South of France?

[pinkmomagain]

I am lost with how to plan a couple of days in the South of France. We are heading on a river cruise for our 25th wedding anniversary this Fall. We are flying into Nice a couple of days early as I've never been in this region before. I know that Cannes and Monaco are nearby. I'd really like to visit Eze. What are the must-sees and what's just not worth it? We will fly into Nice on a Friday morning and need to be in Avignon on Sunday afternoon. Should we keep Nice as a homebase and visit these nearby location? Any thoughts, suggestions are appreciated!

[candaceb]

I did junior year abroad in Aix-en-Provence and spent a bunch of time traveling in the south, and then I went back with my now DH. I like Cannes as a base rather than Nice - it's more central. The area is small enough that you can pick a base and travel from there. When I went with DH in '99, we stayed at a darling B&B called l'Orangerie but I'm not coming up with it on google. That was a long time ago!
Grasse is a neat place to stop on your way to or from something else - I will never forget the smell as you drive into the town.
I really like Antibes - especially the Picasso museum in Chateau Grimaldi.

[pinkmomagain]

I did junior year abroad in Aix-en-Provence and spent a bunch of time traveling in the south, and then I went back with my now DH. I like Cannes as a base rather than Nice - it's more central. The area is small enough that you can pick a base and travel from there. When I went with DH in '99, we stayed at a darling B&B called l'Orangerie but I'm not coming up with it on google. That was a long time ago!
Grasse is a neat place to stop on your way to or from something else - I will never forget the smell as you drive into the town.
I really like Antibes - especially the Picasso museum in Chateau Grimaldi.

Thanks so much for your feedback. You've given me some more spots to consider!

[candaceb]

one tip that I thought of - do not get the cheapest rental car. They have no power to make it up the hills and when you add that to the fact that most americans aren't used to driving stick, it was a nightmare.

[mmsmom]

I have spent a few days in Nice and taken the train from there to Cannes for dinner... late afternoon train, walked around Cannes for a couple hours, dinner, then train back to Nice. I think it is around 45 minutes each way. The Matisse museum in Nice is good.

[marinkitty]

Double post. See next one!

[marinkitty]

I did a trip all through Provence with my mom many years ago. We didn't choose one base - we drove around and found spots to stay a day or two ahead (with a rough idea in our minds where we wanted to end up). We were there in late April so that was totally doable. Probably not as easy in high season. We flew into Nice and stayed one night there. We also spent nights in Aix, Arles (if you want nature, go to the Camargue for wild horses and flamingos), L'Isle sur la Sorgue (great antiques/farmer's market - we stayed at a little place near an old water mill that was super charming), Lacoste (when we were there the castle of the Marquis de Sade was still a total ruin - the town was eerie and so neat at night with no one there), Cassis (definitely spend part of a day in the calanques (reachable by hike or boat) if you go there). I also remember liking Gordes, Roussillon, Les Baux de Provence and the Pont du Gard (where we spent a lazy afternoon swimming in the river and reading on the bridge).

I think the charm of Provence is in the countryside and the little villages. Not so much Nice, Cannes and Monte Carlo or just sticking to the fancy Cote d'Azur spots. Rent a car and just get inland and you will find so much to love. Less sightseeing more soaking it in. Cafes in tiny villages watching the old men play boules. Fabulous dinners in tiny four table restaurants. Picnics in fields of poppies with local cheeses and wines (or lavender or sun flowers depending on time of year). The Luberon is a gorgeous area to spend a day or two driving around. My mom is a huge Peter Mayle fan so we visited a lot of spots he mentioned in his books vs. going to the main tourist spots (although we hit some of those too).

[ged]

Another possibility is to head to the Ligurian coast if you want a little taste of Italy (including pesto's home, Genoa).

In So. France, I enjoyed Aix-en-Provence, Cassis, the Camargue (La Chassagnette was memorable), and Arles/Pont du Gard. We did the touristy Van Gogh trail in Arles, and enjoyed it. I also really liked Marseille.