Cassis or Verdon Gorge?

Ouch, 2 musts! :-)
So I went on a few sites to know when is the flowering of lavander. They say that around the Luberon region, it usually start mid-june.
So you might not see them at full flowering, but probably worth going.
So in that case, here's what I would do.
Go to les gorges du verdon. You can drive on top in narrow roads for absolutly spectacular sceneries. You can also kayak or pedalboat in this fantastic emerald blue water.
Next, make sure to see one of the nicest village in France, Moustiers Ste-Marie. It is touristy but the setting is unmatched.
Next, take the road of to Puimoisson and then to Valensole, this slowly brings you to the Luberon region.
We did something similar in 2011. We stopped every mile for pictures. :-)
Here's a nice website for info on lavander roads:
http://www.grande-traversee-alpes.com/en/routes-de-la-lavande/the-routes

Cassis is a small, attractive but very touristy coastal town. The boat trip to the Calanques (which I did from Marseille since I was staying there) is very nice, but I didn't se anything unmissable about Cassis itself. I think its advantages sometimes get exaggerated because it lacks the very rough-and-ready quality of Marseille, a few miles to the west.

I wasn't able to see the gorge (it was too early in the year for public transportation to be running), but I'd vote for the gorge.

I went to the gorge a few years ago. If you've seen the Grand Canyon, you're in for a big disappointment. I'd recommend Cassis instead.

I've driven around the gorge, and stayed in Cassis. The gorge was interesting, but I'd pick Cassis. On the other hand, Moustier Saint Marie, near the gorges, is amazing.

Thanks claudecyr65 for the detailed route. The drive to gorge does seem interesting but a long one as well. If the chances of lavender fields are sleek, we might skip going all the way up.

If we are to skip both, what other options do you suggest around Nice? Is St Paul de Vence worth a visit? Not that keen on Grasse.

Day 1 - Eze village and around. Spend the evening in Villefrance sur mer.
Day 2 - Half a day at Monaco. Rest of the day in Nice.
Day 3 - Antibes, Cannes? Will this take up the entire day?
Day 4 - ??

What we do on day 3 and 4 is going to decide if we should be renting a car.

Thank you all,
Komal

Pleasure.
St-Paul de Vence is a nice village to see.
I went to eze as well.
Didn't do anything else aside from Monaco.
I preferred Provence over la Côte d'Azur.
Cassis is also a good drive but you could do Cassis and the creeks between Cassis and Marseille

My sister and I spent a night in Cassis in 2009 in early October. It was a lovely harbor town with lots of boats moored at the docks, groups of men playing petanque (a french bowling game) in the town square and a small beach. The attraction for me was the Calanques (a corsican word meaning inlet), which are beautiful limestone inlets. The first one is filled with boats but the second one was beautiful and we had a great swim there. It was within walking distance from the town.

And to add to the above comment on the Calanques, you can also take a boat to visit the 5.
Calanque d'en vau was the most spectacular if I recall and also named one of top 10 beaches in the world

Moustiers Ste. Marie is amazing.

After a lot of thought, we have decided to stick to cote d'azur region for this trip. Save Provence for another trip.

1. St Paul de Vence and Vence (half day)
2. Antibes, Cannes and a trip to the Lerins Island (full day)
3. Villefranche Sur Mer and the seaside walk on Cap Ferrat (half day)
4. Train des merveilles to Tende and back (full day)

We have a day left after doing Nice town, Monaco and Menton nicely. Which out of the above options should we select?

Thank you all.

Yeah, I realise it now. So, here's the final plan now -

1. Reach Nice. Go to Eze Village. Spend the evening on Promenade.
2. Visit to Castle Hill in the morning. Leave for Cannes by train. After a short city walk, head to Lerins Island. Spend the later half of the afternoon there. Return to Nice by train late evening.
3. Visit Monaco for the day.
4. Start early. Visit VilleFranche Sur Mer. Go to Cap Ferrat for the seaside walk (the shorter 40 mins walk). Reach Nice airport late evening for the flight.

Skipping antibes and St. Paul de Vence. Any suggestions/concerns to the above plan are welcome.

Thank you very much.

Thank you :)

Menton is in the plan but depends on when we get done with Monaco :) There is quite some walk and with the kid + heat, we never know how long will it take. Will decide on the fly, good to know it is doable :)

Which beach should we spend the evening on in Menton?