Hi everyone. I have made plans with friends to spend a week in Beaulieu Sur Mer in May. <BR>Can anyone tell me if this area would be better explored by car or can I depend on the trains? I have never been to this area of France before and would like to see as much of Provence as possible. Thanks so much for any advice you can give me.

I can only speak from experience, and I think that it would be much more rewarding to drive around than to take trains... The beauty of Provence is not only in its cities, but also on the country side and on little roads full of vendors of fresh fruit and spices...

The train will take you along the coast, so you can explore Monaco, Nice, Cannes, etc. From Nice, you can take buses to several of the hill towns like St Paul de Vence. If you don't want to deal with parking, driving, etc. you can still see a lot of the region via public transportation. As a general rule, it is cheaper for 2 or more people to rent a car than to take public transportation.

Thanks so much Jean and Elvira. I have looked into a car for that time and an automatic(which I need) and a/c (which I can take or leave) would only cost two of us about $200. So even if no one else wants to share, that isn't so bad. Yes, I am well aware of the price of gasoline. I was leaning this way but thought someone more experienced than I might say differently. Thanks again.

I don't think you could access some of the most wonderful places such as Gordes, Rousillon or Les Baux by train. I too think renting the car is the best choice. The roads are very, very easy to navigate on the whole. <BR>Ellen