Hi,
Any of you guys who have been South of France, can you tell us the %26quot;must see%26quot; places %26amp; also locations that are not too flooded with tourists.
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I took an overnight train from Paris to Nice. I always travel off season. %26lt;May 15 %26gt; September 15 Never a crowd.
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The obvious city to visit is Nice on the Côte d%26#39;Azur - beautiful in its own right with much to see and do. It is also a good base for making day-trips to Monaco, Cannes, Saint-Paul-de-Vence and Menton.
Further east is the lovely Aix-en-Provence - an ancient town full of charm and Provençal atmosphere. From there you can plan day-trips to Marseille, Arles and Cassis.
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Definitely stay in Nice! It is a CITY and much larger than you might imagine so stay near the water in Old Nice or near it. Take those day trips as mentioned by another responder. IMO Aix-en-Provence is a side trip. We went there for the day by bus--visited Cezanne%26#39;s studio and shopped. We also took
MediTours into the hill towns. This and other companies like it take you, by van, into some of the hard to get to villages in the hills. Wonderful trip--beautiful views. Depending on the length of your stay, you could then move on to Avignon. From here it%26#39;s easy to visit Arles,Nimes, Beaux, St. Remy and the hill towns of the Luberon Valley.
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Google these places along the Cote d%26#39;Azur, they were among my favorites:
Antibes, Cannes, Juan les Pins, Nice, Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Eze, Monaco.
Unfortunately, they are all very popular with tourists, but if you go in the off-season it won%26#39;t be as bad as in August. I went in very early June and it wasn%26#39;t too crowded.
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Sadly, a lot of the South of France is very touristy, but not to the same extent as, say, Paris.
It is a beautiful place, and as other posters have said, Nice is a great base. It has the famous Promenade, fashionista shops, lovely food, the Old Tow n, museums and much more. I highly recommend a walk up to the Castle above the city to see the amazing views over the port and Promenade, followed by a trip to the old town for an ice cream or perhaps a Morrocan mint tea at Nocy Be on the Rue Jules-Gilly.
Other %26quot;must see%26quot; things for me in the area are:
Gourdon, a village perched up on top of the hills above Nice. It has a panoramic view of the coast below and the drive up there is great in itself.
The Gorges du Loup and the Confiserie des Gorges-du-Loup Florian, where you can see sweets, jams and candied peels being made.
Tourrettes-sur-Loup, a village around 8km from the Gorges, which clings to the top of another mountain. You can find almost anything involving violets (the big local product!) here, including amazing violet ice cream from Tom%26#39;s. If you fancy something to eat there is the lovely Grand Mere restaurant, which specialises in couscous dishes.
Also, go and see the Villa Ephussi and the Chapel designed by Matisse in Vence.
I think it is worth seeing Monaco once, but just for the sake of it. Cannes is awful, nothing there but perma-tanned people and the famous threatre.
Also, you might want to ask your question again on the Cote d%26#39;Azur forum (if you haven%26#39;t already!) as there are lots of knowledgeable travelers on there!
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In May 2007, we stayed at the Hotel Negresco in Nice and as part of a tour we went to Monaco, Aix-en-Provence, Arles, Avignon,Nimes, and St. Remy. Unfortunately we did not get to see Beaulieu-sur-Mer (to see the Villa Kerylos), Eze, and Marseille, specifically.
I agree with an earlier poster that the Villa Ephussi is definitely a place to stop. We had a delightful lunch. Monaco was great, but we did not have enough time to see everything as they were preparing for the Grande Prix. We did get to see the church where Princess Grace got married which is also where she is buried along with other members of the royal family. The public portion of the palace was also wonderful to see.
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If you avoid July %26amp; August the area shouldn%26#39;t be overrun with tourists. Otherwise beware - someone once told me it took him 5 hours to drive from St Paul de Vence to St Tropez! Normally it should take around 1 hour.
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Come and visit us on the TA Nice Forum. we are ready to gladly answer your questions.
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I am surprised that Saint Paul de Vence has not been mentioned. I would also choose not to stay in Nice, the 5th largest city in France. It does have a lovely waterfront area and a nice old quarter, but the charm of Southern France, is Provence also. Eze is beautifiul. Monte Carlo, unless you just want to say you have been there or want to gamble, is a waste of time. Aix-in-Provence, Arles, Orange. When are you going? If you are going during %26quot;Market Time%26quot;---- what a wonderful thing to do for part of a day.
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Here is an example of what to do in Nice for a one week stay. And that is just an example I%26#39;ve often given to. You can add or substract as you wish.
Of course you will have to help yourself with a guidebook. Since you will be there for a week, I suggest you get one that gives info info mostly on Nice and not Provence and Côte d’Azur. I have one by Hachette Books titled “A weekend in Nice”, it includes also a city map.
