Bebay

Hi Everyone,

We just booked our tickets for our honeymoon in the French Riviera in early May. We fly in and out of Nice and are looking at recommendations for Hotels, cities to stay in, etc. We'll be renting a car and will be there for 10 nights/11 days.

We'd like our trip to be a combination of relaxation/hanging out at the beach in addition to doing some exploring. My initial thoughts were Nice, Cannes, Juan les pics/Antibes and St. Tropez. Don't want to do too much driving each day. My fiance and I have never been there before, so all recommendations are appreciated. Budget will be on the high end since we've been saving and this is very special once in a lifetime type trip. Not trying to save money and/or stay in cheaper hotels.

Thanks!

Tulips

Hi Bebay, maybe split your time between Nice and St Tropez? Totally different vibe in both places; Nice is a large town, lots to do and see. St Tropez is lovely for a day or 2 or 3, but better to stay there since the drive to St Trop can be a pain.
From Nice, see Eze, St Paul de Vence, maybe Monaco if that interests you. Antibes, Cannes are also easy from Nice.
Beaches are best in St Tropez, but not 100% guarantee of beach weather early may. The beach clubs are fun for lunch; book lounge chairs and a table for lunch at the Club 55.

Can't help much with hotels, since we stay in an apartment, but the Pinede in St Trop looks nice, and is (I think) the only hotel within walking distance of the old town, and has a private beach. The beaches are mostly at Pampelonne, outside town, but I would prefer staying in town and driving to the beach.

Juan les Pins is another beach town, not nearly as pretty as St Trop, but the Belles Rives is a good hotel there.

qwovadis

First Congrats!

www.hotel-negresco-nice.com/en

Nice is the best there fly into NCE

Rent a car stay in upscale hotels around from there

as you like might head for

St. Tropez/Provence/St Paul de Vence/Carcassonne if you like

www.sunfrance.com

Monaco expensive sort of blocky except for downtown

Over in Italy SanRemo is nice also like www.metropole.it

Portofino area truly awesome but a little farther away

Happy Journey,

iris1745

If budget is on the high end and for a once in a lifetime experience, consider Chateau Eza with a private deck looking out at the sea. Perhaps for a few nights. But then, if you want the beach just across the street, the Hotel Negresco as suggested. Congradulations. Richard chateaueza.com

Bebay

Thank you guys for all the suggestions. I'm hoping the weather gets warm for us. We'd really like to spend some time at the beach and at the pool.

Would you suggest skipping out on Juan Les Pins altogether? I feel like we have a lot of time over there and I'd like to stay in multiple places. Other then St Trop and Nice, I'm struggling to find the next best beach town.

Thanks again for everything!

tarquin

You could go inland and spend a couple of days in Provence. It's a bit early for swimming in pools but the towns are lovely.

Tulips

Juan les Pins is fun, my teenagers like it, but not pretty. It's nice to go for a dinner on the beach, walk around the shops which are open late. Early May will be very quiet in Juan les Pins.
If you stay at Belles Rives, you are in the Pinede area of Juan les Pins, towards Cap d'Antibes. That is a nice area.

A very nice beach is Plage Keller, on plage de la Garoupe, Cap d'Antibes. If the weather is good, rent chairs there and have lunch. Views from the beach towards Nice are lovely. There's a path around the Cap that you can walk from there; quite wild and rocky.
Or if your budget allows; stay at Hotel du Cap.

Cannes has good beaches too. Maybe stay at Martinez or Carlton, both have good beach clubs (but Carlton does not have a pool). From Cannes you could easily visit Juan les Pins in the evening, or go to Cap d'Antibes to have lunch at Plage Keller. When staying in Cannes, check the events calender; there are some large trade shows there in May (not just the film festival).