Hi Everyone,
I am planning our honeymoon to France from June 27 to July 6. We want to stay in Paris for 3 nights and then go to the French Riviera for the rest of the time (about 5 days). My fiancé and I are in our late 20s and while we're in the French Riviera, we want to stay somewhere that has great beaches, awesome food, and nightlife. I was looking into staying in Monte Carlo but a friend told me to stay in St. Tropez so I'm very torn as I don't know what to expect in these towns? I need some help!

St Tropez is a much nicer place to stay than Monaco, in my opinion. If you are looking for beaches, nightlife; St Tropez would fit the bill perfectly. Monaco is a high-rise city, lots of concrete. St Tropez is still a pretty village, with market square, small streets, boutiques. The beaches just outside town are great, try Club 55.

If you are planning to visit other towns on the Cote d'Azur, then St Tropez is not ideal, as it can be difficult to reach. There is no train, and the roads can get very congested. There is a boat, though, to St Maxime, Cannes and other places.

Late June/early July is not too bad in terms of crowds.

Hi you,
First : congrats for your wedding

Paris : have a look at the hotel 'Montmartre mon Amou' - I've always found it romantic at the stairs of the Sacré Coeur, that I also find romantic.

Monte-Carlo / Monaco : it is basically a city with casinos, big cars and people wiht a lot of money. Night life, can't say- never slept there but never wanted to.

St Trop' is THE place to be on the Riviera about nightlife. Full of clubs, lots of cafés on beaches - it is also the most expensive place on the Riviera. Very nice - not yet in full season at that time of the year. Awseome food - probably but also expensive.

Given my old age, I may have the money for it (hope Snob is not reading, I've told her I'm a communist) but not the inclination anymore.

Ste-Maxime is more 'normal' or places like Le Lavandou. Or Antibes, but I fear it might be more suiteable for oldies like me ?

I agree with Tulips. Also be aware that most of the beaches from Nice until you reach St. Tropez are rocky beaches, not sandy beaches,and the ones with sand mostly import their sand. However, at most of the clubs you rent a "bed" so it is mostly okay if you have beach shoes to get to the water. I think Juan les Pins and St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat have sandy beaches as well. They are nearer Nice and have better transportation options than St. Tropez if you aren't planning on renting a car. Cap Ferrat might be nice because it is "on the way" to Monte Carlo so you could check MC out on a day trip.

Would it make any sense to stay in Cannes where hotels are more affordable and day trip it to st. Tropez?

Sure !

Monaco is a great place to stay is you have big $ to spend and want to watch the uber rich at play: shop in designer boutiques, check out the gigantic yachts in the harbor and do the James Bond thing in the casino.

There is NO way I would ever stay there but it can be fund for a day/evening and has very good train service (although when we have gone it was with a rented car since DH wanted to drive the Grand Corniche.

Be aware that casinos in euorpe are nothing like Las Vegas. They have entrance fees, require appropriate attire (at night in the inner rooms it does look like a James Bond movie - lots of gowns/jewels/tuxes and minimum of dressy casual and suits. Table games have high minimums and they don;t open until 3 or 4 in the afternoon. (There is an out room with slot machines - but this is for the peasants.)

If you go to the inner rooms you must understand the dealers/croupiers and not dawdle or hold up the games.

>>Would it make any sense to stay in Cannes where hotels are more affordable and day trip it to St. Tropez?<<

Maybe once.

In July there are often huge traffic jams trying to drive into St Tropez and Pampelonne (where the beaches are located). We've visited St Tropez in June about 5-6 times for a total of around 5 weeks - and as we left St Tropez early in the morning for our many day-trips elsewhere - there were often miles of stop-&-go traffic trying to get to St Tropez. I assume it's worse in July. I always tell people to STAY in St Tropez if they want to visit St Tropez - but leave by 11:00 and don't return until 18:00 unless they like huge crowds - especially on St Tropez's market days (Tues & Sat).

BTW, it is too far, IMO, to walk to the "famous" St Tropez beaches at Pampelonne (Tahiti, Club 55, Bora Bora).

I would be surprised if there were many/any hotel vacancies for July in St Tropez.

We stayed in St Maxime once and did not find it to be nearly as interesting as St Tropez.

Stu Dudley

End o june early july is not yet clogged.

It was the times we were there - at least the traffic was bad. Not 100% sure about the town itself - because it was "too crowded" (a subjective opinion) for us by 11:00, when we went elsewhere. That "elsewhere" often included a day at Tahiti Plage - and the matlas spots were quite full - as were the tables for lunch. The OP will be there in July - not June. Obviously, when the French schools end their term, the crowds will increase.

Stu Dudley

Yeah I will agree with Stu on this one in terms of traffic getting in and out of St. Tropez. It is one of those places with pretty much one way in and one way out. And even though July might be better than August, it could be bad

"Also be aware that most of the beaches from Nice until you reach St. Tropez are rocky beaches, not sandy beaches"
Juan les Pins and Cannes have nice sandy beaches.

I've been to St Tropez a few times second week of July, by car. You have to be there very early and leave very late, and still you're stuck on the road between St Maxime and St Tropez. It's worse on market days. The boat to St Maxime is a better option. St Tropez is best if you are actually staying there. You can take a boat to the Pampelonne beaches from the harbour (I suspect that this is not inexpensive though).

I would probably opt for Cannes; beautiful hotels and beaches, nightlife and easy access to other places by train or car.