The South of France
 

I will be in the southern coast area,near Canne,Nice, and Grasse.Can anybody make suggestions on other area day trips that i can make? Thank You

St Paul de Vence near Nice is a great one day trip. Old fortress town with nice shops and restaurants.

Depending upon your exact location, a favorite of mine is Cassis. It is a delightful little town on the water and has a great boat trip you can do for a couple of hours into the "caliques" or cliffs along the coast. The market in St. Tropez is also a lot of fun with a lot of goods and "souvenir" items that are a cut above the usual, and then you can have a delightful lunch along the harbour there.

You must go to Eze village! This hilltop village is simply wonderful. Be sure to see the cactus garden and the views from there are breath taking. Also, I second the opinion regarding Vence and St. Paul de Vence. Lastly, in Cap St. Jean there is the Rothschild villa and garden that you can tour. Cassis is lovely but a bit out of the way. I never did make it to Biot but I hear that the blown glass traditionally made there is supposed to be beautiful. <BR>Ellen

Gorges du Verdon. <BR> <BR>Biot. <BR> <BR>Montauroux. <BR> <BR>Fayence. <BR> <BR> <BR>

Jean, <BR>I enjoyed Antibes. There is a Picasso museum there and beautiful little streets to wander through.

Villefranche sur Mer. It's a quaint, interesting, pretty village built up the hill from a small bay, east of Nice (I think).

Rex, what's in the places you mentioned?

We were in Villefranche-sur-Mer for a week in May. Great for a base - we loved it. We were also in Cassis for three days (Les Roches Blanches) and loved it. Cassis was just so lovely - if you stay there, do take the boat ride to the calaques - it was just awesome!

Is it possible to visit Corsica or the mainland from Nice?

Ian, I don't get your question. Nice is on the mainland. But, yes, you can visit Corsica from Nice, there are several ferries to Corsica from the port at Nice.

jhm - - <BR> <BR>Don't let this be a substitute for doing some reading on your own. <BR> <BR>Les Gorges du Verdon - - sometimes known as the "Grand Canyon" of France. Not as spectacular as the Grand Canyon in Arizona, but then more intimate, and accessable. <BR> <BR>Biot - - for glass studios - - although these can be found in other places throughout the hills above Grasse also. <BR> <BR>Montauroux - - a "village fleuri", an artists colony, and a (part-time) home to Christian dior for over 30 years (his residence is available for rental - - sleeps 22, but not other wise available to the public. He did restore and donate a nice little chapel there. There are also a lot of aquatic activities (and major league hang-gliding and sailplaning) on and around Lac de St. Cassien there. <BR> <BR>Fayence - - see this and Montauroux in the same half-day if you choose. Sort of a "village perché" - - even if not as well known as St Paul de Vence or others north of Nice. <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex <BR>

How long does the ferry take from Nice to Corsica?If driving from Nice how long does it take to cross the border into Italy?

The Fondation Maeght museum in St. Paul de Vence is wonderful--a marvelous modern art collection in a beautiful hilltop setting. Splurge and have lunch at La Colombe d'Or just outside the walled town. The food is good, but the atmosphere can't be beat. The inn is full of post-impressionist artwork--most of it was given by the artists in trade for meals.

Drive over to Cassis and take a boat to the callonques. Spend the day at one of the isolated beaches-bring snack, water and sunblock-WOW!

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Take a drive to Monaco.

Monaco and Eze are two of my favorites! Skip Cannes in my opinion! Have fun!

Jean: <BR> <BR>I agree w/ Ellen and Paige, every time I return to the South of France, I make a point of spending a day in Villefranche sur Mer. My favorite restaurant, right on the port, is La Mere Germaine, their specialty is the loup, a light white fish, which they bone at the table. <BR> <BR>I also found an area called Esterel with ports calle Napoule, Theoule and Miramar. This area has rich red clay cliffs going to the Mediterranean and doesn't seem as "discovered" yet as Villefranche is. The area is between Cannes and St. Tropez. <BR> <BR>I envy you!

I second what Ellen said about Eze Village! It's crawling with tourists during the day, but if you go later in the day you should be able to avoid the crowds and enjoy wandering the magical little walkways. I also second recommendations for Cassis, Vence, St.Paul-de-Vence, Antibes, Villefranche-sur-Mer, and the Gorges du Verdon. I also really like Menton, near the Italian border; I love the view back towards the pastel-colored buildings with their green shutters from the rock jetty in the port. Menton also has a lot of gardens, in large part courtesy of the many British ex-pats (in fact, its slogan is "Ma Ville est un Jardin", or "My City is a Garden".) I've also rented a car and driven to a number of the picturesque hilltowns, and other small towns, in the hills & mountains behind Nice & Menton; my favorites are Peillon, Saorge, Gorbio (all hilltowns), and Sospel. Have fun, it's a gorgeous area!

Any comments about the Gorges du Loup area?

I definitely echo all that has been said about Cassis. We spent a week there, and fell in love with the beauty, charm, and food. You couldn't aske for a better small destination.

