My husband and I have booked a trip to France June 12-June 22nd. We are trying to decide where to spend the second half of our trip after being in Paris from the 12-16. We will have 4 nights to spend elsewhere.
We are choosing between Provence (Aix-in-Provence, Arles, etc...) and Nice and can't decide.
We are in our early 30s, no kids, and love to simply wander through streets and discover great food, wine, and scenery.
Both are great.
To help you decide:
Some pros for Nice
- a car is helpful to make the most of Provence, but not needed at all around Nice
- 4 nights is tight for the highlights of Provence. It is appropriate for Nice IMO
Some pros for Provence
- lavender should be in bloom in Provence by the end of your trip
- there is a greater variety of things and places to see and do (edited to add that it is also a much larger region!)
It depends on what you really want to do, and what are your interests. Provence is best experienced with the freedom of a rental car, and then wandering through the small villages, towns and small cities.
I disagree there is a wider variety of things to do in Provence (and I love western Provence). There is equal quantity of things to do in the Cote d'Azur (if not more), they are just different. Western Provence is better for visiting wineries, though, specifically the southern Rhone.
With only four days, stay in Nice! Visit Antibes, Villenueve, Monaco on day trips.
The Aix-en-Provence tourist office is an excellent resource for Provence. The day tours are a little tricky to find. In menu, look under destinations/tours and see booking link to get a better idea. A la Francaise tours will give you the complete description of these tours.
https://www.aixenprovencetourism.com/en/
