cmarieb

Hi there!
My family and I are planning a trip for two weeks during June 2018 to somewhere in France and Italy. We would like to fly into a major airport and then travel to a somewhat close location by car (a couple hours drive). We want to avoid staying in major cities as we are planning to rent a house/villa because we have 2 small children (3 years and 1 year old) with us. We are open to staying in one location for a week and then driving to another location for the next week. We want to avoid driving more than 4 hours or so between locations. We thought perhaps having somewhere in southern France close to the border of Italy as a location and then traveling into Italy for the other location since it would be close might be nice. The locations would have to have plenty of things to do on site or within driving distance. There will be 10 adults along with the 2 children so there needs to be activities around that all will enjoy for the most part. I have no knowledge of what the best places to stay would be and it's feeling overwhelming to pick locations. We are also open to staying in one location (outside of major cities) in either southern France or Northern Italy if there's enough to keep us busy for 2 weeks. Any suggestions or advice would be so appreciated. Thank you!

StuDudley

Only 2 weeks and 12 people - just stay in one location.

There are time-consuming complications if you try to visit both France & Italy with that many people. I would either land in Paris, Marseille, or Nice (depending on your specific flight options), and spent the full 2 weeks in Provence. Plenty of things to do there. We've visited Provence for 22 weeks & are returning for 2 more in 2019. We were there for 2 weeks this year. Try for the last 2 weeks of June to catch the lavender in bloom.

I would stay somewhere in the Luberon Valley if you prefer small hill villages, vineyards, lavender fields, farmer's markets, and beautiful countryside. Reserve ASAP. We reserve gites in Provence at least 1 year in advance - sometimes 1 1/2 yrs in advance.

Stu Dudley

bilboburgler

I'd look at Alsace as one base and the hills above Turin as the second

You might find

gites-de-france.com and agriturismo.it as a place to start hunting,

Now you may say Alsace is not southern France.... but it is really nice. With Strasbourg and lots of castles close by.

StuDudley

Alsace & Turin are 6 to 7 hrs apart - with a drive through Switzerland, and just bypassing Mt Blanc. It could be a challenging drive if they travel in early June & a storm hits. Also, renting cars in France & dropping them off in Italy is costly (OP didn't mention cost/budget, however).

Stu Dudley

travelhorizons

I would land at CDG, then take the train from there to Avignon or Aix. Pick up your rental in the south of FrNce and save a long drive when you're tired.

StuDudley

We have direct flights to CDG from where we live in the US. So we do what Travelhorizons suggested & take the 3 1/4 hr TGV from CDG to the Agignon TGV station. If we did not have a direct flight, we would take 2 flight legs to either Marseille or Nice & drive to Provence from there. A train is much more relaxing than a flight. First class train tickets purchased early are around 40E per person.

Stu Dudley

greg

I don't know where you are coming from, but the outline of the trip seems to be something people from North America would do domestically. Go somewhere, anywhere, outside a big city. I am not reading anything that has to be Italy or Southern France or France for that matter.

I think "enough to keep us busy for 2 weeks" is ambiguous. What interest us might be totally boring to you. I have been to a few places where were supposed to be "many things to do," but came home totally bored.

I would probably do something StuDudley mentioned. It is quite a hassle to move that many people from the Southern France to the Italian side.

What are near Provence that might keep you busy? I wouldn't know. Here are some ideas:

Pont du Gard: http://www.objectif-france.us/399/ca...nt-du-gard.jpg
Les Baux: http://www.avignon-et-provence.com/s...?itok=YVzyLE0r
Carrières de lumieres: https://litowitzrennes.files.wordpre...5/img_1235.jpg
Gordes: http://adaynotwasted.com/wp-content/...s-pre-dawn.jpg
Roussillon: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/de/c4...ecfa726361.jpg
Lavendar: https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/t/l-ab...o-89861101.jpg
Markets: http://curiousprovence.com/wp-conten...arecurious.jpg

cmarieb

Wow you are all so helpful! Yes I think you are right Stu that it would be better to stay in one location and take Day trips from there. We are coming from Alberta, Canada and do not have direct flights to Paris. We would have at least 2 legs. Since this is the case you suggested driving to Provence from Nice or Marseilles. I think we are leaning more towards Nice. Do you have suggestions of where to stay in the Luberon Valley (your suggestion) in Provence? Should we be worried that we haven't booked anything? We would like to stay in a large house with at least 5 bedrooms (more upscale - perhaps even with a pool). Are there some places in Provence that would more likely have a place like this to stay? We would enjoy typical touristy things like castles, museums, farmers markets, wineries, architecture. I love the idea of the lavender fields! We would also like to be close to good restaurants.
On a side note, is it feasible to take a day trip into Italy by car? If so, where would you suggest?
All of this information is so helpful!

