Nice to Montpellier/Beziers
 

First time to Riviera. We are arriving Weds. morning and will spend night in Nice. We then plan to drive to somewhere in between Nice and Montpellier and stay the night. Then will spend Friday in the Montpellier/Beziers area.

Any ideas on travel route and where to stay in between?

Aix or Marseille. Check on Google Maps.

Attached is my Provence/Cote d'Azur itinerary, and my Languedoc itinerary.

Stu Dudley

Aix gets my vote but I can't help about driving there. Its ring road looked daunting to us taxi/bus/train travelers.

Stu, what about Cassis? Or another charming place on the water you have visited?

More than halfway. But a great small town to spend the night.

https://www.france-voyage.com/tourism/uzes-1420.htm

https://goo.gl/maps/dNSUHY8noUMGJMWd6

It really depends on what you want in terms of a city stop versus exploring smaller towns and villages. Uzès is one of our favorite places to base in the area so I am with dugi_otok on that choice. You could stop in Aix for lunch and then explore L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue on your way as well and then spend the night in Uzès. That way you could also visit the nearby Pont du Gard before you go on to Montpellier the next day for example. The whole route isn't that long even with the slight detour up to the Uzès area.

If you prefer to stay in a larger town then Aix would be my choice over Marseilles given that you are driving. If you don't want to go as far as Uzès then I agree that Cassis is a good choice down by the coast.

If you are arriving on Wednesday, and need to be in Montpellier on Friday why not just stay around the eastern Cote d:Azur, unless you've already been?. It's only a 3 1/2 drive on the tollway to get to Montpellier.

If not, consider the coast route. dropping in around San Tropez or on to Hyeres and Bormes-les-Mimosa, hugging the coastline. Sanary-sur-Mer, perhaps, or Cassis as people mentioned are other options.

Interest and time of year may also be important in the decision.

Marseille gets my vote, but since this was about where to stay on Wednesday, I hope you will tell us what you did.

Me too, especially since Montpellier and Béziers are about 100 kms apart, not exactly in the same area.

I wouldn't stay in Marseille for a simple overnight on a road trip. Yes, I like it, but it's too big a city for that idea, I wouldn't stay there with a car. Both Nice and Montpellier are already huge cities.

I think AIx is a good idea and is about half way. It's not a small village, but much easier to drive in/around and not nearly as big a city as those other places. Cassis isn't a bad idea, either.