Monte Carlo, Grasse, Nice, St Paul de Vence
 

My daughter is going to school in Sussex England for 1 year. During December 2007, 1 of her friends and myself will meet her in Nice. My travel agent suggests we stay in Monte Carlo. I am concerned that Monte Carlo isn't the place for our "personalities". I was thinking of Nice, St Paul de Vence and Grasse. Will this be interesting for "girls" (aged 20)? Am I not giving Monte Carlo a fair chance? Any other suggestions? Thank SOO much

Nice makes a great base. There is much to see and do and there is plenty of nightlife. You can easily take short day trips by train or bus along the coast and by bus to villages like St-Paul de Vence.

Unless you want to spend a lot of money just on the chance you might see somebody rich and famous, I see no good reason to stay in Monte Carlo.

Monaco is a little tired in my opinion -- all the casinos are the faded glory type and I see no reason to stay there personally. Maybe a visit just to satisfy your curiosity, but I would stay in Nice, Cannes, Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Antibes or Juan-les-Pins. Happy planning!

I would stay in Nice and day-trip to other the sites on your list. Spend a full day in St. Paul and visit fondacion Maeght open air museum.

Fire your travel agent. Staying in Monte Carlo versus Nice, Antibes, St. Tropez, Menton, Villefranche Sur Mer, etc, etc... is definitely not the best travel advice. For your nieces in December I advice Nice, Juan Les Pins, Cannes. Grasse is definitely another bad choice. Do get to Monte Carlo and visit, specially Christmas season, but you want to stay someplace else.

You have received good advice and I will add to it, having been to all but Grasse. Since you will all be arriving in Nice, you should just stay there or in one of the other beach towns suggested. We stayed in Villefranche, which I would highly recommend, which also had great little clubs (including two very 20-friendly Internet cafe/bars in the center). Safety- wise you also might be more comfortable letting them be out on their own at night in that small safe town than in Nice. It was 10 minutes to Nice by both bus and train and an easy day trip to Monaco. We (20 + daughter)actually walked to Monaco, from the next train stop up, which was beautiful and fun...Monaco was a great one day experience. The yachts and seeing the palace and casino lobby, the exotic garden- we spent 5 euro on a slot machine- one full day was plenty, especially for younger people. St Paul de Vence would also be a fun day trip for your group- they will love all the the shops and the museum is incredible. I have seen Grasse get mixed reviews- you might do some more investigating. St Paul de Vence had a Frogonnard (sp?)store that your girls would love! And there is so much to do in Nice! We didn't have time, but bike rentals are an option along the 4- mile Promenade des Anglais...the airport is very close.

Hi Codergrlli,

We stayed in Cannes which I didn't care for at all. Too many high rise condos and hotels, just like at home in Newport Beach, CA! I did like the very old part of town and the Isle d' Margherite (SP?) as a nice short afternoon trip. Great views of the Cote d' Azure.

We visited Grasse to tour the Fragonard perfume factory which we really enjoyed. Definitely did some advance Christmas shopping there! I would not have wanted to stay in Grasse however.

Also visited St. Tropez, Vence and St. Paul du Vence and really liked all. Very charming, lots of nice photo ops and gorgeous art galleries in St. Paul du Vence.

I have not visited Monte Carlo myself, but everyone I know who has, didn't like it at all!

I agree that Nice would make an excellent base.

Grasse is not known for an abundance of good hotels, and the town is best avoided after dark unless you are with locals. We have friends nearby, hence the warning. There is an excellent folk museum, and the perfume museum is quite interesting. If you stick to the town center during the day you will be fine, and there are some good shops.

St-Paul-de-Vence would not be the best place to stay, as it's quite small with mainly expensive hotel choices and not much night life. It's a good partial day trip, but add Vence to the mix for variety.

So for where to stay, choose Nice or Antibes. Definitely not Monte Carlo.

Your travel agent doesn't have a clue if he or she thinks Monte Carlo is the place to stay on the Riviera. Nice is centrally located, affordable, beautiful and has lots to do. Monte Carlo is a nice place to visit at night with the beautiful high rise apartment lights,the spectacular casino,gardens, glitz etc.

If you were spending two or three weeks there I would recommend doing as I do which is to rent an apartment in Villefranche Sur Mer or Beaulieu Sur Mer which are also centrally located and very beautiful.

Larry J

My 20-year-old daughter would be bored to death in Monaco. As the TV ad goes, "It's so YESTERDAY". We've been to Nice many times w/ both kids ( 20 and 17) and they both really enjoy it. There are plenty of internet cafes ( of absolute importance to the kids!), great shopping, excellent cheap food of all kinds, and wonderful museums, if they're interested. You can easily day trip from Nice to St. Paul de Vence on the bus, which takes about 50 minutes, although in December, I'm not sure what the schedule will be, or what's actually open inside the walls.

ttt

To Weadles

I am in the Nice area several times a year including December and at St. Paul De Vence things are the same in December as rest of the year. Always a great village to visit especially if you like art.

Larry J

My nieces (all in their 20s) loved Antibes. Great markets on Wednesday.

Larry J:

Thanks for the info on St. Paul de Vence. I'm only in Nice during the summer, so I wasn't sure of the schedule, but what a wonderful place to visit! And yes, the art galleries/boutiques there are fantastic.

Thanks so much for -all of you have helped me tremendously. Would any of you have hotels that you really enjoyed that you might want to suggest? Villefranche, Antibes, Beaulie su mer....or any other area.

The Hotel Welcome is a good hotel in Villefranche-sur-Mer.Very convenient location.

I rented a villa in Villefranche, but had many breakfasts at the Welcome..I don't cook!

Enjoy..........

We really liked the Mercure Promenade des Anglais in Nice. Excellent location: the sea is just across the boulevard, the principal shopping center is about 2 blocks away, and Old Nice is also 2 blocks.

The hotel room were redecorated in vibrant blues and oranges in 2005; there's an entire no-smoking floor. Our room faced the Mediterranean and was large and comfortable, with a very large bathroom. The buffet breakfast was fine, but there are any number of nearby cafés if you want something lighter.