cbctraveler

So I have done my research on this site and TripAdvisor and narrowed it down to 2 possible hotels on the French Riviera (this has been the hardest place to choose a home base for our 2 week France trip for some reason). I like the Palais de la Mediterranee in Nice and the Hotel Welcome in Villefranche-sur-Mer. Still not sure if we'd be better off in centralized Nice or a smaller beach town. I think we would prefer a smaller town/city with excellent beach access and a town feel with walkable restaurants and shops. We will be there for 5 nights and planning day trips to Eze, Monte Carlo and anywhere else of interest and we’ll have a car. Have you been to these hotels? Know of another good spot? Looking to spend $250-400 USD per night with a water view – and a pool would be ideal.

All insight is appreciated! Thank you.

Underhill

I think you've answered your own question: if you want a small town with a good beach, that's Villefranche-sur-Mer.

kappa1

> I think we would prefer a smaller town/city with excellent beach access and a town feel with walkable restaurants and shops.

If above is your preference, go for Villefranche s.m. I would take Nice, a big city but that's my preference. V.S.M. is a bit too small for my preference but many here seem to like to stay there. It's really small, at least the sea side old part is. Do you know Palais de la Mediterranee is a huge hotel (4 or close to 5*?) with a Casino and Welcome is much much smaller, probably 3* ?

StuDudley

Pick either Nice or Villefranche, then choose the hotel.

Both places have restaurants you can walk to. Nice, of course, has more restuarants because it is larger. Except for the road along the Med, most of Villefranche's streets are very steep - and you may not want to spend too much time walking up & down them. Nice is mostly flat.

Beach access can be better in Nice - depending on the location of the hotel. I believe that the beach in Villefranche is about a 15 min walk from the Welcome. I only viewed the Villefranche beach from a distance, but I believe it is flat rocks - just like the beach at Nice (someone please correct me if I am wrong). Also, I don't believe that I saw any "private" beach concessions at the Villefranche beach. Nice has many, many private beach concessions where you can rent a lounge chair, umprella, walk on grass mats instead of rocks, have lunch or drinks at the restaurant (or have lunch or drinks served at your lounge chair by a waiter) - all rather decadent, IMO. I ALWAYS spend my sunbathing time at one of these concessions - usually the Blue Beach.

There is a very nice morning food market along the Cours Saleya from Tues - Sun. On Mondays it's an antique market. There is also a flower market there. In the evening, the Cours is quite a spectacle - one of the best people watching places in France, IMO. At least one of "everything" is there. Lots of restaurants too on the Cours, but few that are really good (Safari). We love to wander along the Blvd Anglais at night & watch the student travelers party on the beach, other people strolling, rollerbladers, bands playing in the hotels, and then walk behind the Negresco & admire the Belle Epoque mansions lit up at night.

I would get bored with Villefranche after about 2 nights there - I would want more diversity - which can be found in Nice. I'm not a jet setter/partier.

If you want a smaller village - consider St Tropez. If you want more 'quiet", choose Villefranche - although the Welcome is right on the main drag & I don't know how noisy it is there.

Stu Dudley

StuDudley

PS - I don't recall a lot of shops in Villefranche - certainly not many compared to Nice.

If you're going elsewhere on your trip (Provence, Burgundy, Dordogne), perhaps stay in a small village there. See what ammenities a larger resort city offers & stay in Nice while on the Riveria. We've spent about 5 weeks staying in Nice, almost 5 weeks just behind Nice near Vence, and 5 weeks in St Tropez.

Stu Dudley

kappa1

> I believe that the beach in Villefranche is about a 15 min walk from the Welcome.

The beach is 5 minutes or less walk, just next to the town area where the hotel is located. No there is no private beach, the whole beach is only a strech of about a hundred meters. I agree. I too would be a bit bored there staying for 2 nights.

