panucci

I had my entire trip to Greece planned out then I decided it was way too romantic of a vacation to take with my best friend. I have now put Greece on the back burner until next year with our lucky husbands. Thanks to all who helped.
Now I am starting from scratch. We will be traveling the second 2 weeks in May (yikes, this should be done already. The new revised plan is 5 days Provence, 5 days possibly Nice or Antibes. My questions are: What is a good base for Provence? What not to miss?Will we need a car? Would either Nice or Antibes be a good base? Hotels 3-4 stars? Thanks, Laura

StCirq

Provence is a large area, so you will want to do some research to decide if you want to spend all five days in one location or split the five days up.

I am partial to the Alpilles region, so I'd base myself around St-Rémy. Others prefer the Lubéron. You should research both those areas and decide if one appeals more than the other or if you want to try both.

I'm not a fan of the Côte d'Azur so I'll let others give you their opinions.

Viajero2

Don't scratch that Greece trip yet... the Cannes Film Festival will be in full swing the last two weeks of May, so hope you have deep pockets and love crowds!

Yes to the car, if planning to explore Provence, you don't have to have one for the Nice portion (as a matter of fact, do not!).

Home base for Provence? do you prefer rural seclusion? city? village?

panucci

The film festival would be a huge problem since I don't like crowds and I don't have deep pockets. Maybe we could fly to Nice, spend 3 days (8th-11th) then get out of there. We like cities, small towns and anything on the water. Last year we went to Cinque Terre/SML, Pienza/Montepulciano and Rome. It was a perfect trip. Now we hope to do a similar trip in France.
Last night I did look at St-Remy and it looked great. But now I will have more time to fill especially if we skip the Côte d'Azur. 11 days in France, what to do and were to stay??????

panucci

ttt

cigalechanta

I'm another fan of the Alpilles, followed by the Luberon(our day trips usually) The Cote D'azur must be seen once but not for a one and only trip. I do not consider it the true Provence. IMHO

Barkinpark

Don't know Provence.

Nice is a convenient spot in CDA and there are budget hotel options. However, it's less secluded than Antibes, Cape Ferrat or Ville French (spelling?)

tgbussiere

We used Avignon as our base and drove to the towns. We stayed there 5 or so days. We did a day trip via train down to Cannes. We too were there during the film festival but it was still enjoyable!

Viajero2

I am taking my second trip to the French Riviera on May. I absolutely fell in love with the Cote D'Azur. My trip is on the first two weeks of may, want to avoid the Cannes Festival crowds (and price hikes). If you want to cover both bases, Cote D'Azur and Provence, you are better off splitting home bases.

Laura, have you consider renting a small apartment for 3-4 days by a coastal town (Antibes, Juan Les Pines, Miramar, Frejus, etc...)?