Driving from Nice to St Tropez
 

I will be driving from Nice to St Tropez in less than 2 wks (can't wait!) and was wondering if anyone could recommend a good map and also any sights/towns/restaurants, etc.. that I should not miss on my way. Thanks.

The Michelin regional map #527 Provence-Alps-Cote d'Azur is probably detailed enough for your purposes. Buy it here: http://tinyurl.com/qojva.

If you want even more detail (scale 1/100,000), buy the Michelin zoom map #115 Cote d'Azur and the Michelin zoom map #114 Pays varois when you get to Nice.

St-Paul-de-Vence is a little off your direct route, but it is a very popular hilltop village. Antibes has an old walled city worth exploring and sandy beaches. For spectacular views, drive the Corniche de l'Esterel, the coastal road between la Napoule and St-Raphael. For a cooler and less congested scenic inland route, take the N7 from la Napoule to Frejus.

Try to get to St-Tropez as easly in the morning as possible--there's only one major road into and out of the town, and traffic can be fierce. You might think about taking the boat across from St-Raphael as an alternative to driving.

The town of Fréjus has excellent Roman ruins, if that's of any interest.

Is Antibes on your way? It's a very nice little coastal town for walking, admiring the water from the sea wall, having lunch, etc.

kiki1,

driving from Nice to St Tropez normaly takes you (if you take the highway) something about une hour and a half. It depends how much time do you want to spend, I mean one day, sleep somewhere in between etc. So in order to be able to answer your questions, let us know what would you like to do and how much time do you want to spend here.
As TimS already said, Michelin is a good map. You can take the highway (the fastest way to get there, you'll pay for it about 8 euros), the N7 which is in-land, or you can take the "bord de mer", but be carefull, it's always a lot of traffic (try to avoid mornings before 9.30 and afternoons 5pm to 8 pm).

hope this helps!

Thank you. Yes, this helps very much. We are thinking of spending the day driving and stopping off at various locations, (but not sleeping overnight)and not rushing the trip to St Tropez. The idea of a leisurely drive with different pitstops along the way is appealing. Is this a good idea? Traffic worries me a bit, but we won't be in a hurry.

Have you considered taking the boat from St-Raphael over to St-Tropez?

Yes, but I will have a car for the first half of my trip, so I will drive to St Tropez. On the return, I will take the boat. Anything in particular I should be aware of regarding that? Thanks Underhill.

Ile --

"Une hour..." I like that.

Hi
Check out viamichelin.com. They'll map it and give you the time and directions. I'm using for a trip I'm planning in Sept.

www.mappy.fr is also good (i prefer it to viamichelin, it's more detailed, allthough I am not sure you can use it in english too; check it!)

What I would do, is living in the morning Nice (it also depends on how much time you spend in Nice and how much you already visited), take toe highway to Antibes, stop for a while in Antibes, maybe have breakfast/coffee here (it should take you maximum half an hour from Nice to Antibes, including parking etc). Antibes is very nice and charmy; than drive on the "bor de mer" through Juan-les-pins to Cannes. I personaly don't like Cannes, but it's up to you to stop for a while or not; normaly a half an hour walk on the Croisette is more than enough.
You can go on driving by the sea; you can stop for a swim (there are wonderful places on this way, wild and unspoiled; it depends of course on what you like, I am not talking about sandy beaches, but quite places, big rocks etc).
You should arrive in the early afternoon (can't say late lunch, because usualy after 2-2.30 pm you can't order any more in most restaurants in France).
If you hurry up, it won't be so crowded (joking). Mid june is not july or august!

kik1
Sorry to hijack your message - but I am travelling from Nice to Frejus and heard that the roads are a nightmare (I am going late August) so was wondering whether if anyone can tell me if the N7 is a quietish route that time of year?

Actually to Frejus is not bad at all; you follow the A8 motorway almost the entire way. The problem with driving to St Tropez is that you have a long two-lane road when you get off the motorway. Frejus on the other hand, is not far from the A8.
Taking the N7 from Nice to Frejus will take much more time (probably more scenic, but I haven't done that). The coastal route will be very very busy in August.

Thanks Tulips
Very reassuring.
Steve

mappy.com is in English.
it's great!