I've seen references to topping but not sure how it's done or what it means. This is in regard to an earlier posting of mine. Stu, Caroltis and Bloom, thank you once again. My system crashed and burned so I'm only now getting back on top of things. Never a good thing. I found a posting from lev on 4/24/2007 that I might be able to adopt. Here's where I am to date. I won't be able to rent a car (insurance reasons). So, all in all I have about 10 days. I will be in Nice on business and through a connection I have a place to stay in Saint Jean Cap Ferrat. I'm not sure if I should stay all 9-10 days in Saint Jean or split it up. Since I won't have a car, it seems I'm better off staying in the south of France, rather than going in to Provence. I can take a train to Aix but need to figure out the coordinates. Your ideas would be very welcome and help me to take another stab at my itinerary. I found a posting by Lev 4/24/07 that I've leveraged. Lev, if you are out there, I would love to hear from you.

1: Nice to Aix via train? spend one night
2: Aix to Saint Jean Cap Ferrat (train)?
2: Day in Saint Jean
3: Day in Villefrance-sur-mar (is this a cab ride or walk from St. Jean?)
3: Bus from Saint Jean to St. Paul de Vence (is that the only way, how far is it?)
4: Bus from Saint Jean to Monaco (is that the only, how far would a cab ride be)?

5: Train from Saint Jean to Eze
6: Train from St. Jean to Antibes
7: Train from St. Jean to Cannes
8: ..Where else should we go St. Tropez, ...Would it make sense to stay a few nights some place else and take day trips on the train? For instance, St. Tropez, etc. We will want to have some hang time also maybe by the pool or beach in Saint Jean.

I'm at your mercy, great worldly travelers.

ttt

A little clarification: the south of France includes Provence and the Côte d'Azur portion of that vast region.

St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat is a beautiful place to be; you can take the bus or the train to Nice or other towns along the coast. However, with 9-10 -days you might consider spending part of the time in western Provence in order to visit Aix, Avignon, and Arles. Without a car you won't be able easily to visit some of the charming small villages, but you will still have plenty to see.

Getting to St-Tropez without a car is difficult.

lovegolf; topping just means adding another message to your post, and that brings it to the top of the list, so that everyone can see it.

St Jean Cap Ferrat is lovely, and I would have no trouble staying there for 9-10 days. Depending on where exactly you are on Cap Ferrat, you could walk to Villefranche and Beaulieu, both have a train station. Cannes, Monaco, Antibes, are easily reached by train. St Tropez is more difficult to get to; the roads get very congested in summer. If you want to go there, perhaps better to stay overnight.

If you stay in Avignon for a portion of your trip, there is train service to l'Isle sur la Sorgue - so if you're there on a Sunday you can visit their wonderful market. There's probably bus service to St Remy also.

Perhaps take a boat trip to St Tropez. St Trop is quite different from Nice, Monte Carlo, Cannes, & Antibes.

You might also take a scenic train ride into the Nice Hinterland for a day. I forgot the name of the train, but it goes to Entrevaux, which is an interesting village.

I don't tink Eze will consume an entire day - neither will Villefranche or St Paul. Hit Vence on the same day you visit St Paul.

Stu Dudley

ttt