Jean, <BR> <BR>Rent a car and drive the coast. Preferably starting near Marseille (although I wouldn't waste the time visiting Marseille) and just drive along the coast to Monaco. Definite places to stop: St. Raphael, Frejus (both have beatiful ports), Antibes, Nice, Monaco. Make your nightly stops in Antibes, Nice, or if you have a little extra cash, Frejus. There is a gorgeous hotel right in the harbor there that is absolutely gorgeous (or at least it was when I was there 5 years ago.) Unfortunately, I can't remember its name. <BR> <BR>When in Nice, make sure to visit the "quartier" where the Matisse museum is located. The area and the museum are just wonderful. <BR> <BR>Bon voyage!

Yikes, how many Lisas are there? <BR>For Lisa xxx, the Gorges are gorgeous (sorry) but the drive can be a bit hair-raising now and then, especially when a GREAT BIG BUS comes around the corner right at you on the 1.5 lane wide road. Take it slow, stop at the villages, enjoy the amazing views. It's routes like the Gorges du Loup which make this part of France so flat out amazing in its diversity and physical beauty.

Is it feasible to do a one day drive from Nice-Eze-Monaco-Saorgue/Peillon/ <BR>Gorbio/Sospel? Or is that trying to cram too much in one day? I've already been to Nice and Monaco, but my husband hasn't. Thanks.

Does anyone have suggestions on lodging in Nice/Cote 'Azur area?How about Hotel Le St-Paul or Le Cagnard?

The hotel Le Saint Paul is north of Nice in St Paul de Vence and its part of the Relais Chateaux group. Expensive!

Hi jhm. Yes, it's certainly *feasible* to do a Nice-Eze-Monaco-Saorge-Peillon-Gorbio-Sospel route in one day but that would hardly leave any time for you to stop and smell the boulangeries. Of all those places, Saorge is the furthest, but I also found it to be one of the most spectacularly sited hilltowns, along with Eze Village (which is very convenient), and Peillon. The drive along the Roya river valley up to Saorge is also very scenic. Feel free to email me if I can be of any further assistance. Cheers! <BR>

Buy the book Food Lovers Guide to France. Then use it in the villages to find out the local breads, cheeses, markets, etc. The local specialties in each area are amazing and can make whatever area you are in that much more memorable. The book gives great ideas for restaurants and shoppping too but the most fun is distinquishing one village to the next by its food and wine.

I'm looking for a nice inn or hotel in the area, what location has charm?Some have suggested Biot,Vence,St.Paul de Vence,Cagnes sur Mer,Beaulieu.Please comment about the towns and maybe suggest places to stay.Thanks!

Is it possible to make a day trip to Cassis from Nice?How far is it by car?Also,can someone expain the difference between Vence and St-Paul-de-Vence.Thanks,Kirk

Kirk, you could certainly do a day trip from Nice to Cassis and back to Nice, as long as you took the autoroute both directions. Driving along the coast would take too long. From Nice to Marseilles via the autoroute is about one-and-a-half to two hours (I think) and Cassis is very close to Marseilles. <BR> <BR>I was confused about Vence and St. Paul-de-Vence once too. They are completely separate towns, although quite close to each other. St. Paul-de-Vence (also called simply St. Paul) is much smaller than Vence and, consequently, can have the feeling of being much more overrun with tourists if you're there during the day. I've been to both and, while St. Paul is very picturesque and charming, Vence also has a charming walled old town. <BR> <BR>Have fun!

While agreeing with all the advice given so far, may I suggest a visit to Tourettes sur Loup. This is a delightful little townup in the hills and it is a pleasant drive from Cannes or Nice. We go there on every trip we make to eat at a tiny restaurant called le petit Manoir. The patron is the cook and madame serves. She speaks hardly a word of English but is very pleasant and we find the food superb. Great views to be had once there down to the coast.

Looking for a base to travel from during my stay in the south of france.What are some suggestions so that we can take advantage of coast,countryside and hill towns.Biot,Vence,St-paul and Mougins have been mentioned what do others think? Thanx Alex <BR> <BR>p.s. - any hotels or inns 100.00-150.00 (us )suggestions

To the top for Wendy. Good luck.!

Hotel help needed.We decided to stay in St Paul as our base.Our choices of where to stay are La Colombe d'Or,Hotel LeSaint Paul or Les Orangers.Having trouble getting info and prices on these hotels.Can anyone help.I would appreciate any reports from those who have stayed at these properties. <BR> <BR>Thank You,Robert

I have not stayed @ those hotels so I would suugest you stay in Nice. <BR>

Am going to Antibes next week, and will be looking for day trips, or overnights. Cassis sounds very interesting. We wont have a car and will rely on trains. Can you take a train to Cassis from Antibes, or Nice?

I am going to Sophia-Antipolis (near Valbonne) on business so I have been researching the area for sightseeing purposes. <BR> <BR>Here are three great websites (each has links to other great sites) <BR> <BR>www.beyond.fr/villages/index.html <BR>www.businessriviera.com/ <BR>www.aubergedetourrettes.fr <BR> <BR>I am taking my wife for a few days before the business part of the trip and we will be staying at the inn in the third web site I listed. <BR> <BR>

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