Cote d'azur itinerary...please help!
 

Hi-
I saw a somewhat similar post but didn't want to hijack it with my own somewhat different questions. Please forgive me if this isn't standard procedure on this forum.
My wife and I and two daughters (ages 19,20) will be flying into Nice in early June, for 9 nights total. I have been searching the forums, and trying to get a feel for the area. We would like to see the coastal towns and some of the hilltop villages, and also spend a few days or partial days on the beach. Although I am a fairly seasoned traveler, I'm having trouble getting my head around this trip. (Some of it may be that I speak no French at all, and the names of the villages and sights keep getting confused in my mind!)
My initial plan was to stay in Nice or perhaps Villefranche for 3-4 nights, visiting some of the towns like Eze and Monaco and Menton as day trips. Then perhaps splurging a bit and staying in a nice hotel in Cannes or somewhere more toward the Eastern part. However, things seem pretty close to each other on the map, and I'm wondering if we have too much time in the Riviera, and perhaps should try to get up into Provence and see Avignon, etc? Or is that pushing it too much? Our flight arrives in Nice at 10 am on Sunday, June 4.....so if we wanted to rent a car to get to Provence. I suppose we could do it then (or perhaps get a driver for a few days take us around?), as I'd probably be more comfortable ending the trip nearer to Nice as that's where we will fly out of.
So, to sum up, is 9 days too long just along the coast? Is getting to Provence too far....will it feel like we're just running everywhere? Considering an apartment in VIllefranche and then a hotel more toward Cannes,,,,,,are there better places to set up "home base"? Thanks so much for any help or suggestions!

Nice is fine as a base. It is a hub for the bus services to get into the areas such as Saint-Paul de Vence and it has the train connections to travel along the coast. Things to see:

https://flic.kr/p/277Fmdj https://flic.kr/p/MJZh7b
Menton has an interesting museum and decorated by Cocteau wedding room in city hall:

https://flic.kr/p/28LJLNd https://flic.kr/p/28LG2dm
There is also a beautiful garden but not easy to reach by car:

https://flic.kr/p/L77NN6

If you want to get a bit off the tourist track, go west from Nice instead of east. The Camargue and Marseille are spectacular.

With 9 nights, you really have 8 1/4 usable days if you are flying in from outside Europe.. If you add in Provence, then it's 7 1/2 days after you subtract the 2 1/2 hrs it will take to drive to Provence, the 2 1/2 hrs back, and the 2-3 hrs it will take to check into 2 additional hotels. That's not enough time to really enjoy those two different location. My wife & I have vacationed for 21 weeks along the Cote d'Azur & 23 in Provence. There are just as many "cute little villages" in the Hice Hinterland, as there are in Provence. Provence has more Roman ruins, Aix, Avignon, and you might see some lavendin towards the latter part of your vacation - but you still would be too rushed, IMO. Especially if you want a few days of "Beach Time". We return to Nice more often than any other city/town on the Cote d'Azur. We take the bus to sites east, the train to places just west and, a car to explore the fabulous Nice Hinterland. I would skip Cannes. It really won't add much to your experience, and it will consume time to get there (parking is difficult & trains take some overhead). Traffic will be heavy along the coast in mid-June.


If you want to experience some different locations I suggest:

- Land, rent a car, and drive to St Tropez and spend 3 nights there. Spend some beach time at one of the Pampalonne beaches (we like Tahiti Plage). Also visit Bormes la Mimosa, Ramatoulle, and Gassin.
- Drive back to Nice and spend 6 nights in Nice. Keep the car & visit some of the Nice Hinterland including the beautiful gorges behind Entrevaux, the Loup loop, and some of the rivers & hill villages.
- Return the car & spend your remaining time in Nice & surrounds by bus.

Stu Dudley

I also personally don't recommend Cannes if you are already staying somewhere like Nice or Villefranche-sur-Mer, although many are attracted by the sandy beaches (these start mainly to the west of Antibes). We have a place in Nice, and although Cannes has fans, I'm not one of them either. An alternative might be Antibes, but the best beaches are a bit removed from the Old Town and train station. Juan-les-Pins has a long stretch of beach but is not as charming -- it is, however, an easy beach day from Nice, with the shortest walk from the short train ride to the beach. Cannes does have a ferry to St. Honorat, a small island off the coast with a tower and monastery where the Cistercian monks make wine and tend a small field of lavender (these monks know how to work the tourist dollar, but it is still beautiful)

