Bonjour- admittedly, it's been quite a while since I last posted and spent time on the forums. I've fully enjoyed recently doing research, reading posts from familiar names and updated trip reports from new comers alike. Special thanks to @stududley for emailing me his expertly crafted, lengthy Itinerary. I say all of this to show I have done quite a bit of initial research and am now coming to you, the experts, for some additional direction.

The basics:
October 2, 2018- depart CLT at 1:10pm, arrive MRS at 8:50am on Oct 3, 2018 (via ATL and CDG);
October 10, 2018- depart NCE at 12:05pm, arrive CLT at 9:49pm (via JFK)
We plan to rent a car. If at some point in the itinerary below you believe we should turn the car in (or leave it outside a city) and use public transport, please let me know.
Who:
Me- 38 year old well traveled woman with a keen interest in wine and beautiful scenery;
Hot hubbie - 38 year old man, Eurpoean travel limited to London and a short day trip to Paris (and I married him any way- he's just so cute), but extensive travel in US and Caribbean- who is excited to be spending his birthday in Monaco (10/8) and likes wine and me (hence, this trip to Southern France)

** I like art, I really do. However, I'm usually good for one - maybe two- great museums per trip- no more. However, there is no limit to the amount of cafes, great meals (fancy or basic- just good food), pretty things to look at, good people to meet (or watch), or wine I'm willing to experience on a vacation.
*** Budget: we're DINKs (double income no kids), who work too much and don't take vacations often enough. We're willing to splurge when it's worth it, but also conscientious of spending good money on mediocre things means we can't spend that money on something fabulous later...
****Fully aware that we don't have enough time to do everything- trying to find the right pace of leisure and covering the bases; if I've missed something that you LOVED, LOVED, LOVED- please let me know and we'll try to fit it in this trip. If it doesn't work, we'll get there next time- I promise there will be a next time.

Tentative schedule and my questions:
10/3 After landing in MRS, drive to first destination, where we will lazily explore (jet-lag will be kicking in), check into hotel/air bnb, eat, drink, maybe a nap (I know, a cardinal sin, but it may do me some good to then wake up, have dinner, and try to get on the European schedule). The question is WHERE? I'm leaning towards Aix-En-Provence for the city-ish feel and the things to lazily explore on the first day. We will be leaving the next day for our next destination, so do not need too much out of this first day other than to start our trip on the right foot with an introduction into Provence that is easily navigable on virtually no-sleep.
Or, think we'd be better served to head on to St. Remy to spend the night there? Are we really missing anything by skipping over Aix? (Note, I'm also going to be skipping over Marseille and Nice- if that tells you my preference on cities vs smaller towns). St. Remy sounds incredibly appealing to us for a variety of reasons. However, I'm worried the first day on the ground may be a wash and we'd be better off in Aix.
10/4- Wine; Let's just call it what it is; it's about the wine. My plan is to head out from Aix or St. Remy to Chataeauneuf du Pape and Gigondas. My wine guy is working on appointments at a couple vineyards. The debate here is whether we should spend the night in CDP. Hostellerie Chateau des Vines Roches looks like a beautiful place to spend the night and evening. However, no one really recommends spending the night in CDP- I'm sure there is a reason, but would love for someone to give me some insight. If we don't spend the night in CDP, my thought is to finish the day by driving to Gordes and basing out of Gordes for the next two nights (10/4 and 10/5).
10/5- The Luberon- exploring, eating, drinking, walking hand in hand.... you get the picture; spending the night in Gordes. Ideally, we'd like to spend the night at La Bastide, but it's showing no availability right now. Once we've decided if we're spending one night or two, will look for other options.

10/6- start the day with a leisurely drive towards the coast- destination is Antibes; The quickest route seems to be back through Aix. However, the more scenic route seems to be the long route through the Parc and over Gorges Verdon. Question- how long would the scenic route REALLY take? Worth it for the scenic drive or is it such a white-knuckle drive that we won't enjoy the view and should just take the motorway back through Aix?
- spend the night in Antibes
10/7- Antibes and close by adventure; Still looking for lodging in Antibes (any recommendations of places you really liked- B&B/hotel/gite?)

10/8- Monaco and Hot Hubbies birthday; Friends have recommended Hotel Paris for lodging- and we are considering it; seems to be worth the splurge for one night for a special trip and a birthday;

10/9- Menton; a good friend lives in Menton and has offered us her guest bedroom overlooking the beach- who are we to turn that down??? (and here is the off-set to the cost of Hotel Paris in Monaco)

10/10- drive to Nice and fly home.

