Riviera and Provence

I am traveling to France and have 8 days. I plan to spend the first 3 in Paris and then fly to Nice. I would ideally like to see the Riviera and Provence. Any suggested itineraries for 5 days? Rent a car or train or bus?

Thanks!

|||

I would forget about hiring a car unless you want to go inland to see the Bastide towns. If you want to move along the coast to places like Cannes, Antibes, Monaco, Italy then this can be done best by train and avoids the problem of car parking. Get yourself a Carte Isabel which is a day train ticket (11 euros)and you can move up and down the coast as many times as you like.

There is an excellent market (leather goods, jewellry, fabrics etc) in Ventimiglia on a Friday which is well worth visiting. You should spend an afternoon in Villefranche and if you like swimming the best sandy beach is at Juan les Pins (most beaches are pebble - so bring some footwear that you can swim in) . You should also look to visit Menton and Monte Carlo. If you want to visit the casino at Monte Carlo you must have your passport. Heading in the opposite direction, Antibes and San Raphael and Cannes are worth visits. There is also a train from Cannes inland to Grasse

Enjoy

|||

What are the Bastide towns?

|||

Same question as New Yorker in Tx What are Bastide towns?

|||

I looked it up online...seems to mean medieval %26quot;planned towns%26quot; whose foundations were castles...je ne sais pas...I%26#39;m interested to see which Bastides (Top 5) are recommended!

|||

Lived here four years and have never heard the term...

|||

I am out of town for now but I will check upon my return. If bastides towns are the medieval villages, I expect they would be the ones behind menton e.g. Peille, Peillon, Touet-L%26#39;Escarène, Gorbio, etc. They are nice but should be visited when you have plenty of time in your pocket... I am going to Nice at least once a year and I only visited them last year sinec Eze-Village, La Turbie and other villages are closer and a good introduction to medieval villages. The Gorges du lopu and Gorges du verdon are more relevant to visitors who have time in their hands.

|||

As I recall, Bastide towns are a specific kind of %26quot;planned city%26quot;, (or planned village) more common in the Dordogne area, but they may also be in Provence. They date from the 100 Years War, 1300s, and were developed because of the war. Domme in the Dordogne area is a pretty famous one. They are not neccessarily more beautiful than any other ancient village, so unless you are a history buff with a really specific interest in that period, no need to seek them out.

Investigate taking the train to Nice, might be almost as fast if you take the TGV and you get to see the countryside. Nice is a beautiful city, so make sure you leave a day just for that city. If you decide to rent a car in the south of France, perhaps you should just drive from Paris?

Our favorite non-beach place is the Pont du Gard and the museum there (Grand Expo du Pont du Gard). Amazing Roman monument and interesting museum, make sure it is open when you go there. Swimming beach and kayaks on the river bank under the bridge so take towels and swimsuits just in case.

|||

Thanks for all your responses. What about getting to/seeing the Avignon and Arles area?

|||

Arles and Avignon are certainly well worth seeing, especially if you are very interested in history. Avignon is a walled medieval city, very important in medieval history, and Arles has great Roman ruins and is scenic, too. (Pont du Gard is not far from Avignon). I am sure you can take trains to either place, but we drove. No train to Pont du Gard, though. We liked these areas better than the %26quot;Riviera%26quot; beach towns, some of which are pretty overbuilt and overcrowded with awful traffic; I have a feeling they were at their best many decades ago; but we are from S. California so European beaches are not a huge draw for us anyway. Nice is a wonderful city, though, with a nice, if rocky, beach.

|||

Avignon is about 2.5 hrs on a highway drive from Nice and Arles more or less the same. If you only have 5 days you will have to choose between these 2. I would personally go to Arles on a short schedule like yours. As for your other days, keep at least one full day for Nice, one for Eze-Village and Monaco, you can have one for museums in Nice (Chagall, Matisse, modern Art and les Beaux-Arts-Baumettes). Soo you still have another one for Cannes and Antibes-Juan Les Pins.