Paris to Nice RT
 

We plan to drive from Paris to Nice in August. What cities/towns and restaurants should stop at for lunch, overnight lodging and dinner? We plan to make this a leisurely drive to see the countryside and plan several days to and from Nice. Any suggestions on the route and where to stay?

Paris - Vezelay - Burgundy (Beaune) - route des Vins Bourgogne (Burgundy Wine Road) - Lyon - Avignon/Arles area, inland drive via Gorges de Verdon over Route Napoleon to Grasse, Cannes and Nice - going thru the heart of Provence.

woops i thought it were one way - i might scale it down a bit for round trip though you could blow back to Paris via the autoroute in a day easily. Also i recently put my rental car on a train in the Riviera and woke up with it in Paris Bercy the next morning (Auto Train) and the savings on gas and hassle of a long drive may it well worth while - also save a lot on extortionary autoroute tolls. Auto Trains leave i think from St. Raphel and Avignon amongst other stations. Or turn in your car in Nice and take the bullet train back to Paris (5.5 hrs).

Depending on your route through Burgundy, a nice stop is at Nitry to eat (or spend the night - - though I don't know anything about the rooms) at La Beursaudiere. Right on your route if you do NOT (detour a little bit to) go to Dijon, etc...

Also Chateau de Longsard (to stay overnight), in the heart of the Beaujolais, about 30 minutes from Lyon. they can direct you to some good restaurants nearby. I regret not remembering the one they took us to (it's a very simple name - like possibly, "Le Beaujolais" LOL!!)

Strongly agree that there is so much more than you can possibly fit in - - just in the Orange-Avignon-Arles-Aix_en_Provence area - - worthy of multiple days in its own right.

Best wishes,

Rex

If truly leisurely, do it one way and zig-zag across that eastern part of France. Annecy is worth a stop, as is Le Puy en Velay, the Gorges de l'Ardèsse, Bourg-en-Bresse, in addition to the other places mentioned. Try to see if you can get a PREM ticket for a return on the TGV. You can't beat the 25€ price, assuming that it is offered and is still available.

Others have given you some things to see along the way. But if this were my trip and you are renting a car in Paris, I would make it a 1 way - which will give you more time to stop & really enjoy things along the route. Remember, everything closes for a 2 to 3 hr lunch. So if you buzz into Dijon, Beaune, Vienne, Avignon, Arles, Aix, Uzes, or most anyplace else at lunch time (starts from noon to 1) - lots of shops will be shuttered up (literally) and there won't be much to see. Same thing for all day Sunday and Monday mornings. We usually reserve those days for countryside drives and not cities.

I would take the TGV back to Paris from Aix (2 hrs drive from Nice) - it's only about a 3 hr train ride to Paris. If you want to take the train back and also see some places along the route, consider a stopover (arrive in AM, leave in PM, or an overnight) in Chambery, Lyon, Beaune, or Dijon. We've visited all four of these place on the way back to Paris for a flight home or a stay in Paris.

IMHO, a leisurly drive from Paris to Nice would take about 3 weeks at least, to really enjoy the surroundings and not feel you've spent your entire vacation in a car. Even for 3 weeks, you'll only scratch the surface.

Since '99, we've vacationed 23 weeks between Lyon & Nice along the route you are planning - and another 8 weeks in the Languedoc region just west of Provence. There's LOTS of stuff to see and enjoy.

I have a 20+ page itinerary for the Cote d'Azur & Provence, which has a very detailed driving itinerary for visiting these areas. E-mail me at [email protected] if you want a copy. I've already sent it out to over 400 people on this board & the AOL message board.

Stu Dudley
San Mateo (San Francisco), Ca

I drove with my family from Paris to Nice when I was 11. We went through the Loire (we based in tours and drove to different sites nearbby: Villandry, Amboise, Clemenceau), Dordogne, Carcassonne, Provence (we stayed nearby Aix en Provence), Côte Azure (nearby Saint Tropez, in a small town called Gigaro), and then arrived at Nice (we actually did continue to Santa Margherita Ligure in Italy). Most of the places we stayed at were Bed and Breakfast chateaux or small three star family run hotels in the countryside. We did stay at one resort at Gigaro after staying a night in a Gite, a certain kind of bed and breakfast, where a family will rent you a room in their house. Very memorable trip... And the food was great! I would recommend the Michelin guide if you are looking for places to stay and eat.

Thank you everyone. Great ideas and much appreciated. I'm pouring over the maps now.

Hey Bob,

What are you pouring over the maps? :)

((I))

Coffee