Websites like the Nice city’s Tourist Bureau website http://www.nicetourisme.com/GB/somtxt.html and one for the Old Town http://www.oldnice.com/ may be helpful.
There are musts like walking on the Promenade des Anglais , both looking at the sea, the beach and the hotels.
The Old Town and the Cours Saléya: Start from Place Masséna and walk towards the Promenade on Rue de l’Opéra. Make a left on Rue St-Francois-de-Paule, check the boutiques but don’t buy there (touristy prices way too high). Walk straight ahead to the Marché aux Fleurs (Cours Saléya). There is a market every day except Mondays. Walk to the end of the market and you get to the Chapelle du St-Suaire. Make a left on J” Gilly street . It ends on Rue de la Préfecture. Make a left there and walk until you reach Rue Ste-Réparate. Make a right and you will see the Cathedral Ste-Réparate and get on Place Rossetti. Very typical (look at the warmth of colours if you are there 1hr or 2 before sunset). A left on Rue Rossetti until you reach Rue Droite. Make a left on Rue Droite and walk to its end. Stop by Palais Lascaris (free visit) and some nice artist shops (check Christian Dury’s gallerie =%26gt; he puts typical Nice things in Plexiglas frames). Rue Droite falls into Rue St-François the in Rue Pairolière. Both typical Old Nice streets with locals shops, food store, fish and meat stores, etc. Open your eyesand your ears and take a deep breath. Now you see the real thing. You get to the Place Garibaldi. Time for lunch. Help yourself, there are plenty nice spots at cheap prices.
From Place Garibaldi keep your right and stay on Rue Catherine Ségurane from where you will get a road that brings you up the Castle Hill (Colline du Chateau). Walk up to its top and have a look at the whole area (the Port, the beaches, the town). Stop by the Cemetery on your way down and wak to the Port. Look at the small fishermen boats on Quai des Deux Emmanuel. And walk back to town circling the Castle Hill by walking on the sea side to reach back Promenade des Anglais.
That one should take not far from a day long, especially if you stop often at boutiques or for an ice cream cone…
Another nice day is going to Villa Éphrussi Rotschild by Bus 81 (starts from Gare Routière). It accepts regular bus tickets (4 euro fro a day, around 15 euro for a week pass with unlimited travel). Ask the driver for the name of the bus stop right at the doorsteps of the Villa. A superb mansion with 7 fantastic gardens. 2hours of pure delight. Wanna have fun and see the real thing once again. When you get out of the Villa walk to your left. The road goes up a bit, walk on the road to your left. It goes down towards St-Jean-Cap Ferrat where you can stop for lunch and get back to Nice with Bus 81 once again. Or you could even walk on the seaside towards Bealieu-sur-Mer using the trail called Sentier des Douaniers. It is about an hour walk and you could then visit Beaulieu, its Villa Kerylos and get back to Nice by train.
You are there on a Friday. Take the train to Vintimille (Ventimiglia in Italian), a small Italian town where you have a well-known market. You can’t get lost. When you get out of the train station walk straight ahead. 200 ft and it’s crowded, you just found the market! Before getting in it, look on your right for the food market. You wanna see Italians wheeling and dealing? Get in there and have fun? Back to the real market, you can get good deals on leather, cashmere wool, etc. Beware the Africans dealers. It’s no good deal!. The morning is enough for the market. There are some nice rItalian restaurants at cheap prices if you don’t mind walking a block or 2 on your right (eastbound), getting away from the market. Back on the train to Nice, get down at Monaco (not the Ste-Dévote Chapel exit at the back of the train butr the on at the head of the train). Have fun for the afternoon in Monte-Carlo.
Already 3 days gone. Like art? Get a car or take the bus to Vence and St-Paul-de-Vence. It’s about ¾ hour from Nice and take the day for both villages. If you rented a car and feel like shopping with the locals crowd, stop by St-Laurent-du-Var Cap 2000 shopping centre. A huge one.
Museums? Like Modern Art? The Mamac Museum of Modern Art is a must. Then you have both Chagall and Matisse Museum on bus route 15 from the City centre.
Wanna shop? Rue Jean Médecin, rue de l’Hotel des POstes. Rue Gioffredi are all street you should not miss and you have the Centre de l’Étoile shopping Centre on Rue Jean Médecin along with the Galeries Lafayette, the Monoprix for food and clothes and the FNAC for records and books (along with Virgin Megastore across the street). There are walking only streets close to that area and they are fuil of shops and restaurants.
You could take the bus to Eze-Village, a medieval village that must be seen. Menton along the coast is also quite nice to see and has its own Old Town.
Westbound towards Cannes, you have Antibes and Juan les Pins that can be reached easily by bus.
If you rent a car, Mougins and Biot are quite nice to see.
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