Nice or Marseille?
 

Thank you, all, for your wonderful advice on where to base during my family's upcoming trip to Provence! Now that is settled, I need more advice. We will have two days before we head to our lovely house in the Luberon. We can fly into Marseille or Nice. I am interested in visiting Marseille, as I love an up-and-coming, a little bit scruffy, but very cool city. Is the buzz around Marseille accurate? Does it fit this description? How is the food? Cafe culture? Is there a significant pedestrianized area? And Nice - it is a long drive from Aix, our first stop. It is worth it? We are more natural, wild beach people than sunbed people. Quaint and laidback beach towns are our thing. So we wouldn't be coming to Nice for the beach. We do love art and good art museums, though. I am particularly interested in the Chagall Museum, and the Matisse Chapel in Vence. And Nice is iconic, or at least it was. Your thoughts and experiences are so appreciated!

I am sorry I haven't seen you other post so I don't know what time of year you will be there. Nice is an easy airport but anytime in most of July August the tourists crowds can be brutal. But that might not matter if you will be there more off season. All the things you mention seeing in Nice are well worth the visit in addition to St Paul de Vence the city itself but also the Fondation Maeght which is one of my all time favorites. In addition if you have time Èze is also nice and the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild in nearby St Jean Cap Ferrat was also a must see for me as well. So for me it would probably be Nice over Marseille as long as it isn't August :)


https://www.fondation-maeght.com/en/

https://www.villa-ephrussi.com/

Personally I love Nice.
So cute, so pretty. Promenade des l'anglaise is always beatiful. Night life is wounderful and safe.
Marseille is more Naples style... iether you like it or you hate ;-)
If you don't know Nice, spend some time you could fall in love with it.
Rosa

I really like both of them. They both do fit the descriptions you've given - "Nice is iconic" - and Marseille "up-and-coming, a little bit scruffy, but very cool". I agree Nice is further from Aix so not sure how much time you have for the trip, that would probably be a factor. I usually decide where to go by looking a photos so here are mine of both cities:

Nice - https://andiamo.zenfolio.com/p763350981
Marseille - https://andiamo.zenfolio.com/p586639410

I haven’t been to either but my 22-year old art history major daughter just spend 2 months in Nice and loved it! Great artwork and Villa Ephrussi was amazing!
https://www.villa-ephrussi.com/

That said, we are spending time in Aix in the fall and I’m really looking forward to exploring Marseilles. This travel podcaster lives in Toulouse and recorded this podcast on Marseilles a few years ago:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas...=1000319963333

Oh, and Cassis and the Calanques are next door!

isabel your photos are amazing!

I'm very glad I saw both cities, and like isabel, think you summed up their vibes rather nicely. You might find some useful information in my trip report, which includes both cities (the section on Nice begins with post 46; the section Marseille starts with psot 136), particularly because I visited most of the art museums in each and in between -- including those you mentioned and all the others mentioned on this thread.
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...rance-1669406/

In answer to your specific questions: I ate exceedingly well in Marseille (specific restaurants are noted in my report). There are pedestrianized areas in and around various parts of Marseille's historic core, and good sidewalks in other parts. I would not describe either Marseille or Nice as a "quaint or laid back beach town." The Chagall Museum in Nice is extraordinary and the Matisse Chapel in Vence is very special; both are small. If you are a fan of post-impressionist art, I thought the Musee Cantini in Marseille very impressive (small, but larger than the other two).

Hope that helps!

Thank you all! I did forget to mention that we will be in France in mid-June. Not full-on high season, but definitely not low season either!

kja, I very much enjoyed your trip report on Marseille and will go back and read the Nice portion now. What a gift to share your experiences with this forum! As for quaint beach towns, I was really trying to say that we would not be going to Nice for a beach experience, but more for a cultural one. An interesting city on the water. Thank you for that clarification!

pgoodpasture which town in the Luberon did you decide on?

I will always prefer Marseille to Nice.

One other thing to consider that we sometimes do on our driving trips would be to stay in Nice but to detour down to Marseilles for lunch the day you drive to Aix. That way you could at least check out the city for a future trip. Google shows it would only be about a 40 minutes detour from the route.

A little farmhouse in the hills near Menerbes.

I just finished reading your blog post on Marseille, kerouac. It looks like my kind of city. But I am not the only person on this trip! So I am trying to get a sense of both to share with my family and see what they prefer. Leaning strongly to Marseille, though!

