We will be leaving friends after a few weeks of travel around Paris and have not explored the Southern coast of France. We are experienced travelers willing to wing it ( have driven throughout Italy many times and love the freedom that provides) However with our return to the states being 6:30 am from Marsaille I’m considering train travel along the Coast to Nice and back as we just have 4 full days.
It sounds romantic to tour villages inland. If anyone has a favorite place between Avignon and Nice I’d love the recommendation.
Thanks we had our best travel advice from this forum.
There are many "romantic inland villages" but they will be difficult to explore without a car.
Rick's guidebook has a good list of and descriptions of the romantic inland villages along this route.
There are actually too many to list here.
Make sure you look at www.les-plus-beaux-villages-de-france.org/en
These are the best villages in France and are all worth a look. You might make a decision based on this.
One idea is to rent a car and drive through villages like Gordes, Menerbes, and Bonnieux, enjoying the daily markets.
Another idea is to train from Avignon into Arles and down into Marseille, and just enjoy these towns with out a car.
Best western marseille airport is great for an early flight BTW