mgdmoon

Beginning to plan April 2008 trip from Seattle. Perhaps flying into Milan and hitting the coast and winding our way to south-eastern France.We will be driving and prefer smaller towns and b&b's or guesthouses.Your input much appreciated.Last year did a large loop in Ireland and it worked out very well! Thank you!

Steve_James

Hi Mgd - I always recommend the towns around the Portofino peninsular - Santa Margherita, Camogli, Portofino ...
This is one of the most scenic parts of the Riviera IMO.

Of the towns west of Genova, three of my favourite are Finale Ligure, Noli and Alassio.

Hope this helps ...

Steve

Michael

We used Gites de France to find B&Bs in Normandy and Brittany. http://www.gites-de-france.fr/eng/index.htm. It might be useful for the Provence too.

MaureenB

Last May we spent time on the Italian Ligurian Coast, including the Cinque Terre, and the Cote d'Azur, staying in Nice. It's a beautiful area, full of day-trips and small towns.

We stayed at Santa Margherita Ligure, which is an easy train trip to the Cinque Terre, and a short bus ride to Portofino. From Nice, we day-tripped to Antibes, which is a lovely little city.

I wrote detailed trip reports from each:

SML/CT/Portofino-- http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34817303

Nice-- http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2

Have you purchased an open-jaw air itinerary yet? Your best fares might determine starting and ending cities.

Have fun planning. Ask lots of questions!
>-

MaureenB

Sorry, my Nice link was wrong. It should be
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34810691
>-

mgdmoon

Thank you all for your input I have taken note! Flights will be determined when I can book frequent flyer tickets for next April. Should we rent a car and do they go between France and Italy?I have loved the flexibility of a car in the past(even in Ireland on the left!)and 4 of us can share the expense.Any thoughts on small towns in France along the coast?Weather in April?I see Autoeurope is recommended here often.I can hardly wait to pull this trip together. Thanks again for you comments I appreciate your time!

Michael

There is a high drop-off charge between borders, and rentals in Italy are higher than in France, in part because of the mandatory insurance. I suggest that you drop off your Italian rental in Ventimiglia and pick up a French rental across the border in Menton, declining the CDW because if you have a Visa or Mastercard Gold card, it will cover the CDW with no deductible. In any case, both rentals should probably be arranged in the States, checking rates with AutoEurope is a good way to start.

mgdmoon

Great advice I will do some checking. How about 2 locations one in Italy and one in France to daytrip from?Considering about 2 weeks perhaps one week in each place. Would that be too limiting?We could than take public transportation and bag the car.We have discussed wanting to stay in one place a bit longer than 2-3 days.

Michael

B&Bs, at least most of those that I found in Gites de France, tend to be some distance from town. A car may be necessary for the entire week. It is my impression that local spot rentals will be more expensive than if the rental is arranged from the States.

Steve_James

2 locations for a week sounds a good idea. You can certainly visit the Italian Riviera easily enough by train.

The places I mentioned are all well connected by train except Noli (- which is accessible by bus).

I'd suggest Santa Margherita as a base - you could do plenty from there.

Hope this helps ...

Steve

mgdmoon

It all helps! Thank you. Going by train/bus in Italy sounds great what about transport in France? Still as accessible? Or is a car needed? And where would you recommend flying into and out of?3 of us are frequent flyers with Alaska Airlines and will need to get our tickets soon. Ciao

Mimar

So where do you want to go in southeastern France? Along the Cote d'Azur? Back into the villages in the mountains? Provence?

If you could bring yourselves to stay in a city like Nice, there are many public transportation options, obviating the need for a rental car. But there are many places not easily reachable except by car.

I concur with the suggestion of basing in Santa Margherita Ligure. We enjoyed our stay in Camogli also, a smaller town.

blh

We did a similar trip - one week in Italy and one in France. We actually flew into Rome, rented a car for about four days, traveled up through Tuscany for several days and dropped the car off in Siena. We then trained to Cinque Terre (staying in Vernazza). You sure don't want or need a car in Cinque Terra! We then took the train to Nice where we rented a car for a week and traveled in Provence staying in B & B's in Saint Remy, Vaison, and Lourmarin. It was a great trip. If you prefer the French Riviera, you could just as easily see many little villages in the Riviera by car.

mgdmoon

More great suggestions. Italy by train, France (at least a bit of it) by car. Now for the flights. Fodorites once again to the rescue. Web site suggestions for B&B's in France?