travelbunnies

Hi. Have booked our flights for south of France 9-12 to 9-28. Comments on our tentative itinerary? Stu, we received your 20-page itinerary and have tried to incorporate that into our plan, so thank you!

Arrival day: Fly into Nice, rent car, drive to St. Tropez; spend 1 night in or near St. Tropez
Day 2,3,4: Arles/St. Remy area
Day 5,6: Vaison, Cote du Rhone area
Day 7,8: Luberon hilltowns
Day 9,10: Drive to Riviera hilltowns;
Sleep in Vence or St. Paul
Day 11: Drop car; train & sleep in Monaco
Day 12,13,14: Sleep in Nice, day tripping
to Villefranche, Eze, Antibes
Fly home from Nice.

Is Monaco worth spending a night? Is time in Provence and French Riviera balanced, or should we take 1 day out of Nice and add to Vaison or Luberon area?

As always, your advice is appreciated.

Underhill

Spending a night in Monaco is, IMO, not worth what you'll have to pay. The main reason to go to Monaco is to see the coast, and you might be able to do that by train, spend an hour or so, and then return to, say, Villefranche for the night.

cigalechanta

I agree, forget Monaco. I only stopped to drop $10 in the slot machine, just to see how the casino looked.
Have a drink in front of the boules court in St-Paul-de-Vence. You may sight celebrity playing.

BowenLinda

ttt...

RonZ

If you are seeking a really nice hotel near San Tropez, I can highly recommend the Chateau Valmer.

I would spend a couple of nights there. And, I would save a hotel change and stay 4 nights in the Luberon area.

Howwever, these are just personal preferences.

I don't know how long your flight is, but St Paul de Vence [which I would pick] is only a few minutes away from the Nice airport and would be a another possible place for the first night stay. The St Paul is a good hotel.

sandi

Is there any reason for returning the car? Sure there is lots you can accomplish by train along the Cote d'Azur coast, but if you wish to visit Eze, it's a long walk, straight up from the train to the town. While there is a bus from Nice that drops you off on the road (not such a tough walk), it's not a very good schedule.

Of course, I'm sure you'd prefer not to pay a parking fee that most hotels in Nice charge, but you can just as easily stay in Villefranche without a parking fee. And a car gives you so many more options of of places to visit (where many trains don't go) and you're not limited by train schedules.

I definitely wouldn't spend a night in Monaco... too expensive and that hotel parking fee. But you can spend a full day here (or as long as you wish) - taking the train - and there is a late train from Monaco back in the direction towards Nice - gives you an idea of what nightlife is like here.

Since you don't mention specific towns in the Arles/St.Remy or Vaison or Luberon area you plan to visit, I would make certain not to miss Avignon, Pont du Gard, Uzez, Aigues Mortes, Les Baux. I'd even stop at Aix for a day/night before heading to the Riviera.

Another idea - which is a particular quirk of mine - no backtracking - instead of flying into Nice, fly into Marseilles from where you can explore the first part of your itinerary. Do the stop at St. Tropez on way to the Riviera, spend time on the Cote d'Azur, and depart from Nice.

Mimar

Where are you flying from? I don't recommend leaping into a rental car and driving off if you are jet-lagged. You could split your Nice visit into 2 parts, one at the beginning, one at the end.

Also, from Vence or St. Paul, you could drive along the Middle Corniche to Eze and a bit along the High COrniche before turning in your rental car.

I'm planning a trip to Provence and the Cote d'Azur for this spring and am finding more and more to do around Nice. Check out Cap Ferrat and the Villa Ephrussi and the Train des Pignes.

But there's an awful lot to do in Provence also. I notice you're omitting Avignon, Aix, Nimes, etc.

Tough decisions.

jofrommelbourne

We have stayed a couple of times just east of Monaco in Roquebrune. There is a budget hotel there called the Hotel Westminster. We had a car though which I think you need to explore that coast (as someone else has suggested). However, we caught the local bus into Monaco as parking is quite difficult there.

Hotel Westminster has lovely sea views and we have always enjoyed our stay there even though it is not a plush place.

Good luck.