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Thoughts on Calanques excursion and 3 day French Rivera itinerary

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Bonjour! I am going on a river boat cruise on the Rhone and Saone River in August. I will be touring on my own for 4 days prior to the cruise and 4 days after the cruise. Looking for some advice on my pre and post-cruise plans.

Pre-Cruise Plans

  • Day 1: Arrive in Marseille at 12:30pm. Take the airport shuttle to Aix En Provence. I will be staying in AIX En Provence for 3 days prior to leaving for Arles from where the cruise departs.
  • Day 2: Spend the day in Aix En Provence. Are there any specific suggestions on what to see or do?
  • Day 3: Travel to Marseille and take a full day cruise to see the Calanques. Is a boat cruise the best option - or should I divide the day and do a boat cruise and visit Cassis? I have looked at a lot of trip options but have yet to decide. I would love any thoughts or excursion suggestions.
  • Day 4: Leave for Arles by train, probably in the morning so I can spend the afternoon in Arles.
  • Day 5: Spend the morning in Arles and board the cruise ship at 3pm.

Post Cruise

After the cruise I will take the train to Nice and stay for 4 nights, leaving me with 3 full days to explore. I would like to potentially see the following towns: Eze, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Antibes, Saint-Paul-de-Vence and/or perhaps take an excursion to Verda Gorge. The list of towns to visit is flexible but I would like to spend day in Nice. I can either take the train on my own and explore or take a guided tour, or a combination of both. I do not have a sense of how much time I need to visit a town, so I don’t feel like I rushing from town to town. Please let me know if you have suggestions or additional ideas for my 3 days in Nice? Merci beacoup!

Posted by
1006 posts

Post cruise: How much time in each town depends on whether you want to spend time on beaches in Villefranche and Antibes for example, and in museums such as Chagall and Matisse museums in Nice, Picasso Museum in Antibes, Maeght Foundation museum in St. Paul de Vence. If the museums are a priority, you will need to factor in their closed days -- Tuesdays for Chagall and Matisse, other day for other Nice museums, Monday for Picasso. It is very easy to take a train from Nice to Vileefranche and to Antibes. For Eze Village and St. Paul de Vence, you would take a bus or a train and bus which is easy on weekdays but more difficult schedules on weekends especially Sundays. Personally, I don't think a guided tour is needed for any of the places you list. The RS Riviera and Provence guide book has self-guided walking tours for each of the towns you mention. If you don't want to rush from town to town, I don't think you can enjoy all of them plus an excursion to Verda Gorge!

Pre cruise: I found Marseille interesting to spend a day. I have not been to Calanques or Cassis but I know there are organized daytours from Aix-en-Provence which might be more efficient use of time than traveling back to Marseille when you are staying in Aix.

Posted by
7956 posts

Hi!

Is the plan to stay in Aix-en-Provence fully firm/non-flexible? Aix-en-Provence is a lovely place to stay, arguably more charming that Marseille, but it is also less convenient vs. your plans, because you'd have to travel to Marseille once for the Calanques and again to get to Arles. A day trip in Aix is very easy by bus from Marseille (or train, but the bus leaves every 5-15 minutes and is faster for most of the day).

If the stay in Aix is firm, I second the recommendation to look into tours of the Calanques from Aix.

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