Hi, we need your help in planning our day trips in Provence and the Riviera this September. I have the DK Eyewitness guide which is great, but it's broken up into regions and I have no idea how many towns/sites we could see in one day. We will be based in Nice for 5 nights and then St. Remy for 4 nights. Driving iteniaries listing towns, sites and distances would be greatly appreciated. How about your favorite place to stop for lunch (very important). Also mention if there is a senic route to and a quick route back so we don't have to double back. I've listed below the days we will be there if you have market day suggestions. Unfortunately we will miss Wednesday market day in St. Remy. Thanks in advance. <BR>BASE TOWN - NICE DAY TRIPS (Sat.through Thurs.)<BR>BASE TOWN - ST. REMY DAY TRIPS (Thurs. through Mon.)<BR>Then off to Paris for 5 nights, yippy!

For route planning we like to use Mappy; others prefer viamichelin. Keep in mind that the driving times they give will be more accurate for the autoroutes than the secondary roads. You will also need a good map. <BR><BR>From Nice I would suggest a drive up to the charming hill town of St Paul-de-Vence and lunch on the terrace of the Hotel St Paul.<BR><BR>From St Remy, a natural would Arles via Les Baux and Paradou [lunch at Le Bistro le Paradou]. <BR><BR>If you plan to be near Bagnols-sur-Ceze on Sunday, there is a nice lunch with live music on the grounds of the Chateau Montcaud, our favorite hotel in the area. <BR><BR>Here's a route to check out on mappy, because I don't know how long it would take or whether to do this in reverse: get to Ansouis via the D973; then Lourmarin [2 Michelin * restaurants], Bonnieux, Lacoste, Menerbes and up to the N100. <BR><BR>Another way to work it is to do some of the towns north of the N100.<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>

Be sure to visit:<BR><BR>www.provenceweb.com/e/villages.htm<BR><BR>I've sent them e mails with questions a couple of times and they have responded.<BR>Once I asked about a particular restaurant and they offered to make a reservation for me at no charge.

Lynne,<BR>From Nice I highly recommend you see the Picasso Museum in Antibes, The Musee nationa Picasso La Guerre et la Prix in Vallauris, the fort at Villefrance sur Mer, the old village of Mougins, the 14th century village of Gourdon, the glass museum in Biot, plus there's much to see in Nice itself--the Chagall Museum, the Matisse Museum, the Museum of Contempory Art, and all sorts of gardens and promenades. Have a great time.

Nice: Monaco, Eze, Grasse, Cannes. You want to give yourself time to see Nice, too. Vence and St. Paul de Vence would be nice as well.<BR><BR>St. Remy: Chateauneuf de Pape, Les Baux, Arles, Avignon, Vaison la Romaine. Give yourself plenty of time to wander in St. Remy and Arles - you can see Les Baux and Vaison in part of one day. Give yourself a full day in Chateauneuf de Pape or a similar wine village, it's soooo nice to sit and enjoy the fine wine and your friends/loved ones. try not to cram too much - this area is meant to be savored slowly...<BR><BR>

Lynne: I know the feeling. I had five or more guidebooks at my bedside and still had no "feel" for what we could do from Nice in a realistic timeframe. It's like doing those essays in English class...first you need an outline...<BR><BR>Therefore, I was ecstatic when I found one book to calm me down:<BR><BR>"Daytrips France, 48 One-Day Adventures by Rail, Bus or Car." Author: Earl Steinbicker. Publishers: Hastings House, Norwalk, Connecticut.<BR><BR>The book basically groups daytrips from several locales: Paris; then Paris/Ile de France; Normandy; then Champagne/Burgundy; the Loire Valley; Provence; Riviera.<BR><BR>The book does a great job using the "less is more" philosophy. There's never too much detail to get in the way of knowing what you can accomplish in a day. Lists all the stops for lunch. <BR><BR>I used it as my "baseline" guide for our daytrips by from Nice, then filled in any other essentials with my other guidebooks.<BR><BR>Hope this does the trick, Lynne.<BR><BR>One other note: we really used our Cote d'Azure museum pass. As Paula said, there are magnificent museums on the coast. We averaged three a day. The best one, though, is not covered by the pass: The Maeght Foundation Musee in St. Paul de Vence. We liked it so much, we're going back to St. Paul just to do it again. <BR><BR>And Paula, we want to add another vote for the little village of Mougins. As you know, it's not particularly popular, but we decided to stop there on our way to Grasse. We loved the photography museum with all the photos of Picasso, and we had a lovely lunch. Hated Grasse, though.<BR>

