At the end of Sept. I will be staying in <BR>Paris a few nights and then traveling to <BR>Nice. I'll probably stay in Antibes. <BR>I would like to visit Nice/Cannes and <BR>the Provence area. Can I easily hop around <BR>by train? Should I rent a car to drive to <BR>the different towns? <BR>

The coastal towns have regular train service; from Nice, there are busses to the towns (like St Paul de Vence) up in the hills. <BR>Ya give to get: trains, for one person, are cheaper than renting a car, but you may miss some of the small towns off the train line. Francerail has a rail/drive pass that might work for you...take the trains to the cities like Cannes or Monte Carlo, then rent the car for the small towns.

Don't miss the Picasso Museum in Antibes -- glorious!

Don't miss the Picasso Museum in Antibes -- glorious!

And yes, from Antibes you can reach Nice & Cannes by train (no need for car), but for Provence you will probably want a car.

Just my opinion, but I found Cannes to be absolutely, totally skipable. Isle St. Marguerite, just off Cannes was a delightful 1/2 day trip, but you could go there from one of the other Riviera towns too.

Mike, you will have the most wonderful trip! Here is what I would recommend to you. Take the TGV to Marseilles, and rent your car there. Drive to Cassis for lunch right down at the shore . . . will be lovely. Drive to Le Levandou and stay at Hotel Les Roches, and ask the hotel person to make your reservation at that restaurant up the hill in Bormes Les Mimosas, a marvelous perched village not 5 minutes away. Then drive on to Antibes for an evening (don't know of a hotel there, perhaps someone else will), and do go to the Picasso Museum, it is in an old fortified castle, and it is both INSIDE and OUTSIDE, don't miss the OUTSIDE part and look DOWN to the sea. Rather than staying in Nice overnight, drive the Moyenne Corniche to EZE VILLAGE and stay at Chateau de la Chevre d'Or. Most beautiful, most breathtaking view looking DOWN to the Mediterranean from your balcony. Drive to St. Paul de Vence, stay at Le St. Paul, within the walls of this medieval village. Marc Chagall is buried there in the cemetery. The only way to take a car into the little village is to be staying there. <BR> <BR>So, advice is to TRAIN it down there, rent the car, use the car, and keep the car, until you are ready to fly back. There are so many little neat places you'll want to stop at! You can drop the car off at Nice (fill the tank) and train back to somewhere, or fly back to somewhere. <BR> <BR>Second advice is to RESEARCH the places I mentioned. You will never regret the money spent on these magical, wonderful places. <BR> <BR>Bon voyage!