FranceCouple

My wife and I will be going to France in mid-July this year for roughly 12-14 days. It has been her lifelong dream to see Paris and Nice, at the very least. I'm hoping you all can help me plan a rough outline of the trip. As of now, I'm thinking of spending 5 or so days in Paris, then taking the TGV to Nice. From Nice, what are some other ideas? Marseille seems nice. Monaco? I'm just trying to get an idea of what a rough itinerary within that timeframe could look like, to hit the highlights of the south of France. Would it be easy to get from Nice to these other cities/villages in the region using train? Or would it make sense to rent a car once in Nice? Any suggestions of places to see/things to do in that region? Any thoughts are appreciated, thanks!

StCirq

"that region" is huge. If you mean the Côte d'Azur, from Nice it's easy enough to travel along the coast to other towns, including Monaco (which holds zero appeal for me - YMMV). A car would be a liability in Nice. If you mean inland Provence, your public transportation options are limited, except to the major cities. Trains don't go to villages, and buses are mainly for workers and schoolchildren. If you want to explore the countryside/villages of the Lubéron and Les Alpilles, having a car is almost essential.

There are thousands of things to do and see in all corners of Provence. Get hold of a few guidebooks and a map or two and sstart narrowing down what appeals to you.

Michael

Take the train from Paris to Avignon, rent a car to see the Provence on the way to Nice, and fly home from Nice.

You might be interested in the latter half of this report:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-july-2012.cfm

StuDudley

Welcome to Fodors.

My wife & I have vacationed for 20 weeks on the Cote d'Azur and 20 weeks in Provence. I developed a 30+ page itinerary that describes our favorite sites, villages, cities, scenic drives, restaurants, markets, etc. It also has a section on Provence fabric. I've sent the itinerary to well over 3,000 people on Fodors - 34 people so far this week. If you would like a copy, e-mail me at [email protected] & I'll attach a one to the reply e-mail. Indicate that you want the Provence/Cote d'Azur itinerary. I have others, also.

Stu Dudley

Whathello

I recommend buying the green guide by Michelin.
It is a 100 something guide that has been read by millions of people.
You find itineraries and advice on all towns concerned.

(Shoot, I am going to be the only guy on Fodors who never asked for Stug's documents. ) But then I buy my guides in French - do you translate them Stug ?

FranceCouple

Thank you all for your help. I'll be getting a guidebook and also reading Stu's itinerary; thanks in advance Stu.

StuDudley

>>do you translate them Stug ?<<

Who's he???

Stu Dudley

aliced

We did above on first trip to France; rented a car in Nice and flew back to States from there. For five days there is plenty to do excluding Provence per se. We drove east to Monaco and west to St. Tropez & up to Grasse. Ran out of time for anywhere else, and finally got to Provence this September. If you stop at every little village between here and there, you just can't plan to cover Provence in same trip. Driving gives you flexibility. Nice was a great base, stayed at La Perouse on the east end of town, abutted in a cliff overlooking the Sea.

dlincoln

5 days in Paris sounds good. Here are some interesting itineraries in the city: https://paris.sightbag.com/en/recommendations. We did the 3 days trip and added Versailles for our 4th (and last) day. Have fun in Paris!