There are plenty of day trips from Nice. You have Eze, Cap Ferrat, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Monaco, Menton, Antibes, Cannes, St. Paul de Vence/Vence. All are reachable by train or bus from Nice. They truly are not that far away. You can even day trip into Italy, like Ventimiglia or Sanremo or Bordighera. There are two tourist oriented train trips into the mountains: the Chemin de Fer de Provence (into places like Entrevaux and Dignes les Bins, from the Gare du Sud) and the Train des Merveilles (into the border hill villages and the edge of the Mercantour National Park)

I like Stu's suggestion, you could go to Saint Tropez by car. The traffic can be quite heavy going into the peninsula. The beach at Ramatuelle, Pampalonne is beautiful and one of the best in the south. The is a wonderful coastal drive with smaller beaches between that area and Hyeres (and Porquerolles island). There are also some nice villages and great rose wineries spread throughout. There is a boat/ferry from Nice/Cannes/Antibes but the best part of that trip is exploring the wonderful peninsulas by car and hitting the better beaches (there is a shuttle from town, I think only to one end).

Gooster. I actually prefer the flat rock beach at Nice. I have one of the rocks sitting next to me at my PC. I've lived all my life in California within 30 mins of sandy beaches. Six of the years have been in Laguna Beach. Sand gets in my shorts, shoes, & "elsewhere". Often a gust of wind douses me with sand - usually just after I've spread sunscreen everywhere.. Rocks don't do that. However, I always go to the private beaches where there is a straw mat or boards to walk on, a chaise lounge with umbrella & side table for my drinks. Then there is the bar, restaurant, lockers, showers, etc. You can rent towels. I usually go to Blue Beach in Nice. Blue Beach ? Plage Restaurant

Stu Dudley

So much great advice here, especially from Stu (as usual).
Stu, you are a treasure to so many of us, I went back into some of your posts and your packet is still viewable in a August 6, 2022 response.

There are several sites, I look at Cruisedig, to find out when the cruise ships dock and the passengers invade.Especially for places like Villefranche and Eze, your visit will be so much more pleasant if you avoid those days.
When deciding on beaches, make sure you research the sandy vs. pebbly, I did not care for the pebbly.

Stu, that is funny, and yes my husband enjoyed a dip in the Med in October while staying across street at La Perouse. Getting out was bit of a challenge though, similar when trying to get out of the Atlantic or Pacific when those waves keep breaking on you. It was steep getting in and out, and he learned sideways was the way to go. I did not join him, but remained poolside. We like Nice as a base, and as charming as St. Paul de Vence was, it just doesnt have enough going on to keep us happy there for 4-5 nts, Colombe d'Or was divine and worth the pretty drive on its own.

Stu, Thanks for continuing help!
Best wishes for the New Year, HappyTrvlr

Hi traveller,
In the mountains near Cannes is the wonderful small city of Grasse located. It is famous because of its perfumeries.
The perfume museum of Fraggonard offers interesting insights about making of perfumes.
I prefered the smaller shops in the narrow roads of the old town e.g. the one of Didier Gagliewski - He is called "the nose".
I tried to send a link but unfourtanetly I am not aloud. But it can be easily found and there is an english version available.
The old town of Grasse is famous because large parts of the the "The Perfume" by Patrick Süßkind took place there.

Whereever you go: bonne voyage

I most often or not just walk the block from my apartment, cross the Prom, and plunk down on the galets with my foam pad and a towel. It's just a little further east than Blue Beach. I don't even go further west, towards Voilier If there are guests, we go to one of the clubs with better food or head out to others.

To others, the pebbles get smaller (less like big boulders) and the sea less steep as you get past the Negresco. Castel has a great view but the rocks are quite big at that end and the entry into the sea can be quite steep.

Thank you all for your suggestions. Stu- I did indeed receive your 35 pages of recommendations. I really appreciate it! I have perused it but have to go back and read it in much more detail (with a map by my side, I think!).

I am honestly surprised by the recommendation to start in Saint Tropez. Everything I had read up until now described the terrible traffic congestion in that area, as well as it being overrated. (My 20 year old daughters were thrilled with the suggestion, but I think they are more concerned with their social media posts tagged "Saint Tropez" than anything else! LOL). So, in your opinion, having a car there and using it to in and out of the town will not be more of a headache than it is worth? And if we chose Saint Tropez, any particular hotel suggestions? I know that is a loaded question, depending on budget and tastes! I was looking at Le Yaca, which would be at the very top of my budget....it's close to the center of town. Is that the location I would want, for ease of walking the town itself, or would i be better off with a location further out (in the sense the traffic would be less congested if Im already slightly out of the town?).

