'll hire a car, but want to choose one base for the whole week, where we can sightsee from.

We fly in and out of Nice, but don't want to stay there as we only live in England and we can easily do a weekend in Nice another time without a car.

We would like to stay in a coastal town where we can walk out to restaurants in the evening. We'd like to be in a good location for visiting Antibes, Cannes, St Tropez and Provence villages.

We've never been to the South of France before, but like the sound of Antibes or St Tropez (shops, restaurants, sandy beaches), but can't seem to find any hotels in either of these places within walking distance of restaurants.

Any recommendations would be much appreciated. We are looking at approx 100 - 160 euros a night.

We really liked the looks of Welcome Hotel (I think it has been called Hotel Welcome on this site). It is in Villefranche-Sur-Mer, right on the water and surrounded by many outdoor restaurants. We were staying in St-Paul-de-Vence and drove down there and loved the area.

Knowing what I now know, I would have stayed there instead of ending our stay in Eze. There was much more to do there. Also, it wasn't far from St-Paul-de Vence either.

We had a wonderful stay last September at the Hotel Napoleon in Menton. Menton is the last town in France really before the Italian border. The hotel is contemporary with very good breakfast and other service and the town is just the right size with many restaurants to walk to and not too touristy a feeling. We visited Nice museums and French and Italian small towns from there and had a great time.

Ste Maxime is a seaside town close to St Tropez and would be a good base to explore Provence. There are plenty of restaurants, hotels and beaches in this area.

laurie_ann: what price range was the Hotel Napoleon in Menton? Thanks,

Antibes is a lovely place to base yourselves, like you say, it has everything you need to enjoy a holiday all within a short walk.
Right in the center of town there are a couple of hotels, the Auberge Provencal, Cameo, Relais de Postillion, or why not rent an apartment for the week in the Old Town ? have a look on travel-library.com.
Remember that parking is a nightmare so when you book something make sure there is parking.

Thanks ever so much for all your help.

I love the look of the Hotel Welcome in Villefranche-Sur-Mer and the Napoleon on Menton. Don't know much about either of these towns - do they have sandy beaches, and are they too far (particularly Menton) to explore the villages in Provence?

Ste Maxime looks nice, any recommendations for hotels within walking distance of restaurants there?

Firstlady, I still love the idea of Antibes, but the hotels you mentioned have had terrible reviews. I had a look at the apartments, but the nice ones don't have any parking.

Maybe I'm asking for too much ... the Welcoem Hotel from Villefranche to move to Antibes - that would be perfect! No one know of an equivalent?

Does anyone have any thoughts on St Remy de Provence as a base? Found a lovely hotel there Hôtel les Ateliers de l´Image.

Thanks again

i stayed in st. maxime for a month as an exchange student when i was 11 years old. ;-)

Thanks for all your help. We have decided on the Welcome Hotel in Villefranche.

Has anyone tried driving to St. Tropez in July or August?

Beaches are a big draw but parking is suppose to be prohibitive?

Juan-Les-Pins would be a good choice. Very nice beaches, lots to do and near the places you want to visit.

Yeah but I hear Plage de Pampelonne in Cannes is particularly scenic. :D

You know, not just the landscape and seascape, if you get what I mean. ;)

I was answering violetm's question.

All of the beaches will have pretty people if that is what you mean.

The road to S.Tropez will be very crowded, as well as the beaches.

Well I was thinking of setting out from Cannes where I'll be staying, to St. Raphael and then onwards to St. Tropez. My GPS shows St. Tropez is only 28 miles or so from Cannes.

Besides the beaches, I was going to check out the Annonciade.

Someone else in another thread, who lives in Eze by the coast, said, if you go to places at 7 AM, you'll find parking.

Problem is, it's probably metered parking and there's probably nothing open that early.

Yes beautiful glamorous people. :)

I am not much help, I haven't been towards St. Tropez in years so hopefully someone will step in. The last time I drove there from Cannes it was a narrow road with creeping traffic. I did love S. Tropez though. Have fun.

Violet, if you haven't locked in your accommodation yet, can I suggest you like at this website -
www.holiday-rentals.co.uk - property number 15149
which is a fantastic studio apartment in Villefranche sur mer. We stayed there last year and had a great time, beautiful views and an allocated parking spot.

sorry... look at this website not like!

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