jenblase

Hi, we're renting a car at the Avignon TGV upon our arrival on Sat. May 26th. We want to have a car as we travel amongst the small villages of Provence. On Thurs May 31, we'll be leaving the Luberon to head to Nice (stopping in Aix along the way). Staying 3 nights at the Palais de la Mediterranee before coming home on June 3rd.

A couple questions -
If I keep the rental car until we depart on Sunday the 3rd, the hotel will charge us $30 a night to park there. Would there be anywhere else we could park near the hotel or does it make more sense to just dump the car and take the train around the Cote d'Azur?

If we lose the car, which of the following locations would be the closest to our hotel, so we can drop off our bags and then go return our rental?

Nice Airport - NCE
Cote D'Azur Airport, terminals 1 & 2, Nice, 06281, France
(33) 04 93 21 36 33


Beaulie Sur Mer - BLU
2 Avenue Des Phoceens, Nice, 06300 , France
(33) 04 93 80 63 52

Place Massena - NC1
2 Ave Des Phoceens, Nice, 06300 , France
(33) 04 93 80 63 52

Railway Station Gare SNCF - GK7
Ave Thiers, Nice, 06000 , France
(33) 04 93 87 90 11

jenblase

ttt

StuDudley

The train station would be the best option. Probably easier to get to than Pl Massena, which I think is still all torn up.

When we have a car in Nice, we just park on the street. We haven't had that much trouble finding places - especially on weekends when business people are not there. You won't find many spaces within 4 blocks of Prom des Anglais - you may have to park north of Blvd Victor Hugo.

If you are just going to visit Nice & the coastal towns, you really don't need a car. You'll only need it if you plan to take trips into the Nice Hinterland. You could keep the car the first day or 2 you're there & then turn it in.

Stu Dudley

Linda431

My husband & I still laugh about the time we tried to turn a car in early at the Nice airport. We went round and round for 30 minutes trying to find the entrance to the rental lot. There was construction going on and temporary signs were up. None of them made any sense. We could see the lot, we just couldn't find out how to get into it.

We finally gave up and went back to our hotel in Beaulieu sur mer. The concierge called the rental company and they sent someone to pick it up. Now we do that routinely, so much easier.

Mimar

Your third option isn't very far from your hotel. In fact, 1.5 kilometers. (I looked it up on www.mappy.com.)

And, yes, drop the car on arrival in Nice. Nice has excellent public transportation options, both bus and train. When I was last there, the streets were torn up and traffic was very heavy. It would have been difficult using Nice as a driving daytrip base. Anybody know if the construction (was it for a subway?) is completed?

Mimar

Per Stu's comment about the hinterlands, you can visit some of the mountains and towns north of Nice by riding the little Train des Pignes. It leaves from the Gare de Provence just north of the regular train station and makes a nice day trip; Entrevaux is the most popular turn-around stop.