South of France
 

Will spend 5 days in Vence in the middle of August with my daughter. As we have both been to France too many times to count we are wondering what new adventures we can have. We will, no doubt, visit as many museums as possible but besides that and the food, is there anything new that you can suggest?
GEsssa

If you supply the general age of your daughter, and interests, as well as what you've already done or seen, I'm sure we could come up with some really great advice on new adventures!

I'm in my own little world of digging live concerts (rock, folk), tile, and just being part of the scene, so my world may be different than yours. So, if it were me (and I'll be there in July), I'd be (and I will be) finding sea glass and ceramic pieces in the Med on the beach in the day, and going to a music festival in the evening (there are loads of them all up and down the coast in summer). I might want to go back to Grasse just to see what the new perfume lines are like; we'll doubtless visit Saint Paul de Vence, which has become sort of a pilgrimage; a day at Tahiti Beach in San Tropez, and we're basing ourselves in Juan les Pins because there's always so much going on there. And perhaps an evening in Carcassone at their music festival.

I have been to the Cote d'Azur more than a dozen times and I still return.

You may have seen some of the following attractions, but maybe you find some stimulation as well:

Museums
- Right in St. Paul, Fondation Maeght has changing exhibitions, this summer about Gerard Gasiorowski.
- In Nice, the Musee national Message biblique Marc Chagall is outstanding.
- Also in Nice, the Musée d'Art Moderne et d'Art Contemporain is excellent in modern and contemporary art.
- In Biot, Musee Fernand Leger gives an excellent impression of this modern artist.
- In Antibes, you find a moderate Picasso museum.
- In Monaco, the Musee océanographique is still interesting, with historical charm.

Mansions
- In Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, there is Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild which is groteskly kitschy, but entertaining.
- In nearby Beaulieu, Villa Kerylos is an unusual reconstruction of an ancient Greek villa.
- In Monaco, the Palace is worth a visit.

Activities
- We always love driving the Corniche de l'Esterel, with a swimming/snorkeling stop in one the spectacular coves.
- A classic is driving the Moyenne and Grand Corniche, with stops in La Turbie and Eze.
- What about rafting or canoeing in the Canyon du Verdon?

And the beaches, glass-bottom boats, scuba diving, perched villages, promenades, old towns, fancy hotels etc.

Have you seen the Pyrenees????

Based in Vence, it would not be practical to run over to the Pyrénées, at least not for daytrips.

Just below the village of Biot you will find a glass-blowing works that you can visit and watch the artisans at work. There's also a small museum of art glass and a large gift shop; across the way is the fine Corning International Museum of Glass, which always has a good exhibition on.

To the right of the museum is a good gift shop and then the restaurant Les Verrieres, a local favorite with good and interesting food. Get there early for a table.

Sorry - the original post did not used the word "based". I was making a suggestion for somewhere new to see in France before or after that. I would have thought that ANYWHERE in France was a bit far for a daytrip from there.

<<Will spend 5 days in Vence>>

Sounds like "based" to me.

Well, I'll just leave this to you.