nicolino

Can anyone give me some input on the palais sylvia apartments and/or the area where the promenade des anglais is???

ExplorerB

nicolino,

I've no experience concerning the apartments, but the four-mile promenade ("walkway of the English&quotborders the ocean and it's a hectic, happening place. Along the beach you'll have the usual array of sunworshipping activities, plus the chance to enjoy some upscale dining and even nightclubbin' with the sounds of the sea nearby.

On the other side of the multi-lane road (zany with traffic), you'll find a good many high-rise hotels. The promenade is an especially nice place to be after dark, strolling with an ice-cream, people watching, checking out the many street musicians/entertainers, and taking in the sights and sounds of oceanside Nice.

For a good introductory tour of Promenade des Anglais, check out Rick Steves' Welcome to the Riviera Walk in his annually-published Provence & The French Riviera guide. The same guide also features an enjoyable and informative Old Nice Walk as well as tours of both the Chagall and Matisse museums (all highly recommended).

Best of luck.

PHL2LAX

I spent two weeks at New Years In Nice in an apt on the Promenade two blocks from the Negresco Hotel. I loved the location. We walked everywhere in Nice. We did rent a car and found metered parking each day(which is free I believe from one to three each day for lunch). We were there off season so it was not so busy except for New Years and there was a marathon along the Promenade one morning which was great fun to watch from our balcony. We drove alot.......... to such places as Monaco.. ...Eze, Avignon. Tourette du Loop, Grasse, Pont du Gurd, Saint Tropez, Antibes, Aix and many many more. Nice has great museums, markets and old town. Don't forget to bring shopping bags to the food stores!!
Enjoy.

nicolino

thanks for your replies. im looking so forward to my first trip to france. i will on my return write in and let everyone know my experience including feedback concerning the apartment i rented. if anyone has anymore suggestions on the area and w3here to go and what not to miss please dont hesitate

jdc26

Hi Nicolino,

I can't give you any suggestions on the Nice area because I too will be spending 1 week in the area the end of September. I'm also renting an apartment and plan on doing some day trips using the train. From most of the threads on this Forum it sounds like Nice is a very fascinating place with plenty to see and do.

Have a great and safe trip.

jdc

nicolino

Hi JDC,

Thanks for your reply and best wishes. I hope you also have a safe trip and enjoy the many sites of the french riviera. We are renting in Nice as well and doing day trips by train to monaco, cannes, grasso, st. tropez by ferry and also some small villages like antibes by bus. When are you vacationing? I'll post all about the trip on my return which should be anytime after September 9, 2008.

Cheers

PeaceOut

We really enjoyed Nice for our three-night stay in May 2006. Here's a link to my trip report, which includes recommendations for restaurants and day-trips:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34810691

jdc26

Nicolino:

We will definitely miss each other as I'll be there at the end of September (25th), but will anticipate hearing all about your trip in your report.

jdc

annettetx

We just returned from a European cruise. At one of our ports of call, we chose to go to Antibes for the day, and really enjoyed our time there. We took the train from Monte Carlo to Antibes, and then walked from the train station in Antibes to the Old Town.

There is a tourist information office just outside the train station which was very helpful and has good maps.

The Marche Provencal is wonderful -- filled with beautiful fruits and vegetables, exotic spices, fresh lavender, delicious honey, amazing cheeses, etc.

My only warning is that the market and many of the shops surrounding it close at 1 pm. Don't make the same mistake we did and think you can come back "later" and buy things because they're likely to be closed "later"!

We had a fabulous lunch at La Croustille (4 Cours Massena), which was recommended in the Michelin guide to the French Riviera as a "charming creperie-salad bar."

Enjoy!

Mahya2

thanks for the info.
Bookmarking

Mahya2

I'm intending to visit Nice for a weekthe second half of September and then on to Paris - but I'm wondering if you all can recommend a reasonable hotel within a block or two of the promenade.

A couple of you have mentioned apts ? Anything reasonable ?

All suggestions will be happily received.

M.

PeaceOut

Hotel le Grimaldi
http://www.le-grimaldi.com/
(see trip report posted above)

Mahya2

Hi and thanks Peace Out -

The Grimaldi looks lovely - although I recall you did rent a car and that would be a problem for me since I dont intend to.

The Negresco had a studio apartment which would be perfect - only it's totally booked up for September - and I'll bet one of our Fodorites has it for the week I would want it

Meanwhile Peace Out - since I haven't been to Nice in more than 30 years, all I do remember is the cabanas on the beach, dining on a terrace restaurant in Cannes, and my first impression of the Casino at Monaco and that the velvet curtains looked so old (even at that time) that they looked like they would shred if you touched them...LOL.. Since I was in a car and not driving I dont remember the relation or distance of the Old Town to the beach area.

Is there another hotel that you visited closer to the Promenade that you might reccomend?
or another town nearby that you would recommend?

Many thanks

M.

jdc26

MaHya2:

I'll be in Nice for 1 week the end of September and have rented an apartment from rivierapebbles.com. You may want to see if they have availability.

Have a great trip!

jdc

Viajero2

I recommend Hotel Regence to anybody going to Nice and wanting to stay at a reasonably priced hotel (around $100/double) http://pagesperso-orange.fr/hotelmassenet. The Regence is a sister hotel to the Massenet and it located on a pedestrianized area surrounded by great eateries and shops. I loved this location. About a couple of blocks from the Promenade, the staff was great.

PeaceOut

Mahya2, we did not have a car when we stayed at le Grimaldi. It's a couple of blocks from the promenade. We walked everywhere from our hotel.

Mahya2

Thanks to all for the suggestions.

Viajero2,

the Regence is booked up - and the Lido I liked behind Negresco...seems all of us Americans have held off until September to go to France.

I've had to change my dates around so that I could get something in Nice - Nice is now the first week of October, and still working on a studio in Paris for the last week of September.