Many, many thanks in advance for thoughts, insight, tips, etc. Also, would love to know everyone's favorite vineyards to visit (in case my wine guy comes up empty handed). Cheers, y'all.

~Shormk2

If at some point in the itinerary below you believe we should turn the car in (or leave it outside a city) and use public transport, please let me know.>

For your plans do that all by car - don't neglect Nice - I'd try to spend at least a day there - St-Paul-de-Vence is a great hill town not far from Antibes.

Consider turning car in in Menton upon arrival and take gtrain to Nice for final day or drive right from Menton to Nice Airport. But, Nice is nice!

There is some construction within Aix and a rather unpretty series of periphery roads to get in and out.... you might be better suited to staying in St. Remy.

The route back from Gordes cuts around Aix, for the most part, But the journey to Antibes is along the rather unscenic, but fast, A7 tollway. You can take the Gorges du Verdon.

I actually recommend against so many stops along the Cote d'Azur. Things are fairly close together and you'll be hotel hopping a lot. Given your friend lives in Menton and your hubby wants to stay in Monaco, I'd look at consolidating your stays and drop Antibes. A one night stay in Antibes is not worth it -- it's more of a place people go to stay for several days or weeks (this might be a contrarian opinion, but I have a place in Nice). You could stay one night instead at the Gorges du Verdon (in the longer mountainous route to the Cote d'Azur), St. Paul de Vence, Eze or stay in Menton first (or after --- and take the train and a small bag for an overnight in Monaco).

Keep the car for your entire trip.
Antibes: The Royal Antibes is right on the seafront, short walk from the old town. I haven't stayed there (we have a flat in the area), but Malia Obama stayed there (at the time of the Nice attack), so it's probably OK.
Antibes does not have many hotels that are close to the old town, actually.
We've often passed hotel Beau Site in Cap d'Antibes, and always think it looks lovely. Again, haven't actually stayed there, and you'd need a car to get to the old town (parking is easy there, so no worries)
Hotel Beau Site - Antibes
I recommend lunch at Plage Keller on Cap d'Antibes, if the weather is good.

Go to Fondation Maeght in St Paul de Vence and book lunch at the Colombe d'Or afterwards.

But as Gooster says, you can do the Cote d'Azur from Menton - though Antibes is a bit of a drive from there.

It's the Voiles de St Tropez the first week of October; top social event. Keep an eye out for the magnificent classic yachts sailing up and down the coast.

Thanks, all. I appreciate the insight!

To clarify, we were planning on spending 2 nights in Antibes (10/6 and 10/7) before Monaco (10/8) and Menton (10/9). Are we saying 2 nights in Antibes aren't worth it?

Mentioning the Violes de St Tropez- worth it to battle the traffic down to St. Tropez and spend a night there if I'm scrapping Antibes? Or will it be so traffic-y, skip St. Tropez and be on the lookout for fabulous boats elsewhere on the coast?

On the Provence portion, thinking we skip Aix and head straight to St. Remy. The other option is just drive straight to Chateauneuf du Pape to spend the first day and night (10/3) there. Then, gallivant around wine vineyards before heading to Gordes to spend the nights of the 4th and 5th. Thoughts on that?

As I stated in my itinerary - I'm not a fan of the Gorges du Verdon (Grand Canyon of France). I was watching a PBS video of the US Grand Canyon last night - and there is no comparison. I have visited the Verdon Gorge 3 times, and the US Grand Canyon 3 times. If you have visited the Grand Canyon (you said your hubby has extensive US travel experience) I think you are going to be very disappointed in the France one. I don't even think the Verdon Gorge is the best gorge in France. Re-read my comments about viewing the Verdon Gorge and how there are really not many viewpoints that are outside the Route des Cretes (slow travel). It would perhaps be a shame to do all that driving on one of your only 6 days you have in France - and just have the Verdon gorges as your only site you visited on that day.



I would stay in one place on the Cote. You are moving too often. I would also stay in just one place in Provence - St Remy would be a good location. It is only a 45 min non-scenic drive to Chateauneuf du Pape from St Remy.


