jackie efron

My fiance and I are planning our honeymoon. We know that we want to go to paris for about a week and are trying to determine whether to go to provence or the Riveria for the second week. We will be traveling next september into very early october. Any suggestions, comments, or remarks would be appreciated. <BR>Thanks.

Martha

Hi, Jackie-- Provence and the Riviera are right next to each other, so if you don't make hotel reservations you can't back out of, you will have the option of changing your mind after you get there. In late September, you'll have your choice of hotels. In my mind, Provence is more romantic than the Riviera, but I suspect I'm a few years older than you are. Congratulations, and have a wonderful trip. Martha

Ellen

<BR>Both are lovely but Provence would be my pick. First, Avignon is only 3.5 hours by TGV from Paris whereas Nice is about 7. The Riviera had more than its share of villages to visit but I was more taken with the sites in Provence. My favorites were Gordes, Rousillon, Le Baux, and Cassis. You can probably say that Provence is less "touristy" as compared to Cannes for instance. If you do go to the Riviera and want to be on the beach, be sure to stay west of Cannes in a place such as St. Tropez.

Dayle

I just returned from France and we spent 5 days in Cannes and did day trips from there. Frankly, I was disappointed in the Riviera area. I live in southern California, so beach cities are normal for me. I found the Riviera not much different from just staying in a hotel in Newport Beach. It just wasn't different enough! When we got to Arles, I wished I had more time. It seemed to be much more unique and much less touristy. Saint Tropez also looked interesting. My biggest impression was that the coastal towns were all much larger than I had expected. Cannes was a large, very upscale, expensive and touristy city. The islands just off the coast, St. Marguerite and St. Honorate (SP?) were wonderful, charming, quiet. This is just my opinion. It probably depends were you live and what you enjoy, but I would not stay in Cannes again. I would go for a much smaller and more unique place. Have a great time! <BR>

PRJones

I spent a month in Provence and the Riviera last September(97).Each has it's own special appeal. Much will depend on what you want to do...hang out, go to museums, visit vineyards, lay on the beach, all of the above. One suggestion was to tourbase. Good idea. Pick a place in Provence to stay and rent a car and go to all the places you want to see. Then drive to the Riviera (by all means take the middle Corniche road and gasp at the view of the Med. If you want to see museums, they are everywhere, mostly post-impressionistic art (Picasso, Mastisse, Cezanne, etc.) <BR>In 97 it was hot,hot,hot to the end of Sept., even in Paris. This year was a cooler year I hear. That's El Nino. As others have noted, Provence is less touristy, and there are great places to visit. Here are 3 websites to visit now for info. www.nice-coteazur.org/francais/index2.html <BR> <BR>http://nice.webstore.fr/alpix/nice/ <BR> <BR>www.aix-en-provence.com/French/Tourisme/ <BR>Menuot.htm <BR> <BR>Take the train to Aix and rent a car there or if you want to drive but don't want to drive in Paris proper, rent a car from an agency near the A6 (main autoroute to the South)just south of the Periferique (the road that circles Paris). But to save time, probably the TGV is a better deal.

LaGretia

I spent three weeks in France last year during May and visited both the Riveria and Provence. Each has their own appeal. I'm from Kansas so I enjoyed the beaches and Mediterrenean Sea, however, I was more than ready to leave after a few days. On the other hand, I wish I my schedule would have allowed me to spend more time in Provence. I estabished my base at Arles, a charming city which boasts attractions ranging from a Roman arena to Van Gogh's residence. The outlying areas are also spectacular and would be especially colorful during the fall. Best wishes.

Byrd

Hello Jackie- We just returned from a trip to France during which we visited both the Riviera and Provence. Enjoyed both, but on the whole liked Provence better. HOWEVER- while staying in Nice, we had the most wonderful day--we took the train in the morning (I think they rum about every hour) east into Italy. The train had an upper deck observation level, and ran right along the Mediterranean--beautiful! We changed trains in the little village of Ventimiglia, and during the layover (half an hour) had time to check out the Friday flea market. Then the train took us a few more miles to lovely little Bordighera, where we had lunch at on a wonderful restaurant deck overlooking the sea. The food was outstanding, as was the scenery. And there were absolutely no other tourists around. After looking about, we took the trains back to France and stopped at Monte Carlo for a while. We got back to our hotel in Nice before dark. If you do go to the Riviera, you might consider such a day trip.