PalenQ

On a side note, is it feasible to take a day trip into Italy by car? If so, where would you suggest?>

Of course - drive via Ventimgilia to say San Remo - nice regional town - not far and no problem.

StuDudley

Twelve people are ten more than us. We've stayed in 6 different Gites in Provence, but the largest was only 3 bedrooms. All but two had a pool.

Look for something near Gordes, Roussillon, Goult, Menerbes, Bonnieux, or St Saturnin les Apt. Here is a place where a frequent Fodor contributor has stayed many times, that might house 12 people in various accommodations.
http://www.accommodationinprovence.c...tems/le-chene/

>> is it feasible to take a day trip into Italy by car? <<

NO! By the time you got there - it would be time to return home. It is 4 hrs from Gordes to San Remo (not one of my favorite cities), and then 4 hrs back. You indicated that you preferred a max 4 hr drive between places. There is a big obstacle between the Luberon and Italy - called the Alps.

Stu Dudley

StuDudley

PAL - are you suggesting that 8-9 hrs with butts-in-the-car (actually, 3 cars?) is "not far & no problem"? Even with a 1 & 3 year old???

Stu Dudley

StuDudley

Almost forgot. I developed a 36 page itinerary for Provence & the Cote d'Azur that describes our favorite villages, scenic drives, cities, farmer's markets, restaurants, and other sites. It also has a section on Provence Fabric. We've spent 43 weeks vacationing in this region. I've sent it to over 3,000 people on Fodors. If you would like a copy, e-mail me at [email protected] & I'll attach one to the reply e-mail. Do so soon - we depart for a month in Europe 2 weeks from today.

Stu Dudley

PalenQ

PAL - are you suggesting that 8-9 hrs with butts-in-the-car (actually, 3 cars?) is "not far & no problem"? Even with a 1 & 3 year old???>

I was thinking they were asking from Nice area - no never from Gordes! My mistake.

massimop

cmarieb

There are loads of lovely hillside towns & villages between Nice & the Italian border where it is less than a 40 minute drive to Italy -- and once you get to Italy you have more beautiful owns like Dolceacqua, Bordighera, Apricale. You can definitely get a taste of Italy.

I would begin by looking in Vence & in a radius of Vence. Or look around Menton. (These towns are in France). I would even be possible to drive to a train station in France & take the train into Italy to visit coastal towns.

massimop

This looks like fun, quite near Nice -- but don't know anything else about it other than what I'm reading in reviews

https://www.homeaway.co.uk/p671923a

StuDudley

That homeaway house is in the middle of Cros de Gagnes. I would not want to be anywhere near there. The area is packed with houses and we hate driving through there. Not the "image" of the Cote d'Azur you'll want to experience. We have vacationed near Cagnes in Nice (big city) for around 6 weeks total (last time was 2 weeks in 2014). We have also stayed 4 weeks in St Jeanette - just outside of Vence. We had to drive through Cagnes many times - and we hated it.

The Nice Hinterland (area inland from Nice) is fantastic - but it's the Alps & therefore quite mountainous. Stick with the Luberon, IMO. Even in June you will get the "big city feel" if you stay too close to Nice (Cros Cagnes is adjacent to Nice - very close to the airport). Horrible area, IMO.

Stu Dudley

StuDudley

Note on driving a car rented in France into Italy:

Last time I checked (maybe 7 years ago), my credit card covered CDW insurance if I rented it in France. If I drove it into Italy, I would note be covered. So depending on how much risk you want to take (3 cars?), check if this is still the case with your Credit Card issuer.

Stu Dudley

massimop

Even if one person hates the area in the link that I posted (you can see from the reviews that there are other opinions), there are many towns near Nice, in the hills (not mountains) that are quite popular places to vacation between Nice and the Italian border (this is where so many important French artists came to paint & to live). There is really no reason for you to be discouraged about visiting Italy on this trip if that is what you want to do. And if you don't -- skip it! But if the idea appeals to you, like I said, check out rentals around Vence & Menton, and places in between.

StuDudley

We've spent weeks driving in the mountains behind Nice. Once in June, we could see snow on the mountains from the Cours Saleya in Nice. We've rented 2 Gites in these mountains & drove along mountain ridges, 13 switchbacks in a row, and tried to stay on the roads above the many gorges. There are some hills immediatly after leaving Nice - but they very quickly become mountains - except along the Var River (lots of ugly commerce too).


Cros de Cagnes
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.6578.../data=!3m1!1e3

Stu Dudley

cmarieb

I think we decided on flying into Nice and making our home base close the the city - possibly Antibes. From there we can make day trips to other places along the Cote de Azure and possibly into Italy. Is Antibes a good base? We would like to be within driving distance to a beach. Someone else mentioned Vence or Menton. Would those locations be too far from the coast?