df50

Oh my, what a title! Our first stop in Provence will be 3-4 days in St Remy then move to St Paul de Vence. Now I'm thinking Villefranche-sur-Mer might be a better choice for variety for our second hotel stay. Any advice? Our last two days will be in Eze, so I'm wondering if too many little similar type places?

Cimbrone

First let me say, of the places you mention, I have only been to St. Remy and St. Paul de Vence. St. Remy is a "real" town while St. Paul is a picture perfect village. So they are really quite different. I believe, however, that Eze is not too different from St. Paul (someone can correct me if I'm wrong.) So, although I prefer St. Paul to St. Remy (not my favorite town, although others will disagree about its charms), your thinking may be right, and you may want a sea-side town among your choices.

If it were my choice, I would do Aix and Nice (with a half day trip to St. Paul de Vence). Plus Eze or Villefranche if you want three places.

sglass

I'm planning my own summer trip and plan to stay in Villefranche as a base for five nights after time in Arles and more briefly Avignon and Aix. From my research (you don't indicate if you will be renting a car- I won't have one)I want to go for a day to St Paul de Vence and I want to walk to the Fondation Maeght. That sounds like plenty. With a car, maybe you have a lot more exploring options than I do in the area. I love the looks of all the walking possible to do from Villefranche- strolling past the yachts and mansions. You might do some additional research and see if it looks as appealing to you! I have been using the Rick Steves Provence book and finding it quite helpful. As well, it appears so quick to get to Nice from there. (Is that where you are flying back to the US?)

df50

Thank you both for your help. We will have a car but I do like the idea of walking around more. We will be flying out of Nice.

I'm glad you mentioned Rick Steves' Provence book, I need to get it. I do have his France guidebook but I would like the other.

Sounds like you have a great trip planned and Im sure you'll have a wonderful time. I do appreciate your help.

Bigal

I would not give up on St.Remy as with a car it is great hub for western Provence...Arles,Avignon,Nimes,Pont du Gard,LÍsle la Sorgue etc...a big drag from the other places mentioned and not to be missed. And in the evening nice to walk to eating spots instead of the blacked out roads of Provence. St.Remy is highly recommended. Don't see staying in EZE.While it is a quaint mountain town it is essentially a series of shops for souvenirs.I would rather stay in Cannes and see the mountain towns like Mougins Village and great eateries and Grasse. With a car Cannes is a great hub for the Cote dÁzure.

StuDudley

I think St Paul would be a good base IF you plan to spend a lot of your time exploring very deep into the beautiful Nice Hinterland (Alps, north of Nice).

If you plan on spending most of your time along the coast, with visits to the small villages immediatly around Nice (St Paul, Vence, Tourrettes, Eze, Peillon, Peille, Gorbio, Biot, etc), then I think Villefranche would provide some varety.

I'm not a big fan of Eze, for the same reasons Bigal provided.

Stu Dudley

caroltis

How do you pronounce "Eze"

sequess

I think St Remy might be a good choice to see that area of Provence. As previously mentioned, St Paul de Vence and Eze are similar in feel-both very charming with spectacular views. My preference would be St Paul de Vence because there is a little more there and also it has the wonderful museum Fondation Maeght. Villefranche would be a good choice to be in one of the seaside towns and base to explore that area (including Eze). We stayed in St Jean Cap Ferrat and were happy there.