PKinter13

Hello, we are planning to take the Eurostar train from London to the south of France for a 2 or 3 night mid-week stay in early to mid-June.

We are looking for a place on or very close to the beach where we can stay and relax. At the moment we are not planning to rent a car, so we need somewhere that is accessible by public transportation. Also because of this we are hoping to choose a location with amenities nearby.

There are three of us, so we would prefer a single room that can comfortably accommodate three adults. Also, if you are suggesting a hostel type accommodation, please know that we are a mixed-gendered group.

This stop is planned towards the end of a 10 day France and London sightseeing trip, we plan to keep ourselves very busy in Paris and London and built this stop into the trip to just be relaxing. We want to enjoy the beach, we might partake in a spa service if there is one around, basically general rest and relaxation.

Our budget for accommodations generally is approximately 150 euros a night, but can be higher for this leg of the trip.

Please share if you have any suggestions or if you could suggest any good resources that might have this information. Thank you

Envierges

Sounds like a great trip. One way of starting your beach research would be to figure out if you want a sandy beach or a pebble beach. The beaches east of Marseilles tend to be pebbly except, if I remember correctly, Antibes. The beaches west to the Spanish border are usually sandy. I like the Brittany beaches best but they're apt to be chilly and windy in June. Google something like best beaches in France and see what you turn up. Enjoy!!!!

Christina

As long a you don't need a great beach, you could go to Nice, obviously, as the beach is right in town. I don't know how far Eurostar goes, but I suspect it doesn't go anywhere in the south of France on the beach. It stops at Marseille, doesn't it? Well, actually there are beaches just outside Marseille, I haven't been to them but I imagine there are buses or something to them. You could also just take a short train jog from Marseille to Cassis, it has a small beach. Other than those, I think St Raphael or St Tropez or Cannes are the beach towns with a train station.

At least June isn't quite peak season yet, but I think finding a place for 150 euro for 3 people on the beach won't be easy and most of those places are very expensive resort areas. I think Nice may be the easiest as you don't have to be right on the beach there and can get around easily.

As for hostels, well, gender doesn't matter as you don't have to stay in the same room, anyway. There is some good hostel down that way though that I've heard about, I think in St Raphael.
http://www.fuaj.org/en/frejus-Saint-Raphael

Look at Villa St Exupery in Nice, but there are several good hostels in Nice.

You may find some hotel for 150 that suits 3, I have no idea, you can look, just check booking.com or something.

daria

We stayed in Antibes last June for a week and loved it. The beaches there are sandy and beautiful and the water is amazingly clear and blue. We went to 3 different beaches. It is a popular place to go to the beach with tourists from all over the world, and locals. It is very laid back and quite wonderful. There are beach clubs for a more upscale experience and there are free public beaches too. I found this website to be really helpful: rivierabeaches.com

If you stay in the Old Town, as we did, you can walk wherever you need to: to restaurants and cafes and to beaches. There is also a bus that can take you to beaches further away as there are more beaches nearby in Cap D'Antibes and in Juan Les Pins that are popular too.

I am not sure about spas. We were with our kids.

There is a train station in Antibes and we easily walked from there to the Old Town with our luggage, although we pack light. It think it is about a half a mile? Or 3/4? You should check a map to be sure, but it is very doable and all flat.

I found the Rick Steve's book about the Riviera to be helpful when choosing which town to stay in, and it has a lot of helpful information about how to get around the area on public transportation.

Have fun!

WoinParis

South of France goes from Spanish to italian border.
Quite a stretch.

I loved Banyuls for example, and Menton is aslo great. So is Camargue in the middle.

Any more precision ?

StCirq

Don't for a minute think you can squeeze three people into a single room in France. It would violate the fire hazard rules, and hotels are very, very strict about it. You'll need to pay for a triple. In hostels, I imagine, there are rooms set up to accommodate various sizes of groups.

Tulips

I think they mean one room - rather that a single. That would be a triple room, then. Rooms will often accomodate an extra child, but not an adult. You really need to specify that you want 3 adults in the same room.

There are sandy beaches in Cannes, Juan les Pins, Antibes - and these places have train stations.

WoinParis

I didn't see that... I hope a priest vouched for them sleeping at 3 from two genders in the same room !

Booking and hotels.com specify the number of people per room, just play with it and double check, surprises can happen.

Underhill

The Eurostar stops in Paris. From there you would need to take the TGV (fast train) down to the south, leaving from the Gare de Lyon.

Nice would not be a good location for actually being ON the beach, as the hotels are set back behind a multi-lane street. Antibes would be better, and perhaps Cannes--although there again the hotels are mostly not right on the beach. If you just want close access to the beaches, there are many possibilities.

kerouac

The beaches of the southern Atlantic coast are far superior to the beaches of the Mediterranean, as far as I'm concerned. I would look at places like Hossegor or Capbreton.

http://www.hossegor.fr/en/discover/

http://www.capbreton-tourisme.com/?lang=en

travelhorizons

You're better off FLYING from London to an airport in the south of France. It may cost less, and you'll save an entire day on the train.

suec1

Nice has many apartments! you might want to check out the agency Nice Pebbles if you decide to stay in that city. You could probably stay there cheaper than Antibes but then take the bus there for a sandy beach.

StCirq

I agree that the southern Atlantic coast is much nicer (and less crowded) than the Riviera. There are actual sand beaches, and the prices are far better.