Hi everyone,

We just reserved our return flights from Nice for myself, my husband and our two teenage boys for our 16 day summer vacation (including 2 travel days).

We have been to various parts of France, including the Provence region, as well as to many parts of Italy. We have not, however, seen the Italian Riviera and we have heard that Cinque Terra is something to see.

With the 14 full days we have, we would really appreciate any thoughts about how we should split our time in the region.

We do want to spend a few days in Nice, but that is as far as we have got so far. We have been told to take a ferry to Corsica for a few days then to ferry it back to the Italian coast and drive back to Nice, stopping along the way. We are not sure if we should go to Corsica, as there may be quite a bit to see in the French/Italian Rivieras.

Any help and advice would be so welcome. Please let us know what villages/cities are worth spending more than a few nights in and which are simply day trips. We would rather not have to travel around too much and maybe have just 2 or 3 places to use as bases to visit the region.

Thanking you all in advance.


Andrea

I would not drive back to nice because it will likely cost several hundred euros to pick up a car in Italy and drop it in France.

With two weeks I would limit the locations to 4 or you end up spending more time and money on logistics of travel rather than enjoying your locations.

I would put all your Nuce time at the end so you don't have to split your time there.

If you haven;t seen Nice the city itself is worth a least two full days (plus the days you arrive) and you can easily do 5 or 6 wonderful day trips from there by train or car - to a variety to charming town, the Gorges, several great small museums, etc. Get the Michelin green guide and it will give you a ton of ideas.

We always do a day in Monte Carlo - but it's expensive and I'm not sure teen boys would like it - depends n their interests. You will see incredible yachts in the harbor (the wealthiest in the world) and we love to go to the casino and do the James Bod thing.

Ok, so we can stay a week in Nice, including the day trips, but we are not sure where to spend the next week.

Should we go into Italy, seeing the Italian Riveiera, or do we travel to Corsica. If we do go to Italy, which town should we use as a base?

Thanks

Santa Margherita Ligure for part of the week and stay in the Cinque Terre for a couple of days.In the CT, Monterosso has a beach.

I would use a French rental and explore the Ligurian coast and then drive back. It's only about 3 hours and 20+E.

The Cinque Terre are expensive and crowded and a bear to drive to and park. You can visit them via day trips by train from Levanto or Sestri Levanto. On the Levante coast, Santa Margherita is a good idea, as is Camogli or Lerici.

As you travel the coast in Liguria you can take a break to see or stay in some nice villages just off the autostrada, such as Apricale, Cervo, Finalborgo, Noli. There's a series of 7 articles called The Beautiful Villages of Liguria describing 28 villages on the website listed in my profile.

T

Hi everyone,


As we are finalizing our trip for the summer, we have one question:

Would it be a good alternative to take a short flight to either Corsica or Sardinia for 5 to 7 days instead of remaining on the mainland and exploring the French and/or Italian Rivieras for the 2 weeks?

What about taking a drive to Parma, Bologna or Cinque Terre for a few days?

Thanks again.

Andrea

Ignoring the Corsica and Sardinia options, I don't think you want a car for this trip. You never want a car in cities, and the Cinque Terre are connected by train, boat and footpath. The reasons the towns are so well preserved is because the road runs inland.

Nice, in particular, has a number of daytrip options along the coast by bus or train, like Antibes, Cannes, Eze, Monaco and Menton, and inland, via the little Train des Pignes: www.beyond.fr/travel/railpignes.html.

On the Italian Riviera I like the idea of staying north of the CT, in Santa Margherita Ligure, Camogli or Lerici. Then taking the train or boat to see the CT.

There's plenty in the area of the French and Italian Rivieras to use up your time. Why are you thinking of venturing further? Especially as far as Bologna or Sardinia?

We know you want only 2 or 3 bases. But we don't know much about your interests, your pace of travel, how you want to spend your time. So it's hard to answer your questions.