Will be flying to Nice on Aug with husband and our 11 yr old. Looking for hotels either 4 or 3 star. But do not know where. We want to see Nice, Monte Carlo and Cannes. Where would be the best place to get a hotel and have easy access to all these places? This is our first time and have no clue at all. We have allowed 4N/5D stay here. Or is it too long?

>>Or is it too long?

I would stay in Nice. You can take the bus to Monte Carlo for 2 euros round trip, real easy. We took the train to Cannes and I think it was 23 euros for a round trip. Nice is a beautiful city with lots of good cafes and restaurants. Our personal favorite is Le Petit Maison.

Hotel Massenet is a pretty good basic hotel, near the Promenade and the Massena Square. It is nothing fancy but it is very clean and the staff are very helpful and friendly.

Have a great trip!

Agree with Stu on the Windsor, and on staying in Nice, and that you'll wish you had more days. Buses are convenient for many day trips, and the small railway to Entrevaux makes an enjoyable day trip (but only if you're up for a somewhat vertical hike!). Our visit was in winter, but there are more visual ideas in our phototravelogue at http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...g&x=0&y=-run25

I agree, stay in Nice, it will be the best for traveling about. I will 3rd the Hotel Windsor, I now live in Nice but stayed here before moving and really enjoyed it. It even has a small pool, though it was really cold when we were there and that was in mid-June.

Semi-Mike : Thanks for posting your photos, I loved the slideshow while kicking back having my coffee this am. And I learned quite a bit, I go to the Saleya market almost every week and never knew that was Matisse's house. Entreveux looks lovely, I have never visited but it is going to the top of my list for something to do soon. Great job, and glad you enjoyed your stay.

On Cannes, My prefered hotel is the Carlton. It's expensive but the seaview is unique. It's one of the best famous hotel in the French Riviera. After, I suggest you to party to the Baoli. It's very hype and luxury.It's a restaurant very refined and a nightbox.

Does anyone know if buses go directly from Cannes to Monte Carlo?

I definitely agree about Nice. It's the easiest place to base yourself and has good transport links (trains, buses) to the other cities you want to visit.

I've stayed in a number of places there, including Hotel West End (great) and Hotel Gounoud (basic, but nice).

Four/five days isn't nearly enough time to see all the area has to offer, but if you're ambitious you can see the highlights!

Thanks everyone for the input! Really helpfuf and highly appreciated. What I have read on these places are starting to make sense. Does anyone know or have an idea about this hotel, La Malmaison? Thanks!

ooops!I meant, "helpful.

I think that Antibes/Juan les Pins is the place to stay. It is right between Cannes and Nice on the train line, so either place is easy to reach by car or train. It is quieter than either Nice or Cannes, but still has a lively old town with good dining options at all price points. The beaches are great, and JLP offers a lot of kid-type diversions for your 11 year old. When we stay in Antibes, we visit all of the coastal towns via train. We always do a day in Cannes and Nice, and sometimes Menton as well. This year we have a car in order to visit the hill towns. If you do stay in Nice, I recommend the La Perouse.
Have a great trip. we'll be there in less than two weeks!

I agree with staying in Antibes. Of the other 3, Nice is by far the best choice.

I was told the beaches were better in Cannes which is where we booked our hotel for our upcoming visit in July. Sounds like Nice is the better choice?

The beaches are much better in Cannes but Nice is the place to stay if you want to visit the hill towns and Monaco. We had rented a car and returned it as we found it so easy to travel everywhere from there by bus or train and not have to worry about the expensive parking.

Thank you Micheline. We were booked at the Intercontinental Cannes Any suggestions if we switch to Nice?

We rented a two bedroom apartment in Nice. There are many one bedrooms at this site as well. It was only 400 euros a week in September but I noticed prices have gone up quite a bit.
http://www.homelidays.co.uk/nice/apa...-177081en1.htm.

The year before we stayed at the Hotel Flore. It was very nice and central but very small. We found it at venere.com.

Bookmarking

I'm going to make an alternative suggestion. We stayed in Nice at the Hotel Grimaldi and totally enjoyed our visit. We did not rent a car but instead took advantage of the excellent and easy rail and bus service from Nice to the following:
Grasse
Mougins
Vence
St. Paul de Vence
Cannes
Cagnes sur Mer
Antibes
Eze (hiked up from Eze sur Mer)
Menton
Monte Carlo
and others!

But I'm not saying "Do as we did" For your needs....

...Stay in Villefranche sur Mer. Nice is a spit from it by rail so you can have all your big city amenities with the same rail access, almost as easy bus access and a more "chill" town in which to stay for your little one. That hike up the hill we did to Eze from the rail station at Eze sur Mer would be fun for your little one. The aquarium at Monte Carlo is a delight. And you can come home after your adventures to a more homey place.

I liked Antibes too! Same thing, though--more chill town, easy rail access to big city (Cannes) and lots and lots of touring options.

However, if that's not your vibe, then Nice by all means. NOT Monte Carlo (think lots of cement) and not Cannes (not bad but sort of creepy in places).

...but have to admit we liked riding the little train tours in Cannes.

I'm a sucker for those.

We stayed in Villefranche ourselves a couple of years ago and were very happy with the choice. You can take the local bus into Cannes (which we did) and also took the bus to Monte Carlo in the opposite direction. It was a lovely little seaside village vs the big city of Cannes. we stayed a couple of blocks off the water and there were dozens of restaurants for eating at night. Can't remember our hotel...it did give us a nice view of the harbor--which is stunning--but the hotel was not that memorable. I think it all depends what you like but know that buses run up and down the coast so you can stay anywhere along the route.