We are looking at two hotels in the Cote d'Azur and are wondering if it matters where we are based from. We will arrive from Portofino and plan to take day trips to the entire area between Monaco and Cannes. We have 4 days and will be headed to Paris from there, hopefully on the speed train from Nice. I am guessing we will rent a car to really explore the area. The hotels are the Manoir d l'etang in Mougins or the Chateau Le Cagnard in Cagnes sur Mer. Any help and recommendations are much appreciated!

I've been to Mougins (cute) and Cagnes sur Mer, but I have not stayed in either hotel, so I'm useless.

But I did want to say that...
Actually, you do NOT have to rent a car to explore the area. The rail line along the coast is wonderful.

We plopped ourselves in Nice and did day trips using the rail and bus; however, I've told others they could do the same from Antibes, Villefranche sur Mer, etc because they, like Nice, are "centered" in the stretch from Cannes to Monaco.

There was no pre-planning needed. We hauled out our "Daytrips France: 48 One-Day Adventures by Rail, Bus or Car" (available on Amazon) over breakfast on any given day, decided upon the day's adventure and off we went to the rail station (very center of town) or to the corner to catch the bus.

We stayed in Nice and used the public bus for MANY day trips....Antibes, St.Paul-de-Vence Cagnes-sur-Mer,Villefranche,CapFerrat,Eze, Monte Carlo & Menton. So easy & economical. Have done day trips by rail on past trips. The bus was easier and going EAST to Menton was a trip with a view !

The Chateau Le Cagnard is not in Cagnes sur Mer - it is in Haute Cagnes, which is the perched medieval village inland from Cagnes sur Mer. Cars can't really go there - so you'll have some car trouble if you base there. There is a "jukebox" type parking garage where you drive in, get out, the door opens, and a lift of some sort sucks the car into the garage, the door closes, and your car is automatically parked. Of course, it is expensive to do this, but street parking is very limited.

See what it says about parking on their web site
http://www.lecagnard.com/en/hotel-ne...-monaco-access

The "le Planastel" is the jukebox. We've stayed very close to Haute Cagnes in a gite for 4 weeks (2 trips). We could never find the alley parking available (we were there the first 2 weeks of June in both trips).

And I hate driving through Cagnes. We spend 2 months in France almost every year, and I get lost driving through Cagnes.

It is far away from the train station also.

If you plan to venture out a lot by car or public transportation, I would stay elsewhere. The restaurant at the hotel had a Michelin 1 star several years ago, but now neither the hotel nor restaurant are listed in the Michelin Guide.

I've only visited Mougins once. It is not really directly on the coast - which would be better if you plan many trips around by car.

Stu Dudley

Thank you so much for your help. I am just always grateful and amazed at the information I can get on these forums... that I can't necessarily find in any of the guidebooks. I will rule out Haute Cagnes as a base. We were trying to avoid the touristy busy nature of Nice and Cannes, but if anyone has a recommendation for a smaller boutique hotel in the area (not interested in a high rise even if it is on the beach!), we'd love it. Mougins seems like an interesting choice (lots of smaller hotels), but not sure if we decide to get around by rail if it is too difficult or far? What about Juan Les Pins or Antibes? Looks expensive but maybe less busy? Again, thank you everyone for your input!

We stay in Nice at that end of the Cote d'Azur, but if you want something smaller & less hectic - Antibes & Villefranche sur Mer would be good choices.

Stu Dudley

Also am giving a thumbs up to Villefranche sur Mer or Antibes/Juan Les Pins. Good rail connections to/from both.

AZ