Hello there,

Myself and 3 friends are planning a trip to the south of france - monaco and leaving out of milan. Does anyone have any recommendations for some cheaper, out-of-the-way places to stay? We will have a car and wil be coming down from bern switzerland so are free to move about...just not too far away from the main stay.

HELP!
thanks,
Sarah

When? It will make a huge diference.

There's nothing really out of the way on the coast, but you might look at what's available in Menton. It's only a few minutes from Monaco, but it's not well known, so hotels and rentals there are cheaper.

It's for mid-July for a week.
And for south of france?

Well, you could hardly pick a more expensive destination than Monaco in mid-July. Just parking the car in Monaco could cost you what you'd like to spend on a hotel room for the night.

How many days do you have to get from Monaco to Milan? Are you going to drive from Bern to Monaco without stopping?

Menton is less expensive and pretty beachfront. Monaco is so close you can go visit day or night and be back to your hotel.

It's not really out-of-the-way, but hotels should be cheaper in Antibes and it's right on the rail line to Monaco. Nice actually has a wide variety of hotels at all prices, but with a car that may not be so convenient. Here are just a few in Antibes that are very reasonable, I think:

http://www.hotel-savoy-antibes.com/

http://www.hotelmimosas.com/en/rates/

That second one is actually near Juan-les-Pins and Cap d'Antibes so is going westward but isn't that far from Monaco.

Nice i think provides the cheapest, if that is your criteria, place to stay - with its many hotels of all different budgets.

I recently stayed in the Hotel Modern, smack opposite the train station for 20 some euros - though anything but modern the price was right and location too, for a train traveler. It was an old hotel and a few years ago so may be gone but Nice i think offers the widest range of hotels.

Menton would be a good choice. Close to Monaco and less expensive.

Also in Antibes www.hotel-lagaroupe-gardiole.com was a good place for us. It's in a luxurious, beautiful area but quite reasonable. Yes, the rooms are small but so is the price. We stayed there for 2 weeks and drove all over The Riviera---it's a convenient location. The breakfast was good and the people extremely nice, plus there is a pool. It's a very short walk or drive to Garoupe beach where we rented chairs at Keller Plage which was an extremely nice beachclub.

We loved Monaco and spent many days there. The Palace is gorgeous and our favorite restaurant was "Stars & Bars", an Aussie casual place right on the yacht harbor.

Monaco is worth an hour of your time. Maybe.

The Etap Hôtel in Menton has always seemed like a perfect location to me, but it must probably be reserved far ahead of time.

I second the recommendation for Antibes. We stayed in Nice for a week (with a car!) a couple of years ago and day tripped from there, and had no complaints. But after visiting Antibes, we said that if we ever got back to the area it would be the perfect base -- we just liked the feel of it. In either location you will have no trouble finding accommodations in every price range.

http://www.vrbo.com/204879

How about this, right in Monaco?