just came back from Cannes and there are many trips you can make.<BR>you can go to EZE and see the mideval village .<BR>Monaco, monte Carlo<BR>San Remo<BR>vente Miglia ( i didn;t care for it but many people like the big flea market they have there )<BR><BR>We used a service called great tours and it was a guided excursion with a private guide. You can ask your concierge and they can give you the brochure and you basically just copy their itineraries. We always went the scenic route and came back the highway.<BR> Many people on this board have written extensively on Eze, search and you can find tons of info here. One thing to remember is that in italy the shops all close from 1-4 pm, so plan accordingly.<BR> Also on the drive to San Remo you can stop in Menton also a fav on this board it is the Lemon capital of France and have lunch . They also have a market for food and a small tag salish little market right next door.<BR><BR> Most importantly don;t forget a trip into Cannes. The old port is lovely and so is the Croissette, we stayes at the Hotel Majestic on the Croisette and it was magnificent. It is across from the festival Hall. It's worth it to see where they hold the film festival. At night there is a water show with classical music and lights.<BR> If you want to go to the casino in Monte Carlo bring your passport with you they require it for entry

Hi<BR><BR><BR>Think of a day in nearby Languedoc (Provence / Languedoc border is the Rhone).<BR><BR>Info at -<BR><BR>http://tlp.netfirms.com<BR><BR>Peter

Thanks for all of the thoughtful replies. Amy, my brother gave me a copy of the Day Trips book but it's from 1986. I think I need an updated book! Ron, thanks for the website. I'll check it out today. Question, in the Day Trips book he mentions a small train from Nice to St Andre les Alpes. Has anyone taken this trip? Thanks to all!

Since you have a car, you might want to drive up into the Alpilles--the hills behind Nice--I understand there a numerous lovely little hill towns there. On Mondays, there's a fabulous flea/antiques market on the Cours Saleya in Nice which I love. There's also a small flea market from 9 am-1 pm on Sunday in Villefranche-sur-mer (5 minutes from Nice by train), right on the water, perfectly positioned near a delightful cafe. If you're flush, definitely book a dinner at the Chateau de la Chevre D'or in Eze. If not, then plan to go just for cocktails--you won't be sorry, it's a fabulous hotel high in the hills with the most extraordinary views of the Mediterranean. You can definitely do Cannes and Antibes with Picasso museum in a day, and probably be able to drive up to Biot also. Saturday is flea and food market day in Antibes. Menton and Monaco can be done on the same day as well.

Since you have a car, you might want to drive up into the Alpilles--the hills behind Nice--I understand there a numerous lovely little hill towns there. On Mondays, there's a fabulous flea/antiques market on the Cours Saleya in Nice which I love. There's also a small flea market from 9 am-1 pm on Sunday in Villefranche-sur-mer (5 minutes from Nice by train), right on the water, perfectly positioned near a delightful cafe. If you're flush, definitely book a dinner at the Chateau de la Chevre D'or in Eze. If not, then plan to go just for cocktails--you won't be sorry, it's a fabulous hotel high in the hills with the most extraordinary views of the Mediterranean. You can definitely do Cannes and Antibes with Picasso museum in a day, and probably be able to drive up to Biot also. My favorite part of Cannes is the old town, up the hill called Le Suquet. Saturday is flea and food market day in Antibes. Menton and Monaco can be done on the same day as well.