South of France

Old Jun 13th, 2017, 07:18 AM
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South of France

Hello,
I am in the very early stages of planning a trip to the south of France and Italy. I will have about 5-6 days in France and am looking for advice on where to stay . I don't mind moving around but a couple central spots would be great. I will have a car and plan to drive around including driving to Italy. My initial thoughts are to start in Avignon and then make my way towards Nice.
I realize I have a lot of reading to do but I found great help through this forum for other adventures and I have yet to be steered wrong.
Any and all assistance is greatly appreciated.
Heather
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Old Jun 13th, 2017, 08:08 AM
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Why not Avignon and Nice?

The first thought that comes to mind is that it would be hard to find a place for the car in Nice.

We rented an apartment in St Jean Cap Ferrat that had parking, and it was a great base for us with a car. Not a great spot for shops or dining though.

Villefranche-sur-Mer and Beaulieu-sur-Mer were both recommendations that I received here on Fodors. I just happened to find the apartment we rented when searching for places in Villefranche.
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Old Jun 13th, 2017, 08:36 AM
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Do some reading in the Michelin Green Guides for Provence and for the Côte d'Azur. It's a lot of ground to cover, and you'll need to decide just what you want to see. My preference would be to pick one base, either in western Provence or the eastern section, so that you have time in depth in one area. Otherwise you'll be doing primarily drive-bys.
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Old Jun 13th, 2017, 08:52 AM
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I don't think it matters whether you start or end in Nice, same trip either direction. Just compare the car rental chargs and possiblity. Of course you can't rent or return in Italy, so what is you plan about Italy? You could start in Nice, go to Italy, then drive back to France to end as you'll have to turn your car in there. I think that's all a bit much for 5-6 days frankly. Other way would be start in Avignon, go to Nice, then to Italy, then back to Nice to turn the car in, I guess either would work. Maybe you just plan to drive to/from Italy in a day trip from Nice? If so, your initial plan is fine.
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Old Nov 20th, 2017, 06:51 AM
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hello again,
it now looks like we will have 8 or 9 days in Provence. I am trying to plan the best route to see as much as possible. It seems like a small area to drive around.(we are Canadians, everything is far). I am thinking a night or 2 in several areas would suit us well. We like to move around a lot. So if anyone has ideas or suggestions we would be grateful. I have ordered guidebooks but I prefer this forum . We plan to start in Avignon and end in Nice, otherwise it's all still up in the air.
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Old Nov 20th, 2017, 07:14 AM
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Mention that you intend to take the car to Italy, it may affect the rental rates. If dropping the car off in Italy, there will be a steep cross-border drop-off charge.
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Old Nov 20th, 2017, 07:27 AM
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taking train from Paris to Avignon or flying? You can get direct trains from Paris CDG Airport to Avignon-TGV station which has car rentals. Many folk like smaller St-remy-de-Provence near Avignon better with a car than rather congested Avignon area.

Spend a couple of days in this area -driving to say Pont du Gard and Les Baux or other gems and drive via Aix-en-Provence - at least a short stop - to Nice - for more scenic beauty take the inland route via the Gorges de Verdon rather than the very busy blah autoroute direct way along the coast.

For train info to Avignon if not flying there check www.voyages-sncf.com where you can book your own tickets - at a discount if early enough to get those limited number tickets - check www.seat61.com for sage advice doing that - for general rail info also check www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

Personally I might suggest taking trains the whole way since you have little time to meander and in Nice especially trains and buses go everywhere -from Avignon you could take excursions and public transit to main places.
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Old Nov 20th, 2017, 08:42 AM
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I think you could easily do 2 places in France in 6 days, I have done that numerous times and would't call that doing drive-bys. If you are staying in a place near the Luberon, for example, and spend 3-4 days driving around that particular area, that's plenty of time to be spending in these small villages which don't have much in them, anyway. I would then ditch the car, say at Avignon train station, and take the train to Nice for a couple days, and then take the train to Italy, that part isn't clear as to the destination.

I wonder if the OP knows that it is expensive to drop a car in a different country from where you rented it.
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Old Nov 20th, 2017, 09:30 AM
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Also, if you are driving a France rental car into Italy, you may have some insurance issues. My CC company covers CDW in France - but not in Italy.

Last time we crossed the border - we took a train. Before that, we drove from Italy to Monaco, picked up a second car, drove back to San Remo, returned the Italian car, and then drove the French car into France.

I also hate the drive from Nice along the Italian Riviera around Genoa with hundreds of tunnels (it seems like 100), with plenty of opportunities to make a wrong turn & end up on the streets of Genoa.

Stu Dudley
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Old Nov 20th, 2017, 09:40 AM
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Read about Marseille -- we were just there and it has really been spruced up. They were awarded euro city or some such title and in prep for it in 2013 they made lots of major changes. It's a nice city, lots to see. They do have a fair # of parking garages scattered about the main part of the city.
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Old Nov 20th, 2017, 10:44 AM
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Sounds like OP plans to spend 5-6 days in southern France and Italy - just a drive over border from France but as stu advises may be best to just take the train from Nice to say San Remo or any coastal town. You do not need a car in Nice - only around Avignon would it be better than public transportation - I'm with Christina on ditching car in Avignon-TGV station (well outside congested city) and taking train to Nice (or Marseille, etc.)
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Old Nov 20th, 2017, 01:44 PM
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I did that same trip 7 years ago with a group of 3 and it worked well for the 8-9 days (we did similar). We took the TGV from Paris to Avignon. Based ourselves in Avignon. Rented a car there to tour the area (Saint Rémy, Arles, etc.). Then dropped off the car, back on the train, to Nice. In Nice, we used the train along the coast a bit, but we also rented a car in Nice to go to places like Golfe a Juan, Antibes, Ste. Maxime, Grasse, Saint Paul de Vence, etc.
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Old Nov 23rd, 2017, 08:24 AM
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Thanks for all the great information. I apologize for not being clear on the car. We.will train from Paris to avignon then rent a car from there and return it in Nice. I realize the train is an option but with a car we can go on our.own schedule. It looks we.will find 2 main locations and head out from there.
If there's any other useful information you would care to share please do
Thanks Heather
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Old Nov 23rd, 2017, 08:33 AM
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We.will train from Paris to avignon then rent a car from there and return it in Nice>

And it can be a really neat drive -try to stop by Aix-en-Provence and take the inland route via Gorges de Verdun mentioned above to Route Napoleon down to Grasse and over to Nice. Many find Antibes or smaller towns along coast to be nicer than busy much bigger Nice.

Antibes would be my recommendation - nice seaside old regional town with trains and buses everywhere you want to go. You may want to keep car in Nice if wish to drive the famous corniche routes between Nice and Monaco/Menton via Eze.
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Old Nov 23rd, 2017, 08:41 AM
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If there's any other useful information you would care to share please do
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Old Nov 25th, 2017, 01:37 AM
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Another vote for Antibes, probably my fav town on the Cote d'Azur. It's small and intimate, also well connected by train and bus to other places along the coast.

We're sending 12 days in Provence next June after which I am seriously considering going back to Anitibes for another 3 days
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