And, here is question #2 (of several, I am sure). In our 4-week trip we are debating 2 options for our 2nd leg: 1) We could take the TGV from Paris to Marseille, spend 2 nights, then rent a car to drive to Moustiers and take a look at the Gorges du Verdon (stay over 1 night) and on to Nice area the next day. We would keep the car, then spend 3-4 nights at one of the villages and visit Cap Ferrat, Villefranche sur Mer, St. Paul de Vence and other wonderful places in the area. We have been to Nice, but have seen only Eze by bus, on a day trip with no car.
Or, 2) second option, we can skip Marseille, take the TGV from Paris to Nice, rent a car, and have 2-3 nights longer for that portion of our trip.
FYI: the third leg of our trip is 3-4 nights in Bordeaux (we'll fy from Nice to save time). We have not been to Bordeaux. Whatever time we have left will be allotted to our stay in Paris (which we love; but, where we have been 5-6 times).
I would love to hear your thoughts on whether it is worth giving up time in the Nice area for a short-ish visit to Marseille (where we have not been). Thanks to everyone who provides info. You are all incredibly helpful for trip planning. We had planned much of this trip last year (with your help) and then decided on traveling another direction during the strikes. So I already have a ton of great info about where to visit outside of Nice. Merci beaucoup!!! Susan