Village on Mediterranean Sea
 

I am wondering if I can get any suggestions on an area to visit on the Mediterranean Sea? I don't think I want to go the usual touristy areas such as Cannes, Monocco, Nice. Are there any smaller towns or villages to visit? If so, any recommendations on places to stay or restaurants, site? Looking for more luxury accomodations. Thank you!

Nerja in Spain comes to mind and there are many "white villages" nearby that are wonderful, but for luxury accomodations, you'd be better off in Marbella.

If you want France, the village of Le Lavandou is very pleasant, as is Cassis. Both are right on the Mediterranean and near other pretty villages. Just above Le Lavandou is the charming village of Bormes-les-Mimosas, covered in flowers and with marvelous views.

I am looking at France, I should have clarified that in my original posting. However thanks for the info on Spain. I hope to go there someday.

I just returned from 12 days in France, and I must say, the Hotel du Cap Eden Rock is incredible and centrally located.

Gekko, The Hotel Du Cap looks fabulous! Any recommendations on restaurants, shopping, markets?

What's your budget? When are you planning to go? What's most important to you?

We spent 3 nights in Cadaques (roughly "Kaddah kehs) in Spain, near the French border, in May. Although it is a holiday spot, it retains its original character as a working fishing village, with an artsy overlay (Picasso and Dali spent time there). It's a twisty long drive on narrow roads, which keeps away the tourist throngs.

We drove there from Barcelona (not a scenic trip), but you could also fly into Girona (where we stopped on the way back) or Perpignan (across the border into France). I think it might be more interesting to explore the region from Cadaques east into France (the Spanish coast west of Cadaques is rather built up and hideous in many places).

We stayed at the Rocamar Hotel www.rocamar.com), which was about a 10-15 minute walk from town. It was a charming, comfortable villa on the cliffs - not luxurious by any means (about a 3*) but staff were friendly, our room was very clean and we had a stunning view from our balcony (pay for the view; it's worth it).

There were some delicious reasonably priced restaurants, interesting places to visit, and we went for a walk over the cliffs one day to a secluded bay (where there was another hotel) and went scuba diving with the dive shop based there.

The Hotel du Cap is not far from Antibes, which has hundreds of great shopping/dining/market opportunities. But you probably won't want to leave the Hotel. It's amazing.

Collioure is a beautiful seaside port town on the Med just north of the Spanish border. Don't have any personal experience with hotels right on the water there, though.

The Hotel du Cap is an incredible hotel, as are its prices. Note that only cash is accepted.

Thanks, StCirq. I was going to recommend Collioure, but I can never remember how to spell it. It gets my vote! While I've never stayed there, I easily could, and there have been several posts here with nice hotel recommendations. Ah, if only the search function is working. . .

I think the Casa Païral gets the best press on this forum, and I love that hotel. However, it's not right on the water. In fact,I've been to Collioure a few times and can't think of any hotels that ARE right on the water. Which is one reason it's so attractive.