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Provence/French Riviera beaches/charming hill towns help...

Have an opportunity to stay in Beaucaire via a friend's family home (midevil town in Provence) after spending 4 nights in Chamonix. We have 7 days to explore Provence/French Riviera before we fly out of Nice to home.
We will have car. Definitely will visit Arles (repeat for me but don't mind) likely Avignon, Nimes, Orange.
Looking for recommendations for charming hill towns and for the best sandy beach with the best quaint town to spend on Cot d Azur.
Probably would rather stay in Riviera town on beach for two or three nights rather than Nice and get up early to drive to Nice airport on the day we fly out . I remember the beautiful drive from Arles down the cot d azur to Nice, but we did not stop much and I did not notice any great sandy beaches and we were so tired that we did not explore Nice.

Is Nice really worth exploring? Is there any must see stops between the drive from Chamonix and Beaucaire/Arles? Charming Hill town recommendations and best French Riviera sandy beach with quaint town?
And we like the freedom of the car, but can we actually see all these areas quite well without it?
Thanks, sorry for the long question.

Posted by
11052 posts

Nice is a wonderful city to visit.
Look at Ramateulle which overlooks a beautiful beach and the ocean.

Posted by
3387 posts

My favorite town on the Cote d'Azur is Menton. It's not too small, not too big. It's not a "seen and be seen scene". I enjoy the ambiance and the beach clubs there are great. Good restaurants and pretty shops. The old town is fun to explore with tiny little lanes winding up to the Pere-Lachaise-like cemetery at the top of town - amazing views from there. For the whole coastline, you don't need a car. Parking can be very difficult and traffic can be heavy. The train stops at each town between the Italian border and Nice.