May in Italy & France - advice on itinerary
 

Hello,

We are two senior couples travleing together in mid may. We are flying into Milan from Boston USA and will head directly to Rapallo in the Italian Riviera as a base for 5 night and explore the surrounding area. We will have a car but will take trains or ferries in the area. We will then drive to Antibes for 4 or 5 nights and then over to Saint Remy de Provence for another 4/5 nights. I have not booked anything in those two towns so I am totally open to suggestions of a better itinerary. We love learning about the history of the area, beautiful walks/light hikes and soaking in the experience. Wondering if we should see Avignon or Arles or stick to the smaller villages? We are not interested in Monaco but do want to experience a day in Nice via guided walking tour or private tours. If at all possible would like to visit the Mary Magdalene Grotto at Saine Baume.

Thank you in advance for any comments or opinions on the best approach to our itineary.

What time of year please?

May 13th through May 27th of this year. Thank you.

23rd May Antibes has the night of the museums
St Remy has the Transhumance about then, do you want to take part?
Old Nice looks interesting with a tour guide

Please note that you will not be safe to drive for at least 36 hours after your transatlantic flight. Not safe for yourselves, not safe for anyone else on the roads.

Hopefully helpful hint: "advice on itinerary" + no country tags. I had to open the thread to see what the heck this was about. Maybe ask the Moderators to edit your title to at least add 'France' and 'Italy' if not more detailed destinations.

I am so sorry, not sure what you mean or how to edit. I tried to see if I could edit anything but do not see the ability to do so.

Click on the orange triangle. You can then type a message to the moderators.

If you rent a car in Italy and return it in France, you will incur a one-way surcharge. Since you don't intend to drive the car while staying in Rapallo, I suggest you research the entire cost of your original plan... I.e., cost of the rental from Malpensa to your departure airport (Nice or Marseilles?), the surcharge, overnight parking charges in Rapallo and fuel/toll costs of the drive from Rapallo to Antibes. (viamichelin.com can help with that last calculation.) Then compare that number to the cost of a rental for ust the days from Antibes to the departure airport plus the cost of train fares (x4) from Rapallo to Antibes.

You may decide the cost of the origiinal plan is acceptable even with the surcharge, especially since you are 4 travelers. But I agree with kja that going through the car rental process and then driving 3 hours in a foreign country after an overnight flight is not advisable.

Edited title and added France and Italy tags

Hello,

We are returning the car to Milan so no one way surcharge. Our Air B&B in Rapallo has a dedicated parking spot with the rental. Thank you for the information on calculations but we will need the car in the Provence part of the trip. We feel the convenience of having a car to get us from Milan airport to Rapallo then Rapallo to Provence and the coast as there are four of us and back to the airport will be a better choice.

This! Please pay attention to this.

Hello,
Is there a reason why you are not flying into Milan and out of Marseilles? Is it the surcharge cost? My husband has driven in both Italy and France, but has given that up in recent years.
To answer your question, we have spent in total, probably 4 weeks in the Antibes, Nice, Avignon, Arles. Yes to all of them! (We also went to Monaco, and an afternoon was plenty, visiting the Aquarium and seeing the castle) Nice has several interesting museums, wonderful promenade and old town. Arles has roman ruins, and VanGogh walk, and is a short train ride from Avignon. We spent a few days in Avignon, and enjoyed the Pope's Palace and nearby museums, and at the time there was a show of Greek antiquities in one of the churches. Antibes is wonderful, too. There are many smaller towns we missed, but hopefully I'll get there once more!
Haven't been to St. Remy, so can't comment.
May will be a wonderful time to visit this area. Enjoy!
BTW, we also fly out of Boston.

Thank you Virginia. I was able to score an under $500 R/T non stop Boston to Milan as an introductory fare for JetBlue entering that market thus the reason for that route. I appreciate your comments on the places that you have visited!

In general, you are correct that the glory of Provence is in the villages.An if you have a car, better to stay in villages as well.

A matter of opinion and preferences....

With four people, you'll need a large boot space for the luggage. Often we could only just fit two medium size cases in a hire car boot. If the car is large, it makes it a bit harder to find parking. Hope this is not viewed too negatively, it's just reality.

Hi Heather,
Your plans and ours sort of overlap, so I'll try to offer some advice. We just snowbirded in Antibes at a fantastic splurge condo and today secured a return visit next winter renting again in the same property.
Antibes lived up to its rep as perhaps the coast's most down-to-earth location. One may eat really well there, given some excellent delis and boulangeries.

Je propose:
-the weekly farmers market in attractive Valbonne.
-Renoir's house in Cagnes sur mer followed by lunch at nearby and photogenic Haut Cagnes.
-visit le Cannet, the very compelling tiny hamlet immediately north of Cannes.
-the hikes around Cap Antibes are great but not suitable for those with mobility issues.
-lunch in colorful Villefranche sur mer.
-Antibes' Villa Eiden Roc has a wonderful dual jardin that matches a justly-famed rosarie with a peaceful olive grove. *In May that garden will be fantastic.
-best paella-ever at Antibes' popular family restaurant Chez Mo *must reserve (freshest on Thursday lunch, as recco'd to us by a retired Aussie couple living there).

As for Liguria, we just finalized our reservation there for the fall (1st time). We'll stay in Santa.
Maybe check out Camogli, Paraggi cove, $$$Portofino$$$, Chiavari weekly (thx Ekscrunchy) market, Recco for lunch. Genoa has some underrated historic areas plus one attached coastal neighbor nearby that resembles the Cinque Terre ('Boccadose' if memory serves).

You folks are spoiled for choice in both areas, yeah?
Good luck!
I am done. the voyages

I know pretty well the area as relatives live in St Maximin la Ste Baume. The path to the grotto is short but quite steep. The view is great from the top of the mountain. The whole area is nice. The main closest town is Aix en Provence, well worth the stay. Views of montagne Ste Victoire are spectacular when driving from Aix to St Maximin via Le Tholonet and Puyloubier. In St Maximin, you can visit the basilique Maria Magdalena. If you like wines, there are plenty of vineyards and wineries. Further up the road, gorges du Verdon are quite close.