one base or two on the Riviera?
 

We have 5 nights on the Riviera and plan on staying in Roquebrune. Since that is so far to one end of the Riviera, would it be better to break up our nights between two areas or would all 5 nights in Roquebrune be okay? If two areas would be better, do you have any suggestions where to stay on the other end? We prefer smaller towns rather than large, and preferably with a view. Thanks for your help!

With so much to see west of Roquebrune you would do well to stay somewhere else. The area around Nice is fairly central for seeing at least some of the places of interest; Villefranche-sur-Mer and Antibes are two towns where you might find a hotel with a view. Both have fairly easy access to such sights as St-Paul-de-Vence, Tourrettes-sur-Loup, Vence, Mougins, St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, and many others.

Which Roquebrune do you mean? There are two Roquebrunes on the Cote d'Azur, one near Menton/Monaco (Cap Martin-Roquebrune) and the other one (Roquebrune-sur-Argens) near Frejus.

Both towns are good bases to explore the Cote d'Azur, because both have access to the autoroute. Within one hour, you reach every place on the Cote d'Azur. You need some driving anyway, and most of the drives are very scenic.

The eastern Roquebrune is very close to Monaco, the Corniches, Ezw, La Turbie and Nice. Driving time to St. Paul is 45 min, which is still good.

The western Roquebrune is close to the Esterel, the most scenic part of the Cote, and you reach Cannes within 30 min, St. Paul in 45 min and Nice in 55 min.

You must decide if it is worth packing, checking out and checking in. I would stay in one hotel.

Not sure I agree wih Traveler1959 that most of the drives along the Riveria are scenic. Between the Italian Border and St Tropez, the only scenic coastal sections we found were the Corniches and the Esterel. However, the scenic section of the Esterel seems to be getting smaller & smaller as developement increases.

Inland, however, there are some very scenic "small road" routes that you can follow that are scenic for most of the way. The freeway is scenic around the St Tropez exit.

I would stay in 2 different locations - Roquebrune & St Tropez if you have a car.

I have a 20+ page Riveria & Provence itinerary that has info about my favorite drives, cities, etc along the Riveria. We've spent around 13 weeks vacationing in that region since we retired early in '99 so we could travel more. e-mail me at [email protected] if you want the itinerary.

Stu Dudley

I strongly agree with Stu, you should experience a relaxing stay in St Tropez, it's a bit isolated from the rest of Cote d'Azur attractions, but St Tropez is worth staying as a destination by itself.

I guess I was under the assumption that St. Tropez was quite a tourist attraction, and full of people. (I realize most of the Riviera is full of people, but we like to try to stay at the least-touristy places ;)) Thanks for all your replies. We'll probably choose two bases. St. Tropez does sound nice....

Stu - I'll be emailing you. Thank you for your kind offer!

When are you going to the Côte d'Azur? If it's in the summer months you will find major traffic on the one road going into and out of St-Tropez; so if you want to visit other spots in the area, be prepared to spend much time on the road.

We will be on the Riviera the very first week in June. Is it busy tourist season then?

Nope

Stu Dudley

Early June is the perect time to enjoy St Tropez, the weather will be warm enough but without the crowd and traffic jam that won't start till July & August. To me St Tropez is the most magical part of the Cote d'Azur. One cosy hotel facing the main square in St Tropez is: www.hotellamaisonblanche.com