Hi,
My husband and I found a travel deal flying into and out of Lyon, France for a week in early June. Our first stop is Annecy for several days and then we are trying to decide on our second destination. We would love to go to the Riveria since we are getting the mountain view with Annecy. I realize a train ride down to the Riveria is lengthy, but it feels worth it to us. That being said, where would you stay in the Riveria? We like small towns. Is there a location that that makes the most sense based on where we are traveling from? Should we stop somewhere in Provence or in between or head straight there from Annecy? Any insights are appreciated!
Posted by
Seattle, WA, US
468 posts
Highly recommend Antibes--proximity to other coastal sites, Italy, Provence, and the Maritime Alps. We have friends who live there and have visited twice. Cliff hiking, pocket beaches, fine restaurants, beautiful and historic town, low key vibe, beautiful market, shops.
Posted by
Washington DC
28065 posts
Antibes is attractive and would be a good choice if you want to avoid big-city Nice. There's a regional train line running along the coast, so you can visit a bunch of places while staying in one of the coastal towns. I'd recommend putting together a list of the places you hope to see and checking a map to be sure your chosen base makes sense in terms of day-to-day travel time. The trains are relatively cheap, so cost won't be an issue.
If a lot of your targets are up in the hills (Eze Village, St-Paul-de-Vence, Vence, etc.), you'll need to take buses, in which case it will be useful to know that buses tend to fan out from Nice. It would be time-consuming to have to take a train to Nice, then get to the appropriate bus origination point, then take a bus to a place like St-Paul-de-Vence--and of course you'd be repeating that process on the return trip.
Posted by
OP
8 posts
Thanks! I appreciate the suggestions. We had been considering Antibes or the Villefranche-sur-Mer.