We are planning a trip to Nice and Provence for next April. We will not have a car and plan on doing all our sightseeing by train or bus.
In Nice we were planning to stay at the Mercure Nice Promenade des Anglais. Any comments on this hotel will be appreciated.

We would like to stay someplace central in St. Remy where walking to restaurants would be easy and night time strolling. Any recommendations? The one hotel I am considering is the Hotel Gounod. I'm sure I'll have lots more questions.
Liz

If you don't have a car, how are you getting to St. Remy from Nice?

L'Hotel www.hotelphoto.com

As usual I agree with Mimi; "Les Ateliers de l'Image" is a deluxe hotel right in downtown St. Remy, but because of its large private garden and pool it seems peaceful and remote.

Hi Ronda,
The plan is to take the train. I think we can take a taxi from Avignon Train station to St. Remy. Is this correct? Do you think Arles would be a better base to see the area?

Ok, maybe i need more help than I thought. Without a car what town would be best to make out base in Provence.

My husband does not want to drive (though I will try and talk him into it) and he'd be a nervous wreck if I drove. Not that he has any reason to, I'm a very good driver!
We wanted to go to Les Baux, St Remy, Arles, Avignon and other small villages that others may recommend.

You'll need a car to get to Les Baux unless you want to make an expensive cab ride of it. Avignon, Arles, and St. Remy are linked by trains or buses fairly regularly.

I've got a week in Provence next June. I'm considering a couple days in each of Avignon, Arles, and St. Remy without a car then getting a car from Avignon or Arles for just a couple of days to blow around Provence to see the little villages before heading to Paris.

I'm skipping the Luberon altogether on this trip because I don't think I can do it justice in such a limited time.

I've found the following site very helpful in getting a handle on the region. http://www.beyond.fr/

How many days will you have?

We once went to Nice and then took the train to Arles and spent a couple of days. Then on to Paris. We didn't have very much time.

You can also get to Isle-sur-la-Souge by train and it might make a good base. It is much larger than St. Remy.

We did stay at Hotel Gounod in St. Remy last June and liked it but wish we had popped for a more expensive room there. There are restaurants within walking distance.

Have you searched on St. Remy yet here? Because there are lots of hotel and restaurant threads on St. Remy with good info.

I found Rick Steves' Provence & The French Riviera book to be very helpful with basic info.

Thanks for all the help. I have spent hours going through these messages and many guide books. I'll have to get Rick Steves Book. We have 9 days total for Nice and Provence. I'm thinking now of spending the whole time in Nice and take daytrips and the following year go to Provence. It seems a shame to try and squeeze to much in sucha short time. We are goint on to Paris for 5 days after we leave Nice. Any comments on Mercure Nice Promenade des Anglais? The location looks great. It is right by the Le Meridian.

A friend and I stayed at the Mercure Nice Promenade des Anglais in April,2004. At that time we were surprised at how "downscale" it was. The rooms were very plain and the halls were musty. We just spent one night there and were happy to leave for St. Paul de Vence the next morning.

However, the service was friendly and helpful and the location is marvelous. Maybe they have refurbished the interior since then,

Just a comment on driving. Having driven on several different trips to France and Italy, I find the drivers there are better than those in the U.S. They obey the rules of the road except for speed occasionally. You really should consider driving especially in Provence. You will miss so much if you don't.

The hotel Mercure Nice Promenade des Anglais wa completely renovated in 2005. I checked on Tripadviser and they get good reviews. Thank you all for your comments.

Write to me at

[email protected]

and I'll send you my husband's article on driving in France.