Stu Dudley

We will be in Provence in September. We have an appointment at Chateau de Beaucastel to visit the winery and a reservation afterwards at l'Oustalet in Gigondas for a lunch based on the Perrin family wines (they own Beaucastel)

When in Menton, consider a meal at Mirazur (though it may cost more than the birthday dinner!)

IMO, skip Aix, go straight to St Remy and park yourselves there. It’s much easier to deal with than Aix, and close to a lot of places will want to see.

I would not sleep in Gorde. It’s only 45 minutes from St. Remy. It’s good for about an hour of walking around. IMO the best part of Gorde is the view of the town on your approach. Don’t miss Roussillion and its ochre cliff. Much more appealing and only about a 15 minute pretty drive from Gorde.

St. Remy is about 45 minutes from Chateauneuf-du-Pape ,and it’s another 25 minutes to Gigondas. The drive from Gorde is to these towns is a bit longer.

Gordes - with an "s".


Stu Dudley

Skip St Tropez, it's going to be packed that week. Unless you have a specific interest in sailing.
Visiting will take you all day, with most of it spend on the road or on a boat getting there.

I would definitely spend 2 days in Antibes. It's a nice town, totally different from Menton.
Visit Cannes (park at Palais des Festival), go to the market and old town and people-watch on the Croisette. Have lunch at one of the beach clubs if weather is good.

Aix is a must for us. Lovely city, some shopping, lots of young people, good food, nice architecture, small and car free.
Take train to Aix rent a car there - it will give you some time to recover from jetlag. Driving a car in indian territory after so many hours of flight is a recipe for potential disaster.
The gorges du Verdon are absolutely great. Comparing it to Grand Canyon in the US is as silly as comparing castle of Versailles with - say - castle of Aigues Mortes. Nobody in France would compare the twos. We typically spend 2 days (one night) there, going aroudn the departementale which has great views.
St Trop is very nice but doesn't more than 1 day (same for Aix btw, but an evening in Aix is gorgeeous).

St Remy is nice but for me a little overblown. I prefer smaller places like Roussillon or Apt, which is at least a city. Market day is fabulous. Gordes is also a must for us.
We dislike Monaco - pompous - and not much to see, and Menton is basically a town for aged retired people. La corniche holds spectacular views.

For wine I'd recommend the region of Rasteaux, Cairanne, Vaison la Romaine (!), Gigondas, Vacqueyreas : all great palces with fantastic wines. We have 50% of our wines coming from there, special mention to Beaumes de Vensise (we have a great red from domaine dcu Fenouillet) and great dessert wine (liquoreux). However I am not sure you ahve time to do all of this. For me A littel bit of Luberon + gorges + a littel bit of Riviera will keep you quite busy. Come back later for wine.

We don't like Cannes that much and prefer Nice, with Antibes being a very nice place.

Having spent a gazillion days in that part of France - not my favorite part by a long shot - I have to agree with those who say St-Rémy, Monaco, Menton, and Cannes

are way overhyped and, to me, disappointing. But it depends on your perspective and your relative innocence.

Monaco is a fascinating place to visit, but I would personally prefer to stay in Nice and visit Monaco from there on the train which is about 20 mins. Unlike some other places along the Cote' d'Azur, it's a real city and therefore has more going on and more character, yet it still retains all the glamour one associates with the South of France. Additionally, not everything is expensive so there are still quality good value options for drinking / dining. Agree with other members that St Paul de Vence is beautiful, however you can say that about any number of the small hillside towns along the coast! Enjoy your trip, I haven't been in years but would love to go again!

>>The gorges du Verdon..... Comparing it to Grand Canyon in the US is as silly as comparing castle of Versailles with - say - castle of Aigues Mortes.<<


That is exactly my point. Many guidebooks in the US call the Gorges du Verdon "The Grand Canyon of France". IMO, this is a misguided comparison - assuming the Grand Canyon is the one in the US. The Verdon gorge is nowhere near as magnificent as the US one. Visiting the Verdon Gorge/Aigues Mortes castle after the US Grand Canyon/Versailles would be a big disappointment - assuming the OP has visited the US Grand Canyon.


It is a 2 1/2 hr "somewhat scenic" (around the Maures Mountains) drive on the A7/A8 from St Remy to Antibes.. It is a 4 1/2 hr drive via the Gorges du Verdon, with an added 1 hr circular drive around the Route des Cretes to view the canyon from the lookouts. This makes this somewhat of an "all day" event to visit the Gorges du Verdon (add 1 hr to visit Moustiers). They only have 6 days to visit France. The Gorges du Verdon would not be one of my recommendations for 1 of those 6 days.