If anyone has suggestions for Nice hotels or apartments, please let me know as well. Thinking about getting an apartment there...but a few of the hotels look interesting (Royal Riviera, Hotel Welcome, Hyatt Regency).

Again, thank you everyone for your help. These suggestions are really helping me get my bearings for this trip!

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I would go for St Tropez in June. It's a lovely village, great beaches, good restaurants, shopping, big market. Sure it's busy, but you are there before the school holidays start. There is a reason that it is busy: people want to go there. I don't think it is overrated at all, but I wouldn't go in July and August.
Traffic in and out of St Tropez is a problem, as there are no motorways leading to it and you cannot get there by train. So don't use it as a base for sightseeing by car. You can take boat tours.
Driving to the beaches should be OK in June, most beaches have parking/valet parking. I've taken a boat from the old town to Pampelonne, so that is a possibility.
I'm sure your daughters will love it, mine did at that age!

The trick to St Tropez is to get there early in the morning before the day trippers arrive. The heavy traffic mostly comes from the west via Port Grimaud and Ste Maxime, and departs in the opposite direction in the last afternoon. South of St Tropez towards the Pampalonne beaches and the lovely villages of Gassin & Ramauuelle is usually not crowdedl. Also the traffic is not bad heading west from St Tropez & then the D98 southwest on the extremely scenic road through La Mole & to Bormes (which is fantastic). So your day-trips should be on these latter two routes -- not to St Maxime or Frejus.

We have always visited St Tropez in June or September. So I don't have any first-hand knowledge of situations in July & August. We have stayed in St Tropez for 1 week in an apt (no longer available) as recently as 2017. Before that, we stayed for a several days in 2006 at des Lices hotel https://www.hoteldeslices.com/fr/ and on 2 trips for 2 weeks each in the early 2000s at an apartment. In the 1990s, we stayed several times at Lou Tropoulen - which is no longer there.

Stu Dudley

Teens are simply going to love Nice most, because it is a cosmopolitan hub. See and be seen. Enjoy a glowing, lively, world-open whirl. That said, Antibes is a really nice quiet place, if they are more the reflective sort. I've never been to St. Tropez, but others are commenting on how much of a grueling car route it might be at any point in time. Personally, I love dipping over into Italy - - San Remo is fab; even Ventimiglia has a great market and unique and atmospheric sights. From Nice or Antibes (or Villefranche - - which is completely idyllic) you can get anywhere fast.

We love Hotel La Perouse at the eastern end of Nice overlooking the water, with fabulous view of the bay looking west. Lovely rooms, terraces or balconies, pool, nice bar & restaurant for breakfast or dinner. We stayed there 35 years ago and returned this October for four nights. The hotel floors are a myriad of construction into the fortress/castle, every floor and room has varying configuration. We left mid-October learning that they are renovating Oct-Apr, though dont think the room we had needed any renovation -- large terrace, room and bath! And up on the 5th floor gives us quick access to rooftop terrace. Look at the website pictures. Three-minute walk into old Nice, and be sure to dine there at: La Voglia -- quality and quanity keeps the crowds lining up shortly after 7p opening. You won't be disappointed. If you get to St Paul de Vence, treat yourselves to lunch at Colombe d'Or (reserve early!) for astounding surroundings by the masters who stayed at the inn and had to leave their works on the walls! Menu not changed, and old time elegance in every corner. We particularly loved the bar area.

Stu, you are a treasure to share your knowledge time and time again! Looking forward to our Nice area trip one day with your and other helpful Fodorites input!

Thanks Janeyre. We're planning to spend 10 nights in Nice in '25 (Covid delayed plans).

Stu Dudley

I don't think there would be too much problem in getting to St Tropez in early June.It is still early in the season, a bit too cold for swimming in the sea. The coastal drive from Nice thru Antibes, Cannes, Théoule-sur-Mer (which is beautiful) etc on the D559 will take you to St Tropez. Pretty villages to visit such as Grimaud (not to be confused with Port Grimaud), Ramatuelle etc, down to the coast at Rayol Canadel sur mer, the coast is beautiful around there. Bormes les Mimosas is lovely, stayed in a great hotel called the Grand, it was pretty modest but the building, views and breakfast were wonderful.
Other hilltop villages close to Nice, Fayence, Seillans, Mons and many more.