JD1020

I am traveling from Barcelona to Nice by plane, and then planning to make my way along the coast towards Provence by train, eventually landing back in Barcelona. I have about 7 days. Which areas or towns are must sees? Anywhere I should plan to stay more than one night? Is the train easy, and should tickets be purchased in advance?

Thanks!

PalenQ

Nice to Aix-en-Provence by TGV

Aix to Avignon by TGV or to Arles use either town as a base with lots of great things accessible by public transport or rent a car - the Pont du Gard, Les Baux - St Remy - Nimes, etc.

then train to Paris or to Barcelona or wherever.

www.voyages-sncf.com has all the schedules and fares and also you will find some sweet discounted tickets but they should be booked weeks in advance to secure and are train-specific and I think non refundable or changeable - full fare tickets can be changed and since you are not going long distances will not break the bank - tickets are easy enough to get IME but it depends on what months you are talking abot - August for instance is realy hectic in this area and trains could be full if you say wait until a day before or so - you can buy all your tickets at once once in Nice or online at voyages-sncf.com - first class IME is well worth the extra price for the average tourist on the trip of a lifetime. For lots of great info on French trains check out these fab IMO sites - www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com. You are not traveling on trains enough to think about any railpass - unless there is more train travel than previewed. here.

StCirq

I understood the poster to mean he/she wanted to travel by train along the coast, not inland. I've only done that route once, and not in its entirety, so am no expert, but I would recommend a couple of nights in Montpellier, at least one in Perpignan, and IF the train actually can take you there, a night in Aigues-Mortes and a night in Collioure or nearby.

HungryLikeTheWolf

The TGV only stops at major cities. If you want to visit smaller communities, consider the regional trains (TER):
http://www.ter-sncf.com/Regions/paca...rte_Flash.aspx

We spent a week and loved EVERYTHING we saw (sadly we were 4 and did it all by car, but the TER seems to reach most of these destinations): Eze, Marseille, Monaco, Nice, Cassis, St-Paul (a.k.a St-Paul de Vence)

ira

Hi J,

There aren't many resort towns on the water served by SNCF.

Frontignan is one of them.
http://www.tourisme-frontignan.com/index_en.php

I suggest 2 nights in Marseille.
2.5 hr on the train, from 25E.

2 nights in Frontignac (or Montpellier)
2 hr, from 24E

2 nights in Narbonne (or Perpignan)
1.5 hr, from 15E

Barcelona is 3 hr, 28E

Enjoy your visit.

JD1020

Thanks, everyone. I suppose the coast can be optional, and I'm open to going further inland if there are better sights along that route. Would it be easier to drive? Can a non-French speaking person drive around Southern France easily?

StCirq

<<Can a non-French speaking person drive around Southern France easily?>>

Yes. Get a good map and study it. Get a GPS if you feel you must. Learn the two or three international road symbols you'll need. Main thing is you don't follow route numbers (though they exist); you have to know what's between you and where you're headed in order to proceed ahead. The coastal route is lovely, and with a car you could do so many things you couldn't without one - like head to Bouzigues and eat oysters on the beach.

PalenQ

driving however in the French Riviera part can be horrendous IME in summer - gridlock is what I experienced everywhere, even on side roads into the hills - so it depends on the time of the year as to whether driving is easy or not here.

Christina

You can get from Nice to Marseille in a few hours, so it won't take days to make your way along the coast. Of course you can spend days at it if you want. I'm no expert on that part of the coastline as it seems mainly for resorts and wealthy people and I hate crowds and am not fond of beaches. But there isn't any great city between them as far as I'm concerned (Nice and Marseille) right on the coast. I've been to Antibes and wasn't wowed so I wouldn't call it a must see. I haven't been to some other places you could try along there.

In the other direction, I really liked Montpellier and Narbonne. But that isn't Provence. local regional trains are easy along the coast IMO

PalenQ

If driving along the coast be sure to stop by Cassis, lovely cassis in its calanque - lovely beach on sea - good stop IMO when heading west from Nice/Cannes area - St Tropez is also on the way with a rather minor detour off the main coastal road I think (drove it once but can't recall).

gourmet2go

I have never done it by car in Summer and I would not doubt what PalenQ says, BUT as others have noted you can see so many more things by car...just stop when the mood strikes you and go at your own pace. I have found driving in France to be quite fun and the French tend to be better drivers than Americans! Just be sure to get optional insurance....you may wind up in vieux Nice where the streets are very narrow and you don't want to be responsible for minor scrapes.

tdk320n

TTT

PalenQ

and there is a France Rail and Drive pass where you can buy X number of unlimited rail travel days and X days of AVIS car rentals and you pick the car up at train stations - so you take a high-speed TGV train to a station such as Avignon-TGV pick up your car at the station, bop around the tourist epicenter of Provence and drive to another train station, like at Bordeaux, return car at train station and continue on by train.

PalenQ

Richelieu - Office de Tourisme - Site officiel - Ville du Cardinal ... - [ Translate this page ]
www.tourisme-richelieu.fr/ - CachedCarte de France · Carte du canton · Plan de ville. Venir à Richelieu... Par la route · Lignes de cars · Les gares SNCF · Les aéroports. Votre séjour ...

PalenQ

Pardon my posting this above post by mistake on this thread rather than the one I meant to.

Surfergirl

Driving is a breeze. I never had a problem in the south of France driving in summer -- yes, it is busier, but them coming from Los Angeles, I didn't sense the same gridlock!

I'd say the only time I really felt like I was going to be stuck in the car all day was trying to get to a beach in San Tropez -- the little road to the Pampelonne beach clubs gets packed with cars.

About 2 years ago, someone on this board provided a really good list of road signs one sees in France -- so helpful. I will say, at least for navigating Nice, a GPS is really helpful. You can rent a car with navigation, or bring your own portable, just remember to download a French map onto your portable GPS.

PalenQ

the main coastal road Nice to Toulon can be a real drag - even though an autoroute but there are nice more minor roads that have little traffic - I once drove the Route Napoleon up from Cannes via Grasse into the hinterlands of Provence and then via the Grand Canyon of the Verdun - Europe's largest canyon or at least one of them - humungous and over to Aix - a route with sparse traffic even in August and totally lovely - sleepy towns and little of the hubbub along an at times too highly developed Riveria coast.

Surfergirl

voyages-sncf.com website just sent me (I'm on their mailing list) specials for traveling this summer from Paris to various beaches around France - 51 Euro to Antibes and so forth. One of the nice things about purchasing from sncf is getting the periodic "specials" they have.

PalenQ

those voyages-sncf.com specials are terrific but to get one I think you have to hop on the offer when you get it? Very limited number of seats at that fare I believe so if it comes up hop on it and be sure of your plans as I believe they are indeed not changeable nor refundable. But great deals in light of regular pricing.