We are driving from Nice airport to Mougins . Will that be easy? What are the best sights and restaurants to try in the area for that week? Will the weather be mostly in the 60's? Should we plan for rain?

Going from the Nice airport to Mougins is very easy. Take a left out of the airport onto the Promenade des Anglais and follow the signs to the Autoroute (péage) and Cannes. Shortly before the Cannes interchange you will see a sign for Grasse, at which point you head right and follow the signs for Mougins. The trip shouldn't take you much over half an hour, depending on traffic.

In old Mougins (up on the hill) our favorite restaurant is Le Feu Follet, which has both excellent food and reasonable prices. There are a number of other restaurants in the immediate area.

Weather: dunno--in Provence in the spring it could be anything. Plan for rain and pack with layers.

Sights: old Mougins, Grasse, Antibes (but you must go early in the morning to avoid the traffic snarls that can easily consume an hour), Valbonne, Biot, Cannes, Vence, St.-Paul-de-Vence, St.-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, and of course Nice (especially old Nice and the open-air market). If you have time, a drive up to Tourettes-sur-Loup would be very nice. If you have a sweet tooth, visit the candy factory just outside town.

Two restaurant recommendations in Nice: L'Ecurie, in Vieux Nice, and Café de Turin, near the modern art museum. The Turin is famous locally for its seafood.

Near Nice, in the little port of St.-Laurent-du-Var, you will find any number of pleasant places to eat--and the big shopping mall is quite near.

You are in for a wonderful time!

Thanks,Underhill. We will definitely try these suggestions.What do you think of Monaco ? Is it worth it ? We are worried that we're in for an expensive time.What should we expect to pay for dinner at a reasonable place like Le Feu Follet ? Should we try to go to the noted Verge inn, Moulins de Mougins ?

You can see enough of Monaco by driving over the Moyenne Corniche to Monte Carlo, through the city, and back to the Nice area. Monaco is expensive, parking is difficult, and unless there's something you particularly want to see I'd skip it.

Roger Vergé is no longer at the restaurant in Mougins, and the jury isn't in yet on his replacement. If you want a really fine meal experience, I'd suggest the 2* Chantecler in the Hôtel Negresco in Nice as an alternative--or the Bastide de St-Antoine in Grasse, another 2*.

One other possibility would be the new restaurant opened by Jean-Pierre Silva near Grasse. We happily ate Silva's marvelous food for years at his hostellerie near Dijon, but last year he left Burgundy for Provence and we haven't yet had the chance to try the new restaurant. I have the web site address somewhere and will post it for you if I can find it.

You really don't need to eat at expensive places in order to have good food--there are many "every-day" restaurants that are more than adequate. Also, in France the cafeterias in shopping centers or adjacent to supermarkets offer good food for low prices--we often have lunch in one of those.

As for Le Feu Follet, when we were there last May there were excellent lunch menus (3-course meals, with a choice of dishes) for 25 to 30 euros. My husband loved his mussels in curry sauce, salmon, and a gorgeous chocolate dessert. Dinner is probably about 10 euros more, but you can also order à la carte.

A good way to save money is going to any supermarket (which is great fun, BTW) and picking up food for a picnic.

Here's the info on Silva's new restaurant, La Table de mon Moulin. It's in the town of Le Rouret.

Le Table de Mon Moulin, 158 route de Nice, Le Rouret: prix-fixe menus only, lunch and dinner; 6 courses for 47€. Open Monday-Friday; lunch is 12:30--1:30; dinner 8:00-9:00. Meals by reservation only (just 15 tables). Call from U.S. to 011-33-4-93 77 39 30. Within France, skip the 011-33 and make the 4 04.