We arrive in Nice the first week of february-our first visit--and would like to know about what weather to expect on the french and italian riviera.I'm so unsure of how to pack--slacks, shorts,swimsuits, dress or two,Tevas, one jacket,warm shoes and long underware in case a trip to Chamonix happens.We have banked our timeshare from Vail Colorado to Nice for a week and then we have another week to cruise around.Can any one recommend an affordable charming(75 euros or a bit more)hotel near the water in Nice for the first day we arrive as we are one day early.A few questions please--can we hope to ride vespas along the coast --we are both experienced motorscooter drivers as living in Key West for years gave much practice.We think this would be a good way to get around and catch the views.We would also like to do a bit of walking and hiking.We enjoy the outdoors -no glitz--no tourist shopping--but would love to pick up some good fabrics-tablecloths.We will base out of Nice for the first week and hope to spend second week some where on the coast of the Italian Riviera.As our time is short we've decided just to stay coastal with a few side trips a bit inland --any suggestions for places we just shouldn't miss.We will of course do some of the museums.We would love to hear about fun cool places to stay and eat.We love wine -italian and french and absolutely love food.We try to be concientious about finding really good food and wine at affordable prices --atmosphere is very important.Merci Beaucoup

Wow! Lots of questions. I can try to answer a few. I've only been to the French Riviera. I was there mid Feb once & it was unseasonably warm,60s-70s. Normally I think it would be 50s/60s. There are a number of websites that will provide historic temps for the area. I think wunderground.com is one. You should also look at provencebeyond.com which provides good general info for the area plus weather info. It should have walking/hiking info too.

I don't know of a Nice hotel at that price (the affordable Nice hotels mentioned most often here are the West End and La Perouse). In the town of Villefranche, very close to Nice, the Welcome Hotel should have rooms at that price in Feb. It's right on the water (a marina area) & has some charm.

While I can't speak for Italy, in France, the areas away from the coast, a bit up in the hills, tend to be less touristy & more charming. St Paul de Vence (which IS touristy, especially during the day), is considered by most to be a "must see." It's a walled medieval village. Vence, a larger town a bit further north, is also worth a visit for the Matisse chapel & it's food markets. Eze is another popular hill town (if you like hiking, the walk from Eze sur Mer train station up to the town is about an hour!)

Another charming hill town is Biot, known for it's glass blowing & pottery making.

I don't remember Biot's being a hill town. We stopped by to see the art-glass museum on our way from Nice to Grasse, and it was a very nice experience.

Underhill, the glass blowing place is just as you enter town. But if you continue further up, there's an "old town" that is up the hill. Quite charming with an arcaded square. It's not as high up as St Paul but still a protected old village.

If you're interested in perched villages/hill towns off the beaten path see my recent post--Off season Riviera, So France in November. It's a trip report that details our travel to several, most notably Saorge, Tende, and Tourettes sur Loup--as well as Eze, and St. Paul de Vence. I just posted it but it's dropped pretty far down so you may have to search a bit since it might not be indexed yet.

The western side of the talian Riviera is nowhere near as nice as the eastern so unless you can go all the way over to say Santa Margherita Ligure or Camogli, I'd stay in France and do more in depth exploring there rather than spend time in a place like San Remo, etc.

Another hotel in Nice has been recommended here. It's the Hotel Grimaldi. They have a 70 Euro Internet rate in February.

Of course, there's not a pool on the premises, nor it's beach front. but it's quite well located It's on the border of Vieux Nice, the most picturesque district in town.

http://nice.direct-to-hotel.com/hote...-grimaldi-d2h/

Thank you for responses--will check out provencebeyond and wunderground--I know we can't be sure of weather but with more research I'm feeling a bit more educated.I have a feeling we'll have to come up on our price our first nite but will continue to take comments.All places recommended I'll check on when possible.I'll check on post from jmv-thanks.We will certainly go to the more eastern Italian riviera the more info I hear about it.We're soooo excited.We can rent a car the second week if necessary to venture further east.Hotel Grimaldi I'll look into!Thanks again-will keep checking in-this is my first time on Fodors--so very helpful!

Thanks, Mclaurie. We went with a French friend who lives near Valbonne and saw only the glass-blowing operation. Next time we'll drive up and look at the village; good to know about it.