French Riviera, Provence, Cinque Terre in the Fall

October can be a rainy month or it can also be pretty nice -- it really does vary. Towards the end of the month, the risk is greater, as you might expect. It will be better weather than the PNW, for certain.. I've been on the Cinque Terre in November and after a rain, the paths can be quite soggy and slick. Aside from the first path, the routes become increasingly goat-trail like. Note that seasonal businesses like beach clubs will be largely closed and even in some villages, including in Provence, some smaller businesses will have shut down for the season.

5 Terre crowds aside (can't advise on that), I'd favor late September over October. You'll get a much higher chance of 100% dry weather, and longer days.

We did CT the 3rd week of Sept on both our visits, and we've done the south of France 3 times - in July, the last week of Sept and the first week of Oct (Nice area, as well as Provence and Carcassonne). Other then a major rainstorm during our trip the first week of Oct (the one that caused flooding and deaths in the Riviera area back in 2015) the weather was amazing. Not extremely hot. The afternoon we spent in Monaco in early Oct felt like August does at home. I'm sure on our Oct trip to Provence, we used the air con at our airbnb.

Our two visits to CT were in 2008 and 2012. The 2nd trip was super busy and crowded compared to the one before. One big reason is because it's no longer a back door site, but we were also there over a weekend the 2nd time as opposed to weekdays like our first visit. I'd say if you do go in Sept, if you can plan it so you're there thru the week instead of Fri-Sun, it MIGHT be a little more bearable. (But I also haven't been there for 7 years, so it could just be bad no matter the day). But the best thing you can do is stay in one of the villages (we chose Corniglia both times just because it was the smallest and least touristy) or very close by, so you can get out early and be there after hours (after the day trippers have gone).

I went to Provence once in mid-October and thought it was perfect. Still warm, not crowded but not closed down. I really really enjoyed being there at that time.

I've been to the Cinque Terre a few times (just two months ago) and to all of these places in May 2017.

October might be a great time for the CT - I had great weather there on my first visit in October years ago. I've been back in September and May since - always been lucky with good weather. Two months ago, I moved up my arrival in the CT a few days so I could get in and out before the rains started. But I had a flexible schedule.

Yeah, we get our share of rain in the PNW, but it's still no fun trying to hike in the rain on some steep trails in the CT, with many steps up and down. I wouldn't want to hike in the CT in the rain. Were you planning to hike? Honestly, I'm not sure the villages are worth a lot of effort to see unless you are hikers. The views from the trails are amazing, and the towns are lovely, but there isn't much to see in the towns - and they do get crowded especially mid-day.

I've always stayed in Levanto, one town north of Monterosso (but still covered by the CT train pass). You can even hike from Levanto back to Monterosso, something I finally did on my recent trip. Not crowded and some great views down. Took 2-3 hours and steep up and down. I also hiked the steep trail from Manarola to Corniglia via the town of Volastra - amazing views, just breathtaking, but many steps up and down (a bus can take you up from Manarola to Volastra). The lower trail between Manarola and Corniglia that most tourists used to hike is still close, but the ones between Corniglia and Vernazza and Vernazza and Monterosso are still open (as of now - trails can close on short notice).

In 2017, I stayed in the Italian Riviera north of the Cinque Terre in the town of Camogli (lovely town!!!) and took the train from there on to Nice, via Genoa. Very easy. From there I took the train to Arles for a few days (day trips to Avignon and Pont du Gard). Arles was kind of disappointing as a place to overnight; even though it has some amazing old ruins. It is just a dull town at night, and I often had to hunt for restaurants that were open in the evenings. Avignon is more touristy and much newer but had a much more appealing vibe to me - I wish I'd stayed there instead.

Nice was nicer than I expected (I hadn't expected to love it and I honestly didn't). The old town is nice, it has a pleasant, vacationy-feel, and it was a convenient to day trip to other nearby coastal towns by train and bus. Still, overall I much prefer the Italian Riviera, which seems more low-key and not so obviously upscale.

I've been in that area several times in the first half of October with pretty reliable weather and swimming. Once we had a half-day of regular rain at that time of year. And once when I returned to the coast the end of October, there were significant storms that drove a lot of tree debris down from the hills, covering the beaches at Rapallo, Sta Margherita, and Portofino, putting a pretty final end to swimming season.