sycamore

After concluding a week touring Provence, we need to get to NIce for our flight home. We will spend 1 1/2 days there and see a few things. Up until recently we thought we would take a train from Aix to NIce. Now we are pondering keeping our car and driving the coast to Nice perhaps doing lunch somewhere ( maybe St Tropez?)

Is there actually a road along the coast or is it up in the hills?

How easy is the driving?

Are the roads difficult? If one has a fear of heights, do the roads have places where the side of the road is a steep drop off?

I presume it is safe for 2 women to be doing this? How long would the drive take?

This drive (if we do it) would be Sunday, October 24, 2010.
Thanks in advance!!!!

PalenQ

there is a main and a pain IMO major autoroute - truck-filled- and not going thru cities

and then there is a nice 2-lane road for the most part right along the coast -i drove it west from St-Tropez and though there is some tacky overdeveloped areas (like typical in the Riviera coast IME) there are some really gorgeous stretches of road and nice seaside towns to stop at - but this road would take much longer than the autoroute - which i would even take if i had a car already - why not?

TDudette

I should think the drive would be fine that time of year but, until someone else posts good advice, look up michelin for the trip so you can see how long it should take.

We took a train from Montpellier to Nice and it was pretty nice coastal scenery but one couldn't stop for pix, eh? From Aix, you will probably have to change trains in Marseille-not a problem except for time. Bus from Aix to Marseille was about 1/2 hour. From there, it would be coastal driving to Nice.

Unless other posters experienced with the drive say different, my instinct says that you would enjoy it very much. Where would the other Sunday/weekend drivers be headed?

PalenQ

Plenty of direct trains now from Aiz-en-Provence TGV station - a tad out of town direct to Nice

The old intown station yes you'd have to go to Marseilles and change - but hop the TGV right from Aix to Nice if not into driving

In late Oct i would not worry about the drive - off-season beginning down there.

StuDudley

We've spent about 16 weeks in that region - and have driven on most of the roads you might be considering. Here is what I would do:

- Head out from Aix by car on the A8 towards Nice. Around le Luc, take the A57 then almost immediatly take the D558 southeast towards le Garde Freinet, Grimaud, and then St Tropez. This is a scenic drive, but a little winding. Stop in La Garde Freinet for a quick look/see. Also stop in Grimaud for a visit if you get an early start. Once you get past Grimaud, the road is not very scenic into St Tropez.

- Have lunch at La Ponche in St Tropez. If the weather is cool, they have covered dining on their outside terrace, or you can dine indoors. Visit St Tropez.

- Around 3 PM or so, head towards St Maxime and then Frejus and then St Raphael. This section of road is really not scenic, except for the views across the Golfe de St Tropez back towards St Tropez. By doing this in the afternoon, the sun should be in a good position for nice views of St Tropez.

- Continue on the N98 along the Corniche de l'Esterel. We've driven this route 3-4 times, and the developement keeps encroaching further & further north on this road. It really is not that nice (because of the developement) until you get about 5-6 K past Agay - then it gets extremly scenic & there isn't any developement.

- You will start to see more developement as you get to Miramar, but there are still excellent views of the Med.

- The scenic part stops at La Napoule, so I would get on the A8 there & head to Nice.

Stu Dudley

sycamore

Thank you for all the replies. I have never driven in Europe before. Is it easy driving? What about edges of the road with steep dropoffs....any of those? Thinking about Princess Grace!!!!!!!

StuDudley

I don't recall any serious problems - but I've lived near the Calif Coast which many people think is scary - so I'm probably not the best authority.

Stu Dudley