Advice on itinerary for Provence-Alps-Côte d’Azur region

I've been in SE France sinde May 1 and can comment on a few of your plans.

The Nice tourist office has brochures on some of the areas you plan to visit; take a list with you. I used the office in the free-standing building on the plaza in front of the main rail station.

Although I opted to skip Monaco myself, I've read good things about the prince's car collection and the Jardin Exotique right here on this board. I believe the Oceanography Museum is also quite good, but expensive. If you decide to see it, you might check into the Riviera Pass sold by the T.O. It might possibly pay off.

The train mostly runs to places along the coast. For the towns higher up (like Eze), you'll need to take a bus for at least part of the trip.

You can walk around Cap Ferrat, Cap d'Antibes and Cap Martin. Nearly all the mansions along the coast have high walls you can't see over, but the Mediterranean views are there for you. The paths are partly paved and partly sort of rocky, so they're not places for sandals. On average I may have covered just 2 mph because of the uneven surface. Take water and a snack if you haven't just had a good meal. And don't forget sunscreen. With tge limited time you have available, I suggestvtsking the full walkcaround just one of the peninsulas.

Vilka Ephrussi has very nice gardens. Will those and the furnishings interest you and your son? I wonder whether the Vilka Kerylos, a copy of an ancient Greek villa, might be a better choice. It's closer to the Beaulieu-sur-Mer train station. The Nice T.O. probablybhas brochures on both.

The Vurux Port area in Nice is very attractive, but Rick recommends stsying in one of the newer areas, I think to increase the odds of having working a/c, etc.

Villefranche is sttractive but small. The old section is a bit of a walk from the train station I haven't been to either Eze or Eze-sur-Mer. St.-Paul-de-Vence is also small. And very popular. It would probably help if you went there first thing in the morning. There are buses from Nice.

I enjoyed my day-trip to Antibes. The old town was less overrun than I was expecting.

Cassis has a pretty little harbor but is very touristy. To me, the reason to go there is to take a boat trip through the Calanques. Otherwise, I'd skip it (you have lots of other cute small coastal towns). Do some research on how to gain access to the Calanques for swimming.

I very much enjoyed Aix-en-Provence. It's a lovely city, though I suppose it has only two really significant sights. One is the Granet Museum (art), which may not interest you. The Camp des Milles memorial site is an impressive effort to explain the history of that transit camp, from which thousands of French citizens and refugees were shipped to Nazi death camps. There's an English-language audio guide that takes about 2 hours (including a couple of films), but that doesn't provide time for reading the informational displays, most of which have been translated into English.

I haven't yet progressed beyond Marseille, but I think canoeing under the Pont du Gard sounds like a fine idea.

I've been in SE France sinde May 1 and can comment on a few of your plans.

The Nice tourist office has brochures on some of the areas you plan to visit; take a list with you. I used the office in the free-standing building on the plaza in front of the main rail station.

Although I opted to skip Monaco myself, I've read good things about the prince's car collection and the Jardin Exotique right here on this board. I believe the Oceanography Museum is also quite good, but expensive. If you decide to see it, you might check into the Riviera Pass sold by the T.O. It might possibly pay off.

The train mostly runs to places along the coast. For the towns higher up (like Eze), you'll need to take a bus for at least part of the trip.

You can walk around Cap Ferrat, Cap d'Antibes and Cap Martin. Nearly all the mansions along the coast have high walls you can't see over, but the Mediterranean views are there for you. The paths are partly paved and partly sort of rocky, so they're not places for sandals. On average I may have covered just 2 mph because of the uneven surface. Take water and a snack if you haven't just had a good meal. And don't forget sunscreen. With tge limited time you have available, I suggestvtsking the full walkcaround just one of the peninsulas.

Vilka Ephrussi has very nice gardens. Will those and the furnishings interest you and your son? I wonder whether the Vilka Kerylos, a copy of an ancient Greek villa, might be a better choice. It's closer to the Beaulieu-sur-Mer train station. The Nice T.O. probablybhas brochures on both.

The Vurux Port area in Nice is very attractive, but Rick recommends stsying in one of the newer areas, I think to increase the odds of having working a/c, etc.

Villefranche is sttractive but small. The old section is a bit of a walk from the train station I haven't been to either Eze or Eze-sur-Mer. St.-Paul-de-Vence is also small. And very popular. It would probably help if you went there first thing in the morning. There are buses from Nice.

I enjoyed my day-trip to Antibes. The old town was less overrun than I was expecting.

Cassis has a pretty little harbor but is very touristy. To me, the reason to go there is to take a boat trip through the Calanques. Otherwise, I'd skip it (you have lots of other cute small coastal towns). Do some research on how to gain access to the Calanques for swimming.

I very much enjoyed Aix-en-Provence. It's a lovely city, though I suppose it has only two really significant sights. One is the Granet Museum (art), which may not interest you. The Camp des Milles memorial site is an impressive effort to explain the history of that transit camp, from which thousands of French citizens and refugees were shipped to Nazi death camps. There's an English-language audio guide that takes about 2 hours (including a couple of films), but that doesn't provide time for reading the informational displays, most of which have been translated into English.

I haven't yet progressed beyond Marseille, but I think canoeing under the Pont du Gard sounds like a fine idea.