Hi. We are planning a seven day trip at the beginning of September. At the moment we are thinking of doing the following:

2 Sept - Arrive Nice Airport
2/3/4/5 Sept - Stay Hotel Welcome, Villefranche Sur Mer - day trips by train to include St Tropez, Antibes, Nice, maybe Cannes. This hotel is not available for the last few days of our trip so we decided:
6 Sept - Hire car and drive to Provence
6/7 Sept - Stay at Hôtel les Ateliers de l'Image in St Remy de Provence - tour surrounding villages
8 Sept - Drive back towards Nice (flight early next morning) - Stay overnight in village not too far from Nice Airport - poss St Paul de Vence?

Any thoughts/comments/suggestions gratefully received, particularly on St Remy de Provence - do we need to travel all that way to see "the real Provence"? and any good suggestions for somewhere to spend our last night (but not too long a drive to the airport)?

Many thanks.

ps. We are a couple in our late 30's, and love beaches, shopping, beautiful scenery, arts and good food.

Hi violetm,
I am not the best one to give advice since my experience is limited. I also understand your desire to do all of this as I try to squeeze in as much as possible. However, I think you might be happier staying in the Cote d'Azur area. I have just returned from 10 days in Provence and I absolutely loved it. The whole 10 days were very full. A few years ago we spent a little over a week in the Cote d'Azur area basing in Monaco. That was also a very full trip. Eze is especially lovely as is St Paul de Vence.
Understanding that you need to change hotels, perhaps you would consider only going as far as Cassis, Marseille, and/or Aix which would certainly take up the remainder of your time. Also, Marseille and Aix I know you could get to by train. These are only suggestions and I know you will enjoy whatever you do. Happy travels!

I tend to agree with Mimipam. There is really lots to see and enjoy in the Villefranche/Nice area and I think you might want to save the Provence part for another trip when you could spend more time there. My suggestion would be to explore the area around Villefranche while at the Hotel Welcome (which looks charming and has a great location) such as Eze, Monaco, La Turbie and perhaps Menton. Then perhaps move to Nice which has lots to offer in all your areas of interest. From Nice you could also take day trips to St Paul de Vence, Antibes, and Cannes.

Thanks for your replies. I will take your advice and not go as far as St Remy, however as we have to move from Villefranche, I'd quite like a different experience and probably a bit further than Nice. (As we live in England, we could easily take a city break to Nice another weekend and not need a car). Maybe somewhere nearer St Tropez? Or a country village/town instead of coastal?

As I've said before Antibes would suit but we can't find accommodation with parking and within walking distance of restaurants in the evenings.

St. Remy is not that far from Nice - maybe 2 1/2 hour drive. I think if you are interested in seeing a different area and don't mind a little drive, St. Remy is a nice place to explore for two days. You have the town itself, a local market to explore in the morning (check your local listings), Glanum, Les Baux ...etc.
I also think staying in St. Paul de Vence is a great last night before you fly home...sounds like a perfectly thought out trip - enjoy!

Violetm; you can't visit St Tropez by train; there's no train station. If you like beaches, shopping, good food, I would suggest you stay in St Tropez for a few days. It's quite different from Nice or Cannes, and the shopping and beaches in St Tropez (beaches actually outside of town) are the best on the Cote d'Azur (my opinion anyway!). The road to St Tropez can get very busy, and even though September is not as bad as August, it will still be busy, particulary on market days (Tuesday and Saturday I think).

Thanks 4totravel you've really put the cat among the pigeons as I had my heart set on St Remy, but decided we were trying to do too much. We'll have to think on it.

Tulips - I didn't realise you couldn't get the train to St Tropez. I really want to visit there - but like to be able to walk to restaurants. Any hotel recommendations? I've looked at loads which are all out of our price range or booked up. We are looking at about 150 euros per night (200 euros absolute max).

Does anyone know anything about Le Levant Hotel in St Tropez? It looks very nice but can't find any reviews and am not sure about location?

http://[email protected]

Thanks,
Violet

Violet, I don't know any hotels. An alternative might be to stay in St Maxime; there's a boat service to St Tropez from there.
The road between St Maxime and St Tropez might seem short, but that short stretch can sometimes take an hour to drive.

I agree that you should stay on the Côte d'Azur -
There is a lot more to do and see around here (St. Rémy) than you would be able to do in only two days.

While you're wandering around over there, I can suggest a great restaurant in Biot - Les Terrailers.

Patricia

If I EVER manage to get back to St. Tropez, I want to stay at the SUD right on the harbor. There are loads of restaurants to walk to all over town.
(One we thoroughly is at the end of the street that runs along the harbor (Name skips my memory), near the fortress, about 10 tables - he waits and she cooks...wow, what a lifestyle!)
I enjoyed the atmosphere in St. Tropez much more than St. Maxime. St. Maxime seemed a little, well, older.
Don't get me wrong, my DH and I are OLDER! LOL...

Sorry I got that link wrong, let me try again:

Does anyone know anything (location, reviews) about Le Levant Hotel in St Tropez? http://www.hotelleriedusoleil.com/le...t_hotel_uk.htm

I can't find any reviews on it anywhere.

Thanks

Violet; I think there's something on www.tripadvisor.com. Looks nice, but I don't think its walking distance to town.