Hi everyone,
My family of 5 will be staying in Vieille Ville, Antibes, and I’m debating whether we should rent a car. I’ve read mixed opinions, and I’d love your insight. A few questions:
1. Is it realistic (or worth it) to have a car while staying in the Old Town of Antibes?
2. How difficult is it to drive a larger vehicle (van or SUV) around Antibes and nearby towns?
3. Are parking garages in or near Vieille Ville spacious enough for a larger car?
I have no experience driving in Europe, but a basic question is whether a car will really be useful for your planned itinerary. The regional rail line hits essentially all the French coastal towns and villages east of St.-Tropez (which doesn't have a train station). The more coast-focused your plans are, the less helpful a car is likeIy to be; both traffic and parking can be significant challenges in that area, and needing a car that accommodates 5 people isn't going to make parking easier.
If you plan to go to a bunch of hill towns, a car could be useful. Buses go up into the hills to places like Eze Village, St-Paul-de-Vence and Vence, but a private car will be faster. (That's assuming you don't have to spend too much time retrieving the car from the godforsaken parking lot you stashed it in.)
If you've sketched out your sightseeing plans, there are folks here who can provide more-useful information.
Antibes is a great place to stay but a terrible place to drive in, unless you plan to park the car in the modern town. Ditto with many of the interesting small towns in the region. I remember driving to Gordes. The rental agency had given us a mid-size, probably thinking they were doing us a favor. We needed to make a few three-point turns to negotiate steep and narrow lanes. Even the departmental routes (highways) in the region were narrower than what I am used to in the US. I was always moving over in the face of oncoming traffic.
Thanks. Have you driven to Saint Remy? Are the roads narrow and steep from Antibes?
Most people drive the autoroute from Antibes to Saint Remy. It's fairly flat. Saint Remy is flat. You have wide two-lane roads in this area once you leave the autoroute. You don't need a car until you leave Antibes. Parking spaces are much narrower than you are used to in the US, and many are best entered in reverse, which is very common in France.
A SUV is fine for Provence but not for historic centers of towns. Park and walk. You won't have any problem in most of Provence with a SUV.
