We are going to Provence for 7 nights and the French Riveria for 3 nights in late October. We are flying in and out of Nice. Upon arrival we will be renting a car and driving to Avignon for 3 nights, staying in an apartment (3 adults) at the Hotel La Magnaneraie. The next 2 nights we were going to stay in Les Baux en Provence at the Hotel Mas De L'Oulivie, then off to Aix en Provence to stay at the Hotel Cezanne for 2 nights before heading to the French Riveria. What do you think about these locations as bases. We will travel around each day by car to various smaller towns. Would we be better staying somewhere other than Aix?
On the Riveria for the last 3 nights we wanted to stay in Eze but the hotels we looked at were way too expensive. Does anyone have any ideas of small towns to stay not far from Nice and hotels. Thank you.

I think Aix is a good location for that part of Provence. Once I based myself in Aix and then closer to Carpentras, and that worked out real well for visiting the things closest to each site. I wouldn't stay in Les Baux myself as a third place, but to each his own on that one. It's not that far from Avignon, but if you travel lightly, sometimes it's not so bad to move around, especially if you have a car.

Can't help you on the Riviera, I've only stayed in Nice down there. Nice hotels aren't that expensive in comparison to some places, like Paris.

The La Magnaneraie is in Villeneuve-lez-Avignon, across the bridge from Avignon. It's a beautiful location. If you are there on a Saturday, there's good flea market.
We stayed at a lovely inexpensive hotel, that sits below the perché village Gourdon, L'Auberge des Gorges du Loup.

Hi joyce -

I have a similar trip coming up in late September. I think Nice is your best bet for hotels that aren't too expensive. Also, once you're in Nice, you won't need a car to see places like Antibes or Villefranche or St. Paul or Monaco, so you can drop off the car and save money.

It's only 80€ for THREE!!! you can't beat that. The owners are sweet. He's French , she is from Taihiti.

http://www.auberge-gorgesduloup.com/htfr/0001.htm

Do your Cote d'Azur sightseeing before you get to Nice, then get rid of the car--you won't need it. It sounds as though you will really have about 2-1/2 days in Nice, barely enough to scratch the surface. If you get bored, you can always take the train to Antibes and Cannes. My moderate-price hotel recommendation for Nice is the Mercure Promenade des Anglais; you can check it out at the accorhotels.com web site.

Try Hotel Welcome in Villafranche. It is right on the harbour, lot of good resturants in walking distance. Easy location to get to all parts of the Reviera from.

About 10 years ago we stayed at the Pierre et Vacances resort in Cap d'Ail which is very close to Eze & Monte Carlo. We had a very nice unit with a huge balcony wrapping the apartment like a letter U facing the mediterranean sea. It's fantastic if you want to lounge with the mediterranean ocean view. The view is incredible with a disappering edge pool making it look continuus with the ocean. The resort was built by a well known designer/architect. The cost for 3 nights in Oct 2007 is 258.
http://www.pv-holidays.com/
Select the date, Provence, then Cap d'Ail. You'll see the beauty of the resort. The only downside is the soft foam bed, we were younger in those days so it was not a problem even with todlers. Otherwise it was very spacious with its own kitchen. We stayed in Monte Carlo & Nice on subsequent visits but they cost a lot more.