Stu Dudley

We went to Provence in September 2016 and LOVED Roussillon! The colors of that village were drop dead gorgeous. We went on market day and the people were so friendly.
We also LOVED St Remy for its restaurants and wished we would have stayed in St Remy instead of Arles. It was more classier than Arles. We really enjoyed the Monastere Saint Paul de Mausoleum in St Remy where Van Gogh lived and painted while he was being hospitalized. It was such a peaceful setting to see where he lived when he painted the very famous Bedroom painting and much more. You can stand in the places where he actually painted his art and see his painting beside it. (They have that in Arles but we didnt think it was as nice as the one in St Remy).

We also LOVED the scenic drive D-27 from St Remy to Les Baux. We still talk about how beautiful and unusual it was. We took notes from Fodor’s, Rick Steves and Stu Dudley. Thanks Stu!

My daughter lived in Nice and she loved Old Town Nice. But her favorite town was Eze. She is now a married DINK and travels all over the world. They walked around Monaco but got bored with it because it was so expensive.
Have fun planning your trip!

Thanks all for your input and advice! We leave in two weeks and have landed on the following itinerary, which is part wine, part coast. I know it may be too much movement for some and will not begin to cover all the beauty and splendor of the region, but we think it will strike the right balance for us this trip and allow us plenty of things left to explore and experience when we travel back to the region.

After flying into MRS overnight and renting a car, we will drive to Chateauneuf du Pape on the 3rd. My wine guy was able to get us an appointment with Lazaret- Quiot family for the afternoon of the 3rd (only time they had an opening). Hence the drive straight to CDP. We'll stroll through town, have some lunch, make our way to the vineyard, and then we're staying at L'Hostellerie du Chateau des Fines Roches (2 nights).

On the 4th, we were able to get a morning reservation for tour and tasting at Maison Chapoutier. Although it is not in Provence (located just north of Valence), it is about an hour and twenty minute drive from CDP. After the morning at M'Chapoutier, we will make our way back down to Gigondas for lunch and an afternoon tasting. We do not have a formal reservation in Gigondas, but understand we can visit one of the Caves in town and do some exploring of the village without a reservation. Then, it will be back to CDP for dinner and bed.

We'll leave CDP the morning on the 5th as we have a reservation at Domaine Gueissard (Bandol), which is located just off the DN8 north of Evenos, about an hour and a half from CDP. We'll leave the vineyard and leisurely make our way around the coast to our Air BnB in Antibes (about an hour and 45 mins away). We've reserved an ocean front apartment on Boulevard James Wyllie that is about 3/4 a mile from old town Antibes. We were originally going to spend 3 nights here, but changed it to 2 to fit in a stay at Chateau Eza on the recommendations of some good friends. We have no schedule while in Antibes and plan to walk around exploring at a leisurely pace and will likely pick several things up at the market to fix at our flat instead of eating out. I do love to cook and we may be in need of something light and easy mid-way through the trip. We will likely explore the Picasso museum, but are reserving the right to change our minds should the day lead us somewhere else

After two nights in Antibes, we will make our way to Monaco on Sunday. Given it's Sunday, there was a special on hotel rooms and we were able to secure a terrace suite at the Hermitage Monte Carlo. We've heard the Hermitage is "better" than Hotel de Paris, but we'll let you know once we get back. We may do a little gambling, a little shopping, a little drinking of champagne from our terrace, and watching the rich and famous from our perch by the sea. My expectations for Monaco are not too high- I'm not sure we'll go back there after all I've read about it being over-hyped, but we shall be optimistic and get the most out of it that we can this time around. My husband is dying to rent a ferrari and drive it around- will report back on that adventure.

After our night in Monaco, we will head to Chateau Eza for a night in Eze. We've heard the picturesque views are not to be missed and that the hotel is very romantic and quite special. We are looking forward to dinner and the views at Eza.

The next day, we will make our way to Menton to stay with my friend. We've discussed Mirazur and we'll see if we can make it happen. It should be a relatively low-key evening catching up with old friends before we make our way back state-side the next day.

I'll try to post a trip report once we return. Again, thank you for the thoughts and suggestions. Cheers, y'all.

Sounds awesome and tailored to what you want to do. Have a wonderful time!

Yes sounds tremendous - drew it all together so nicely.