ivmanley

Good day. My husband and I are attending a wedding in Provence, and then hope to spend three days touring the area between Marseille and Monaco, Nice, or St. Tropez. I have read from these forums that Nice is splendid, Monaco is expensive and St. Tropez is very touristy. It will be our first time in southern France and so want to make the best of our brief trip. We will be there in the third week of October and are seeking recommendatmions. We will have a car and suggestions would be gratefully welcome.

TPAYT

Where will you be starting from in Provence? Where will you be flying home from?
3 days is not a lot of time and the area between Marseille and Monaco is vast with many wonderful places to see.

WoinParis

From Marseille go to Cassisanx visit some calanques. Avoid Toulon then go further to laces like Bormes les Mimosas. st Tropez is very nice. Cannes is worth a stop then o. To Antibes then nice. Menton is lovely too and the road towards Monaco is superb (la corniche).

ivmanley

Thank you for your reply! The wedding is on an olive grove just outside Aix-en-Provence on 15 Oct. and we will be traveling from Marseille to Amsterdam the following Wednesday on 19 October. From there we will visit family all over NL, then leaving Brussels to London on 23 Oct, and returning to the states on 26 Oct. do you think it's doable?

StCirq

Monaco, which is a waste of time any time of year, IMO, will be especially so on a mere 3-day tour of the area in mid-October. I agree with WoinParis that Bormes les Mimosas and Antibes and Cannes and Menton are worth flying by. Do you have to leave from Marseille? There is a wealth of things to do closer to Aix, like the whole of Les Alpilles region, and the Lubéron.

How are you getting to Amsterdam? No one can say if it's "do-able" without more information.

ivmanley

Thank you once again for the information. We are taking the train from Marseille to Amsterdam, (with a stop in Paris) where I have familiarity and family so we are good with plans for the rest of our trip. Those three days in southern France are free with no obligations, and so we're trying to make the most of it. The details above help to plan our meandering along the coast, perhaps spending more time near Aix. Thank you so very much!

Gretchen

I'd stay in Provence unless you are into glitz and glamour from afar.

mjs

I would rent a car and base myself in St Remy and spend 3 days touring the area and take the train from Antibes to Paris.

PalenQ

Train Marseille to Paris to Amsterdam- be sure to book your tickets NOW if not already- www.voyages-sncf.com or www.capitainetrain.com are easy to use for self bookings - save tons of money over buying there-

for Paris to Amsterdam use www.thalys.com - huge savings possible - 39 euros perhaps vs full fare of a few hundred bucks.

www.eurostar.com for trains to London via the Channel Rail Tunnel.

Check www.seat61.com for superb advice on discounted tickets and for general info www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com. First class tickets are also discounted and may not cost at times much more than the cheapest available 2nd class ones - if so go first as it is significantly more relaxed- especially more room for luggage but 2nd class is fine don't get me wrong - just that 1st class finer. On Thalys in first class you get a complimentary meal and wine or drinks.

HappyTrvlr

No need to leave beautiful Provence at all with so little time.

Christina

All of those places are in Provence, I don't understand that comment (except Monaco, of course). St Tropez is in Provence, as is Antibes and Nice. So I'm not sure what people mean by you should stay in Provence. I have no idea what definition of PRovence that would mean, perhaps only the BOuches-du-Rhone and Vauclus departments? The region covers basically everything between Arles to the border with Italy.

But you only have 3 days and have to get back to Marseille. You seem focused on the Mediterranean for some reason. If that is your main interest, fine, it's your trip, but I would prefer inland areas myself (eg, Luberon, Avignon, etc). You're doing a lot of cities, so I wouldn't do Nice myself (and then you have to get all the way back to Marseille). It takes about 3 hrs by train from Nice to Marseille.

But it's your trip, if that's what you most want to do, hang around the Riviera, go for it--maybe after Aix just do Nice and one other place, like Antibes or St Tropez (I have no idea if it is "too touristy" or not, haven't been there, but the entire Riviera is touristy, basically, it shouldn't be so bad in October, anyway).

mjs

make that train from Avignon to Paris