Taking a bicycle tour of Provence out of Avignon in early September. Want to finish off with 5 days touring French Riviera St. Tropez, Nice, Monaco etc. Do not plan to rent a car. Any suggestions for route, what not to miss, where to stay and any special towns to visit. .

Message: We went to the French Riveria last summer and traveled between Nice and Monaco for 9 days. We stayed in St Jean Cap Ferrat (about 1/2 way between Nice and Monaco) at wonderful bed and breakfast called the Hotel Bagatelle - it's about a five minute drive from the Beaulieu Sur Mer train station. It's owned and operated by two french sisters and they speak perfect english. Clean, comfortable and full breakfasts for a reasonable price. I would def recommend it. Not sure what the weather is like in Sept but Cap Ferrat has two great beaches - Plage du Passage and Plage Paloma - we preferred Plage Paloma. You can easily take the train up and down the coast, so you won't need a car. Check out Eze, an medival city between Beaulieu and Monaco and def check out Monaco. The extravagance will take your breath away.

Any relation to Geraldo?

Petrice: Any suggestions on a good small hotel in Nice? I am visiting with a computer conference, but don't want to hang-out with all the nerds.

I'm sorry, but no suggestions for a place to stay in Nice. But the Hotel Bagatelle is at the Beaulieu Sur Mer train stop and only about a 15 minute train ride from Nice, so you may wish to consider it. The trains run on a regular basis daily. (Like a commuter train)

Sounds like you really know that area. My husband and I are going this Sept and want to retrace where I lived as a child - St. Jean Cap Ferrat - and heard Beaulieu is a good place to stay... I definitely want to go to Ez, Monaco, and Nice. We will have a car and would love some places to eat, and visit. Villefranche is also on my list as we spent much time there as children. thanks in advance. Nancy