Looking for quick stopover between Nice airport and Aix
 

We're supposed to arrive at Nice around 10.30 a.m., and our apartment in Aix won't be ready until 3. It takes us about an hour and half to drive from Nice to Aix, so, allowing for 1.5 hrs to get out of the airport (which is probably allowing too much time), I'm looking for a pretty village that we haven't already been to where we might stop for lunch and a quick stroll. The two places I've come up with are Ramatuelle and Mandelieu-la-Napoule. Any thoughts about either? Ease of access from the A8 (from the map, looks like Mandelieu wins on this score)? Other ideas?

Thanks for your thoughts.

Seems like you have a lot of time, more than just a quick stroll (which in a village isn't going to amount to much).

That's pretty far off the A8, about 40 km (Ramatuelle). If you were going there, you could easily just go to St Tropez as it's closer to the A8. I haven't been to Ramatuelle but it should be fine if you dno't want a lot, it has some artsy crafty shops as that area is popular with tourists and a couple places to eat.

http://www.provenceweb.fr/f/var/ramatuel/ramatuel.htm

This website has good info on both if you haven't seen it
http://www.francethisway.com/places/...la-napoule.php

Suggest driving from Mandelieu to St Raphael as a pretty drive, that could be a good way to pass some time.

This is from my 33 page Cote d'Azur & Provence itinerary.

Seillans would be a great place to have lunch. Try to find the restaurant "La Gloire de mon Pere" http://www.lagloiredemonpere.fr/ . It has a fantastic outside dining area around a large fountain and under plane trees. The restaurant/fountain is at the top/upper part of Grand Rue (Main Street). You can park on the D19 at the foot of the village and walk up Grand Rue to get to the restaurant, or you can circle/hairpin (by car) around the village on the D19 to the upper part of the village and park just 10 meters from the restaurant (look for the restaurant's sign).

End

Seillans is a 1 hr drive from the airport, and then it is 1 3/4 hrs to Aix

- depart Airport at 12:00 & arrive in Seillans at 13:00
- Lunch 13:00 to 14:30
- Arrive in Aix at 16:15

If you would like to have the other 32 1/2 pages of my itinerary - e-mail me at [email protected] & I'll attach it to the reply e-mail

Stu Dudley

Almost forgot - The village of Seillons

http://www.beyond.fr/villages/seillans.html

Stu Dudley

Christine, we've already been to St. Tropez, and once was enough. Seillans looks interesting but is a bit of drive from the A8. So it looks like Mandelieu wins, unless the plane is late and we wind up going straight to Aix and just hanging out. The coast drive would be great; we'll just play it by ear. Lots of traffic, I imagine, and no way to cut off and get back to the A8 if we get stuck before we get to Frejus, from the map.

Thanks for the ideas.

Seillans involves 2 3/4 hrs of driving, and Mandelieu involves 2 hrs. The "scenic" coast section between Mandelieu & Frejus has become shorter & shorter over the past 25 years because of development. We drove from Nice to Aix on a Saturday in mid June 2014 - and went through Sellians (along with many other villages). The traffic was very light - except for Fayance where they were having their weekly market.

Stu Dudley

Having looked at the coast road and at Mandelieu on Google Street view, we're rethinking the whole thing. I had hoped it would be like Deauville, with the boardwalk by the beach and lovely cafes and restaurants. Not so much, though--mostly condos and pretty unappealing restaurants by the road. And, yes, the scenic part of the road was pretty limited and frankly after a while a bit boring.

So the new plan is, time permitting, to pop up to Mougins for lunch and then get on our way.

Ah well.

You might consider stopping in Les Arcs, near Le Puy. It is very close to the autoroute.

Look up this for lunch: Le Logis Du Guetteur

Note: I haven't personally been there but have considered it.

We spent several nights in Ramateulle with it's charm and beautiful sea views. It would be a nice place to stop.

Alternatively, you could just drive to Aix and leave your luggage with the booking agent. we've done this on more than,one occasion. By the time we've finished lunch and walked around a bit, our hotel or rental is usually ready.

You can't go wrong with Stu's suggestions. I usually follow his advice.