Hi everyone -

I've already gathered lots of great info that is helping us plan our honeymoon to the Riviera and Provence in June. I need help with this, though:

My other half wants to get in some good beach time - for this, should we stay in Cannes, St. Tropez or somewhere in between for good hotels near (or on) great beaches? Cannes seems to be more local, and would allow us to visit other towns easily (Mougins, Vence, etc.) - but does St. Tropez have the better beaches?

Does anyone have any hotels suggestions in either place?

We are also going to spend two nights directly in Nice, so we'll explore that end of the Riviera separately.

Thanks!!

>>but does St. Tropez have the better beaches?<<

IMO it does - but they are not in town. The "famous" ones you hear about are 15-20 mins away by car.

Stu Dudley

Pampelonne beaches is where you want to be. They are outside of Saint Tropez. You can stay in Saint Tropez but I would suggest a little town called Ramatuelle. There is a hotel called Le Baou ....expensive if you can afford it. But there are other hotels there. Ramatuelle is a great base. You can visit the hilltop village of Grimaud and the little venice of france called Port Grimaud. There are a few wineries just outside Ramatuelle and this little town has a great little market. The town square has a little shop with the best pottery in the area. The Pampleonne beaches are private beaches but they are not expensive. It cost me about $6 to park and then i rented a couple of chaise lounges and umbrellas...but that is optional. Your hotel can give you directions. We always go to the Morea beach but once on the beach you can just walk to the other beaches...they are all connected.

While you are in Nice, I highly recommend visiting Mougins (there is a Picasso museum there) and Saint Paul de Vence...not Vence. When you're in Saint Paul de Vence, visit the hotel La Colombe d'or. It has a restaurant that is expensive but check out the lunch menu. You should walk around in the hotel and look at the paintings. Several famous artists paid for their lodging/dining with their artwork. it's quite impressive.

For good beaches and proximity to the fun of Nice, Antibes works nicel.

St Tropez has better beaches than Cannes, although they are a short drive from the town. Most of the beach in Cannes is private and it can get very busy. Not all of the beaches are private in St Tropez. You can catch a bus from the town to the beaches if you're not hiring a car.

One of my favourite beaches is Villefranche-sur-Mer, a short drive from Nice (or about two stops on the train and the station is a couple of minutes walk from the beach) - lovely sandy bay, shallow clear water, great view of Cap Ferrat.

Last year I visited Bormes les Mimosas, which is a lovely village near Toulon, and travelled by boat to Iles de Hyeres where you can find fantastic beaches.

I'd definately recommend a visit to Mougins (great restaurants), St Paul de Vence (but not Vence) and Eze (a perched village between Nice and Monaco).

I wouldn't bother visiting Antibes. It has a nice old town (but so does Nice) and luxury boats, but it's overcrowded and you have to watch where you walk all the time - there's a large dog population, the pavements are a mess and unlike other tourist towns in the region it appears that the mayor does nothing about it!

Are you planning to visit Monaco?

Ru

Thank you very much!

So, I think we will look to stay in St Tropez or Ramatuelle.

We will visit Mougins, Grimaud and St. Paul de Vence.

I wasn't necessarily planning on visiting Monaco - is it great? Should we make sure to include it? If so, can you drive and park there easily?

Some people love Monaco and others don't. I have always enjoyed it. There is a large parking garage underneath the town, with elevators up to the top. Easy to find if you have a map.

If you have time then Monaco is a nice place to visit on a day trip from Nice. If you're driving then you could visit Monaco and Eze in the same day - drive on the Moyenne Corniche from Nice to Monaco and it goes past the old village of Eze (perched on the hill above Eze-sur-Mer). The car park is at the bottom of the village next to the main road.

There are lots of underground public car parks in Monaco. The easiest one to get to is probably in the main port area. It's worth walking up to the old town for the view over Monaco and to see the palace (the changing of the guard is at 11.55 am), cathedral (with the tomb of Princess Grace) and the Oceanography Museum. On the other side of the port area is Monte Carlo with the casino.

If you visit Eze, it's worth visiting the exotic garden at the top of the village for the fantastic views of the coast. They've recently added some wooden loungers to one section of the garden so you can relax and take in the view of Cap Ferret and beyond.

You'll find lots of hotels listed on the tourist site for St Tropez: www.ot-saint-tropez.com. I've stayed at Hotel Le Mouillage - www.hotelmouillage.fr - which is lovely, but about 10-15 minutes walk from the centre of the town.

Have a look at this site for restaurant recommendations: www.guidegantie.com. I've been to La Table du Marche (www.christophe-leroy.com) and La Dame de Coeur (need to reserve, excellent good value restaurant) on Rue de la Misericorde in St Tropez.

In Nice, I've been to Restaurant La Diva a few times, after it was recommended to me by a friend, and always have a good meal - www.restaurant-diva.com.

Another restaurant that I like in Nice is Le Safari on Cours Saleya in the old town - with tables spreading out on to the market place, great for people watching.

During the day, I'd recommend walking up the steps (or taking the lift) to the top of the hill at the eastern edge of Cours Saleya for a great view over Nice. There's a large antiques market in Cours Saleya on a Monday and a mix of food and flower markets on other days.