We will be driving back to Nice from Aix-en-Provence on a Sunday in September. We'll have spent Saturday in Aix, and since I understand Aix is slow on Sunday anyway, I would like to see St-Tropez on our way back to Nice. I know that the weekends are busy and the drive into St-Tropez and the parking frustrating. Is it feasible to drive the A8 to Le Muy exit, then down to Sainte-Maxime to take a Les Bateaux Verts shuttle www.bateauxverts.com/ to St-Tropez? The boat shuttles are frequent and it seems to be an alternative to the hassle of driving and parking in St-Tropez. Any thoughts?

If St-Tropez doesn't work, then we're considering the drive, Corniche de l"Estérel. It was suggested the drive from St. Raphaël to Mandelieu is lovely, but I'm not sure how long it takes, assuming we will make a few short stops along the way.

In september the traffic isn't so bad. I would just drive into st tropez, it shouldn't take more than one and a half hours from Aix. You should be able to park without a problem too, either at the port or place lices. Im not saying it wont be crowded but you shouldnt have summer traffic. At the end of september is the "voles de st tropez" with all the boat races, the busiest weekend in september.

Go early, have breakfast in St Tropez. While driving down from Le Muy towards St Tropez, you will see if it's busy on the road or not; if you get to St Maxime easily, just drive on towards St Tropez; parking will not be a problem (unless it's the Voile as mentioned above).

Depending on what time you have to be in Nice, drive the Corniche de l'Esterel until Cannes, and motorway A8 from there to Nice.

Thanks for the info. We'll be there on the September 18th and Les Voiles begins September 24th. Driving seems more feasible now. Any idea how long we should expect for the Corniche de 'Esterel drive from St- Tropez to Nice?

I did the reverse trip on a Saturday last September. Breakfast in Cannes, Lunch in St Tropez, Dinner in Montpellier.

St Tropez has massive car parks and we had no problems parking or eating at a restaurant without a reservation.

Peter

I prefer Cassis. It's more authentic than St Tropez.