Base in Cotes d’Azur

Will you have a car (not that I necessarily recommend that, but it could change the answers)? What places do you want to see? Three nights is not long in this area, which has many pretty coastal towns and hill villages.

Nice is the transportation hub for both the regional train running along the coast and buses up into the hills, but other places definitely could work, depending on where you want to go. Lots of folks prefer to stay in a smaller place rather than the big city. You need to get hold of a guide book and do some research so you can tell us what sights you're interested in seeing.

I am doubtful about sleeping in Monaco, which I think would probably be expensive. It does have both bus and train service, but I don't know how convenient the lodgings would be to the train station and bus pick-up points. The country is super-tiny but hilly.

Hi,
Thanks for replying. I would prefer not to have a car (unfamiliar roads, parking issues, etc.). My daughter wants to rent a car. I think I will not as it seems that transportation via train, bus, Uber is fairly accessible. Our goal for this part of the trip is really to relax, walk, enjoy good food and do a little shopping. I was leaning toward Cannes because it sounds pretty and fun with nice beaches, however, something called the Lions Convention (big advertising convention) is going to be there during our planned dates so I’m concerned about that. I have heard other villages are lovely (Villefranche, Antibes, etc.) but I was thinking Cannes would be a good place to stay and then visit another village or two from there.

Cannes is one of the places I did not see, despite spending two weeks in Nice--but I was tied up for half of each day (Monday-Friday) with language classes.

Villefranche-sur-Mer is attractive/cute, but it is quite small. It's just a personal preference, but for a multi-night stay I prefer somewhere a bit larger and would chose Antibes. I know several people on the forum are fans of Villefranche, though. From a getting-around standpoint, either could work (as could Cannes), though I'd recommend selecting a hotel that's very convenient to the local train station, since you'll probably be making a couple of day-trips. If you want to go up into the hills (Eze, St-Paul-de-Vence, etc.), I think you'll need to use a combination of train + bus. This is easily doable, but it may chew up quite a bit of time, so I'd think seriously about whether a hill village is a priority. You will have time to see more different towns if you stick to places along the coast--of which there are many attractive options.

Watch out for pickpockets on the trains.

We stayed in Antibes for a week in mid April 2017 and did day trips using the excellent train service for visiting several cities/villages, one of which was Cannes. It didn't leave us with a good impression. Sure it has a large presence on the water but to us also has the feel of a big developed concrete city. We were happy to escape to our apartment in the smaller and more charming old town part of Antibes at the end of the day. In the end, it depends on your personal preference. I think all of the towns have similar access to the rail system, good tourist infrastructure, various levels of visual appeal, etc, but do you want a city vibe or a small town vibe. Cannes, Monte Carlo, Nice would fall into the former. Antibes, Villefranche, Menton, Eze the latter.

Edit to add... Oh, yes, the pickpockets. Girl walks up behind me as I was boarding the train in Nice. I can feel a hand searching for my front right pants pocket. I move to grab her hand but she pulls away and I spin around and push her backwards, also affecting several dignified looking seniors behind her. She exits onto the platform and scowls at me. Once on the train, one of the dignified ladies says to me with her French accent "That's not a way to treat a woman".

I'm personally not a fan of Monaco for more than a day trip, unless you really want to do high end shopping, tax free. However, there are top end hotels and restaurants aplenty -- it can be a bit pricey (except in the old town and the outskirts). On the same note, Antibes is more small shops and the market -- it really does not have the shopping of high end Cannes or the wide variety of Nice. You will have to take a trip out for that. Depending on the size of the convention, Cannes can easily get overrun (I've been there during major conventions -- on the attendee side, and it transforms, not in a good way. Also pricing is often elevated well above what you would normally pay, which tends to be high already, with spillover into Antibes/Juan les Pins). I'd check out availability and then look towards Nice and Monaco, possibly Antibes or Villefrance (which is quite small).

We spent a lovely day in Villefranche taking the bus back and forth from Nice. I was jpset to learn that it is a cruise ship port and that we were lucky none were in town that day.

Antibes is the best place. It has nice sand beaches, a walled medieval center, a nice marina (with big yachts), an art gallery, assorted cafes and bard - all in a walkable area. The train station is a little walk depending on where you're at but the train is by far the best way to get up and down the coast to see anywhere from Cannes to Menton (by the Italian border). St. Tropez seemed a little far.

And St.-Tropez has no rail service, so it would go to the very bottom of my list of coastal-towns-to-visit on a short trip. I certainly wouldn't stay there unless I had a rental car and wanted primarily to see inland hill towns where the car would be useful. It's just much too easy to zip back and forth along the coast by train. As long as you're not talking about St.-Tropez. (Which may be a lovely place for all I know, but there's no shortage of those.)

Thank you everyone. Lot’s of great information. Leaning toward Antibes! Now to find a good hotel there!(-:

In between Villefranche and Antibes, literally in the center of everything, is Nice. Stay down by the port, and enjoy the food, the old town, the markets, the museums! If you didn't stay put the whole 3 days, Antibes is a great visit by train, and Villefranche is an easy bus ride away, but you'll have some steep walking to do around Villefranche.