StuDudley

>>I think we would prefer a smaller town/city with excellent beach access and a town feel with walkable restaurants and shops. <,

If you want a smaller town/city - stay in Villefranche. If you want lots of walkable restaurants, shops, and excellent beach access - stay in Nice. The Mediterranee is 50 paces from the beach in Nice.

Stu Dudley

Weadles

I agree with the excellent advice above. I used to go to Nice nearly every summer, and stayed at Le Palais de la Mediterranee twice. The hotel is a gorgeous, recently renovated( within last five years or so) Art Deco mansion. It has excellent facilities ( good restaurants, AMAZING breakfast!, small health club/spa, casino, teeny pool) and service. We stayed in two seaview rooms which were very comfortable, but not opulent. My only slight complaint is that the view of the sea was obscured by two enormous pillars on the outside of the hotel building.

The location was perfect for exploring Nice. The hotel is within a 10-minute walk of Old Nice and its market, and across the street from one of the private beach clubs that Stu T mentioned.

We certainly aren't jetsetters, either, but we definitely enjoy the many options ( beach, great museums, old town/market, wonderful restaurants, fantastic people-watching esp. at night along the Blvd. Anglais!) that Nice has to offer.

cbctraveler

Thanks for the info so far. Perhaps Nice is a better option if our priorities include going to the beach (we do like the beach concessions) and walking around for dining, shopping and people watching. Having meals seaside and being central for day trips along the coast are also important to us... We are staying in Paris (6 nights) and in Beaune (3 nights) prior to the Riviera and I think I shy away from the idea of a coastal “city” because I am thinking of the smaller beach towns of California that we are accustomed to and that we enjoyed Positano, Italy so much. Any other hotels in Nice we should consider?

I truly appreciate the feedback on this website… I have reconsidered a couple of my initial plans for this trip and I know you sharing your experiences will make for a more enjoyable trip. Thanks!

scatcat

I love Villefranche...for about an hour. Then I head back to Nice . I love Nice.

StuDudley

Actually, except for the private beach concessions (only a few open in the evening - and they don't seem to be very popular), I don't recall any beachside restaurants in Nice. We took a train to Villefranche and dined portside at Mere Germaine. There is a port in Nice (away from Old Nice a tad) with restaurants - but the setting is not as nice as in Villefranche.

We always stay at the Windoor in Nice. Large rooms, individually painted by local artists, no ocean views, beautiful new bathrooms, they speak English (as their name implies). Nice garden for breakfasts (we prefer to have breakfast close to Old Nice). Good location close to the Negresco. Ask for a room facing the garden.

If Villefranche has flat rocks (like Nice) but does not have private beach concessions with lounge chairs/chaise lounges & umbrellas I could rent, and a restaurant where I could have a leisurely lunch with pink wine - I would never spend any time at the beach there. I'm too much of a softie, and besides - what are vacations for??.

Stu Dudley
Not Stu T

Weadles

My apologies for confusing Stu Dudley with Stu T, both of whom are invaluable posters here!!

Anyway, Nice has lots of good hotels to recommend. What's your budget?

julia1

I second the Windsor in Nice. Lovely small hotel. And I will never forget being woken several nights in a row by a nightingale singing outside my room - magic! Here are some of my photos from south of France, if you're interested: http://jmstudio.fotopic.net/c1542303.html If you scroll down about half-way, you'll see Nice. You'll also see images from Hyeres, my favorite base on the Core d'Azur. If you haven't been there, you might like to check it out, it's delightful, with wonderful beaches, an interesting old centre ville, easy access to the Porquerolles Islands, Bormes-les-Mimosas, etc. There are also photos from some of my favorite daytrips from Nice and Hyeres.

sharona

I've stayed at Palais de la Mediterranee and can recommend it. It's a great location within easy walking distance to many restaurants and right across from the beach. If I remember right parking was pretty expensive so that's something you might want to look into. Weadles gave you a good summary. I believe just about everyone at the hotel spoke English if that is a concern.