South of France... With a toddler

Posted by Grace on 08/30/16 09:09 PM

Hi everyone! I'm in the very early stages of planning a likely ten-day vacation from eastern U.S. to the south of France. I'm aiming for May, and will be traveling with my husband and our 18-month-old.

I definitely want to stay in Nice for several days. I studied there in college and am familiar with the city and taking buses and trains around the Côte d'Azur. I'm considering tacking on another home base for half the trip or so (so, 4-5 nights), but am having trouble deciding which town/city. We would like to fly in and out of the same airport for cost reasons, so I'm mainly looking around Provence. I'm assuming the airport we use will be Nice but I'm also open to going to Marseille and taking the train.

I'm hoping to keep the trip as easy as possible on our kiddo. Any locations particularly child-friendly (or not)? Or should we just stay in Nice the whole time and take day trips? Can't imagine keeping a rental car in Nice but I know all the towns are pretty accessible by train/bus.

Thanks for any help!

Posted by Bev

Decorah, Iowa, USA

08/31/16 03:33 PM

345 posts

Bonjour!

I would suggest flying into Nice since that is the area in which you want to be rather than Marseille and taking a train. Do you want to go to two or more venues?

If so, and you are willing to rent a car, you might want to consider Aix-en-Provence. I would spend as much time as you want to explore Nice again with your family and then rent a car to drive to Aix. Other towns/cities would be Cannes, or Cassis. Usually after being in Nice for a few days, we rent a car and drive to the Luberon area of Provence. I don't know how well your child travels but I wonder how he/she would be with day trips rather than establishing another fixed base for shorter trips. It all depends on what you want to see and do from Nice.

Flying in and out of the Nice airport is very easy. It is a small airport and you can rent a car, after a few days, at the airport.

In Nice, we have always stayed near Vieux Nice. I don't know if all the hotels have rooms that are comfortably large enough for the three of you. We used the Mercure Marche aux Fleurs and a Boscolo hotel near the large park. The Mercure is across the street from the Promenade des Anglais and the beaches. Maybe you remember the beaches are pretty rocky! Staying near the Promenade would allow for walks with your child. Our room at the Mercure was was a small suite so it was larger than most rooms.

We spent two nights at a Mercure hotel outside of Aix. The rooms were fairly large (for French standards) and there was a green area in which your child could play. Of course, there were no playgrounds per se but a little green space might work for your young child.

I don't know if this helps but enjoy your trip!

Bev

Posted by David in Brisbane

Brisbane, Australia

08/31/16 10:26 PM

7175 posts

If the option is there I would look to fly through a European hub that offers connections to both Nice and Marseille. In one, out the other.

Posted by Grace OP

12/21/16 04:31 PM

2 posts

Thanks to both of you who responded. We've now booked our travel into and out of France in late June-early July. We'll be staying in Paris then have 6 days remaining for another location in France. I'm leaning toward Provence: taking the train from Paris to Avignon and renting a car. Any recommendations on the best town to stay in with a toddler? I'm thinking Aix could be fun, although maybe we'd want someplace smaller since we'll be coming off a week in Paris. Hoping to find a walkable town (so we could go out for just an hour or a half-day and be back for nap time), ideally with playgrounds or other good places for a toddler to run around. Also on my list are St Remy, Cassis... any input? I don't think my kid will be up for long days of driving town to town, which I am seeing is the typical Provence trip.