Basically, it is a question of whether one prefers unexpected experiences even if there is a bit of grit or if you want perfect picture postcard views of everything. I understand both views, but i would recommend mixing the two.

I'm glad you found the section on Marseille enjoyable and hope you find the section on Nice helpful. Let me know if you have questions!

https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...essay-1673175/

Another TR on Marseille. I can't comment on Nice as I've not been, but I have friends who love it.

I'd live in Nice if I could, that's how much I love that beautiful, vibrant city. It's definitely not all about the beach--besides the excellent museums (Chagall, Musée des Beaux Arts, Matisse, Modern Art) there are the beautiful old churches and monasteries, Greco-Roman ruins, and splendid views. Just walking along the Promenade des Anglais is a superb way to spend some time, and if you want a small village on the water you can head over to Villefranche-sur-Mer to dine or just walk around (and up, since much of the village is hilly).

SO . . . Nice it is. My husband would like a more relaxed beginning to his trip, and I will have been in France with our son for a week before he arrives. I may visit Marseille on the way to meet my husband and daughter in Nice. I think it is more my and my son's kind of place, and the two of us would enjoy it more without dragging reluctant others along! So Nice! We will have three days before driving west to meet our oldest daughter in Aix and spend a week in the Luberon. I have read many threads and trip reports and have a good sense of the sights that are high on our list - Chagall and Matisse (including in Vence, on our way west for the second half of our trip), the Modern and Comtemporary Art Museum, Musee Massena, Colline du Chateau, and just enjoying walking and soaking in the atmosphere. First, what am I missing? I would also appreciate recommendations for restaurants with lovely outdoor seating - that is one of our favorite things about being in France! And beaches - I am not at all interested in spending time on the beach, but my husband is. Are there beaches that people recommend? I think he has in mind the private beach experience. Thank you all so much! This trip is really coming together thanks to all of your good advice!

IME the beaches in that area aren't what most people are expecting-at least if you are looking for nice golden or white sand-most are more rocks or pebbly. So you might want to make sure you pick up some beach or water shoes somewhere cheap like Monoprix or Leclerc. Here is a link to a pretty good article that mentions most of the ones I know about including some of the private beaches:

https://rivierabarcrawltours.com/bes...n-nice-france/

In terms of what you are missing-I would say mostly the sights to the East towards Monaco like Èze, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat with the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild and then of course Monaco itself, if that is of interest. But you may already have those on your list. When you mention"for restaurants with lovely outdoor seating ", the first one that came to mind for me was La Colombe d'Or in Saint-Paul-de-Vence. Even if you don't have a meal there it is worth sitting on the terrace for a drink and enjoyed the view. And it has a wonderful history woven together with the art scene there:

La Colombe d'Or History

I think you idea of visiting Marseilles might good-especially if you can avoid driving into the city there-although as I mentioned you could also conceivably have lunch there on your way to Aix.

Marseille has some nice sand beaches but Nice does not -- all pebbles.

Given your interest in art, be sure to put the partly open-air museum Fondation Maeght on your list. It's just up the road from St-Paul.

(I'm biased towards Nice, as I bought a place there, but Marseilles could have worked as well). Regarding beaches, you can rent a chair in a private club in Nice or simply head by train to Juan Les Pins, where there is a long strip of sand, with a public section to the west. (Antibes also is another choice, just a bit further from the train station to the prime beaches on the other side of the Cap). Villefrance-sur-Mer also has a very accessible beach but it is more like large grains/tiny pebbles, but with a great view and very good beach club. If you have a favorite artist in the impressionist or post-impressionist vein, changes are there is a museum with at least a section devoted to them. (Note the Musee Massena, is not so much about art rather than Cote d'Azur history, special exhibition, and section on Napoleon. Best of Nice blog is another good choice for info).

Outdoor seating is ubiquitous in Nice (and throughout the south), choosing the right one to actually eat at can be a bit hit and miss, especially on the main squares/plazas and on Rue Massena. I recommend Le Plongeoir for an incredible view at lunch (it's an old diving platform on the water) and of the beach clubs, Le Galet or Beau Rivage. In the Old Town, le Comptoir du Marche, Bistrot d'Antoine or Bar des Oiseux are from the same owner and are moderate price with a higher standard, but more limited outdoor seating. If you want the view of the Cours Saleya market, Le Safari is the best choice there. If you have a specific interest, I can provide a more specific recommendation.