megan13

I am thinking about traveling from Paris to Provence to Nice (4-5) days in each location (early Sept).

I was hoping to take a train from Paris to Provence and then rent a car and travel within.

I would then travel to the French Riviera for 4-5 days - with maybe two hotel stays: one in St. Paul/Vence area and one in Nice. Coming from Provence area, would it make sense to travel by car or train? Also, while in French Riviera, would those two locations be good choices or should I just spend the whole time in Nice and take day trips? I think I can cover some of the coastal towns by train but also wanted to see the hinterland...would you need a car to do so?

Thanks for the help.

kattom

Hi Megan13,

My DH and I intend to do something similar in mid Sept. We will spend a week in Paris, and then 5 days in Provence, 2 days in St. Tropez and then 3 days in Villefranche. We will be taking the train to Avignon, renting a car and then turn the car in at Nice or Villefranche and spend the last couple of days taking the train to Nice and Monte Carlo--then flying back to Paris from Nice. From what I can tell it is a great way for us to see a lot of different areas in that amount of time. Of course I won't know how successful it was until late September! Good luck with your plans.

--KG

megan13

Thanks for the confirmation! Great minds think alike Have fun on your trip too.

surfmom

We did something similar -- we took the TGV to Aix en Provence and spent a night there. Picked up the rental car the train station and then drove down to Nice the next day. Would have preferred to spend longer in Provence, but were a bit limited.

Drive from Aix to Nice was very easy - we actually went via the coast. No, I mean, we headed straight south and then took smaller roads along the coast.

Enjoy!

surfmom

sorry, I just realized I didn't answer your question...

I would rent a car in the Riviera area. I also wouldn't change hotels -- big time hassle.

From Provence, I think all trains go via Marseille (I could be wrong here), but by car, it was easy. I would think you will want a car anyway to visit the Riviera, so just pick up in Provence.

There are people who do it without a car... I'm not one of them. I like the 'freedom' of a car and not being restricted to trains/buses.

ymmv.

tootsie

I don't think I'd stay in Nice. There are too many other options available which are totally charming. Look into Sanary Sur Mer or Bandol. I love Sanary Sur Mer. It's small town charm. If you're into bigger cities, you'll relate to Nice. I was there years ago and loved it. Went back a couple years ago and couldn't believe how much it's grown. Whatever you decide you'll love it. I rented a car while in Provence. Be sure not to miss Avignon. It's a drive but well worth it. Enjoy.

TPAYT

We have "trained" it from Paris to the Riviera several times. Once to Avignon, stayed at "Auberge de Cassange" in Le Pontet just outside of Avignon. Great for touring Gordes, Isle-su-Sorgue, St. Remy--a little far(although we did it) to Cannes, Nice, Monaco, etc. Yes, you would need a car, but it is easy to drive there, and you can reserve one to be picked up at any train station.

Aix en Provence was a little better location to get around.

Antibes was the best location to tour the Riviera--very close to Villefranche, Cap Ferrat, Monaco, and Eze(our personal favorite hill town). From there we were also able to visit Grasse(perfume), Biot(glass blowing), Cagnes(Renoir house), Beaullieu(Greek house).

Nice would also be a good location, if you like a big city. It was charming and right on the water for easy access to the waterfront roads going east and west.

Personally,I would only choose 1 location to stay and not waste time changing hotels.

Jeff801

Kattom,

When we arrived at the Avginon TGV station 18 months ago, there were no signs at all pointing to the car rental.

All the car rental stations are on the West (right from your direction of travel) side of the station.

jenblase

I think everyone does this trip. We took the TGV from Paris to Avignon and then rented a car once we got there. It was definitely nice to have a car for Provence.

We stayed in two hotels, one outside of l'Isle Sur La Sorgue, and one in Les Baux, but that was mainly because we wanted to try two different places out. The area was small enough that we could have had just one base and driven each day from there rather than switching hotels midway.

Then we drove to Nice where we dropped off the car and stayed for three nights. I really liked Nice but that's because of where we stayed (Palais de la Mediterranee).

Hope this helps!!

kattom

Thanks Jeff801!

We have reserved a one-way car from Avignon to Nice through BreezeNet (another consolidator) and got a great rate from Dollar. Breezenet was a better rate than either NovaCarHIre or Autoeurope for the week.

--KG

AGM_Cape_Cod

The first time we went to Provence we took the TGV to Avignon and picked up a car. We stayed in St Remy and loved it. What we didn't realize is that we had booked the return trip from a different train station in Avignon but was suppose to return the car to the original one. The hotel helped us work it out but just be aware when you are booking. In subsequent years we have flown into either Nice or Marseille and split the time between Cote d'Azur and Provence. We stayed once each in Mougins, Roquebrune and Villefrance-sur-Mer. Each have their charms but I think Villefranche-sur-Mer would be a difficult place in the busier season of Sept. We were there in March. Let me know if you are interested in details. Have a great trip! Wish my husband wasn't a school teacher so we could go in Sept.

MDoyle63

Hi,

This question is for surfmom.

I'm doing a similar trip as megan13 in April. After our stay in Provence (Lourmarin) the plan was to drive to Nice where we will stay for two nights before flying home. Since I won't be using the car in Nice, I thought we might just drop the car in Aix and take the train to Nice. But after reading that you drove to from Aix to the Nice along the coast, I'm rethinking that idea.

Can you tell me about the drive. How long it took? Was it very scenic? Were there any 'must see stops' along the way?

Thanks,

MD

surfmom

You can do a much longer coastal trip...

we went straight from Aix en Provence to Frejus via highway. About an hour or, if I remember correctly. We then took the coastal road through the Esterel Mountains. We loved that! It wasn't terribly developed and beautiful orange mountains.

here is a photo I liked
http://www.trekearth.com/viewphotos....3&p=748051

gives you a sense of how remote it feels from the rest of the coast...

Before we reached Cannes, we got back on the highway portion - but then stopped at Biot en route to Nice. We also really enjoyed Biot and found their stuff beautiful.

The other stop you could easily make is Antibes - which is neat walled town. We were there later on a Sunday and everyone was out walking kids, biking, etc. We enjoyed the walk along the wall.

MDoyle, does that help ?

Mimar

We had a car in Provence (based in St. Remy). Upon leaving we drove to St. Paul de Vence, visited the Fondation Maeght (great modern art museum), then continued to Nice, dropping the car when we arrived.

We then stayed in Nice several days, including daytrips. Nice is a good transportation center, with trains east, west, and the Train des Pignes up into the hills and also with many bus destinations, like Eze and Cap Ferrat. I like Nice, with its Belle Epoque architecture and its easy-going Italian/French vibe.

Mimar

Forgot to add that you can look up driving times on a mapping site like www.via-michelin.com or www.maporama.com.

MDoyle63

Surfmom,
That does help. It sounds as if it will be worth keeping the car, even to visit Antibes if nothing else. It looks as if the whole trip won't take longer than three hours so we'll probably just drop the car in Nice.
Thank you,
MD

megan13

Just wanted to say "THANK YOU" to all for your responses. This was very helpful and exactly what I was looking for. Happy Travels