Itinerary help
 

Hello,

I'm spending a 6 days in France before going to visit a friend in Geneva. I plan to fly into Nice and eventually train it to her in Geneva. I have an entirely too long list of place I am thinking. My only must see are Nice and Cannes. Would you take a look and let me know if any of these are must see or not necessary, especially in regards to my requirements above. I thank you so much in advance!

Nice

Cannes

Monaco

Isle-sur-la-Sorgue

Avignon

Eze

Antibes

Marseille

Villefranche-sur-Mar

Cassis

Thanks again!

I don't ever consider anything to be "must-see," unless I really want to see it.

But yes, your list is, IMO, too long for 6 days. How do you plan to get around to these places once you land in Nice? Does the day getting from Nice to Geneva count as one of the 6?

Out of your list, I would personally eliminate Monaco because it holds zero appeal to me, which is not to say you'd wouldn't be mesmerized. I'd also probably eliminate Marseille, which I love, but I don't see it as a place that would grab a first-time visitor to France and might even be off-putting. That still leaves you with 8 destinations, some a bit distant from each other and two of them sizable cities. Not really manageable unless you just zoom around and take pictures.

Maybe you should focus on deciding between the Côte d'Azur and inland Provence and whittle this down that way.

I think many come here asking for "must sees" as if there is a universal list relevant to everyone. My list of must sees in this area would be very different from yours. I have different interests.

Unless you can define what makes something must see for YOU, recommendations from others would be totally off your mark. If it does not matter, then you can use anyone's list. There is no shortage of such "top 10" etc, lists easily searchable on the web.

To start with, why Nice and Cannes? Especially the latter. If you are looking for charm, you will find least in Cannes. If you are looking for a sanitized high-end modern beach resort, Cannes is the right place.

If Nice and Cannes are "musts" (for whatever your personal reasons) with 6 days, I'd simply look at a map and pick 1-2 more stops that make the most sense on your route/itinerary.

Half of the places you mention are more or less around Nice.
If you stay 4 days at Nice, you may be able to visit all of them.
Marseille and Avignon can be visited on your train ride from Nice to Geneva. Cassis is a half day trip from Marseille.
Only Isle-sur-la-Sorgue is more time consuming by public transport.