Too Ambitious in the South of France?

You and I are obviously very different travelers, so take this with a grain of salt. I just got home from a trip where, after spending time in Paris, we spent a week in Lyon, a week in Avignon and four nights in Cassis. I know that we're lucky to have the time to do this, but your first four days sound like a blur to me. Perhaps you could do it, but it seems as though you'd mostly just be checking places off your list and moving on to the next one. Or, maybe you just want to get a quick look at each place and, if so, your itinerary should work.

When I went to Provence, I really wanted to relax and blend in with the locals. If you just want to 'see it and go,' then that's fine but you'll miss the hidden gems and experiences you'd get by staying longer there. Also, that's quite a lot of ground you're covering in those days as well.

You won't see much of Nice if you are also trying to see Monaco and Venti...you could wander the old town, maybe take in the Castle Hill and wander the Promenade.

We spent about 3 hrs at Les Baux, 3 hrs in Aix (but it rained - hard, so we didn't see much - without the rain we probably would have stayed a half day). We only spent about 30min in Gourdon and drove right thru Tourrettes - we really enjoyed St Paul de Vence - spent about 3 hours there (on the same day we did Gourdon).

If you only want a quick look at these places, by all means, but personally I'd leave out Lyon, spend more time in the South - go to Nimes and Arles and Pont du Gard. Or just plan to miss a few of them if time runs short...

Way too ambitious. With six nights, I would suggest staying in two cities (3 nights in each place), see those cities and do day trips to places that are close by. Please don't forget that you have driving time to get to these places and lots of congested traffic in the Nice/Monaco, Aix-en-Provence and Avignon locales. Stay in Nice, visit the sights in Nice and day trips to Monaco, Villa Ephrussi in St. Jean Cap Ferrat and Eze le Village. Stay in Avignon, see the sights in Avignon and perhaps day trips to Pont du Gard and Nimes, Les Baux and St. Remy. And I would find even this schedule rushed.

It is possible to visit several small, Provencal hilltowns in one day, but I don't think of either Cassis or Aix-en-Provence as fitting that category. Cassis is a great starting point for boating, hiking, and swimming at the nearby Calenques (and also nice driving through the national park) and Aix is a good-sized city that's best for strolling, market shopping, and café sitting (you'll have to park in one of the large lots). Either location can take up a whole day.

The only Gourdon I see on Google is in a different part of France, so maybe you meant Gordes. Are you going to Venitmiglia just to stick your toe into Italy? We don't recommend Geneva; Annecy or Chamonix would be higher on our list for a change of pace, if you have time.

Of the places you listed, I've only been to those under Day 1 (Nice, Monaco, Ventimiglia (IT)). Venitmiglia, as you know is the last stop on the train to Nice, coming from the Italian side. While the distances between these three places are not far apart (all within an hour or two of each other from the two ends), to do them all in one day would really, really restrict how much you see. I did not do this the last time I was Nice, but I would definitely want to splurge on one of the private beaches along Promenade de Anglais and just spend an afternoon enjoying the sun and sea. And then of course, there's old town Nice, what with it's numerous shops, cafes and winding streets. That's another afternoon (or morning) in itself.

imho, you are packing too much into the day to relax and get a good feel of the places. I can only comment on days 1-3.

Day 1: There is enough to see in Nice to fill more than a day. There are other towns between Nice and Ventimiglia that are worth a stop, especially with a car; Eze, St Jean Cap Ferrat and the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, Villefranche-sur-mer is worth a part of a day for a meal and strolling along the ocean, Menton and more.

Day 2: Cassis and Aix are worth almost half a day each. I spent a month in Aix on a French Language learning trip; seek out many of the fountains the the city if famous for. Not sure about the other 2 you mentioned.

Day 3: Les Baux, at least half a day, I think. Avignon about half a day if you include a tour of the Palais du Papes. There are many small wineries in the Avignon area; not sure if you can visit them.

I have not yet been to Lyon, but it is on my list.

Have a great trip. I do recommend some time to sit in cafes, sip the wine (try the rose, French Rose is so fabulous) and people watch.

Sterling,
Yes, I think your itinerary is way too ambitious...

You mention that you will be "spending some time in Paris" prior to traveling to the South of France.

• How do you plan to travel to Nice? Will you be flying from Paris?
• Will you be flying home out of Lyon, or Paris?

Keep in mind that each time you relocate, you lose at least half of that day.

If you want to experience a bit of the South of France, I'd choose a,"home base", such as St. Remy, Arles or Avignon, from which you may take day trips.

I'd probably skip Nice (on this trip) & spend your 4-5 full days exploring some of the many charming cities, towns & villages in Provence.

You may find this website helpful in deciding what villages to visit: http://www.les-plus-beaux-villages-de-france.org/en/the-most-beautiful-villages-of-france

Have a wonderful trip!

Just a quickie for Laura - there is a little hilltop village called Gourdon along the same route that Tourrettes is on. We spent maybe a half hour there (and I got a lovely linen tablecloth that now graces my table). We did St Paul de Vence, drove thru Tourrettes, stopped in Gourdon (at the recommendation of our airbnb hosts) and then continued on the Antibes.

Really, all we did in Gourdon was admire the view and pop into the shops. Not sure I'd recommend it if it was out of the way. SPdV was much more enjoyable in my opinion. The drive was lovely tho!

http://www.beyond.fr/villages/gourdon.html

Wow. Thank you so much for all your feedback. The overwhelming consensus is that it is in fact too ambitious. I discussed with my wife and we plan on staying in Southern France (and not making the trip to Lyon/Geneva) this time around. And instead of staying in various places, we will most likely work from a central location.

Last question:

It seems that some suggest taking rail instead of renting a car. The reason for the car is flexibility and the ability to go "off the beaten path". Could anyone convince me to do otherwise?

Thanks...

We had a rental car in southern France and glad we did. It was so nice to get off the beaten path and see the countryside and small villages.

We saw so much more with a car than we would have without. If if you can get to some of the smaller places by public transport, your choices could be serverly limits and you are at the mercy of bus schedules. I'm not even sure how many times a day a bus would,go somewhere like Gourdon.

My tip would be to make sure you stay somewhere at night with free parking. We really had no issues on the roads. Watch your speed...lots of cameras. If you are renting a larger vehicle, my other tip is avoid indoor parking garages. We had a Citroen Cactus (like a Kia Rio...I guess, tho not quite as big) and we got a huge scrape on it in St. Paul de Vence trying to squeeze around a corner in a parking garage. Next time we will use outdoor lots only unless there isn't another viable option.

We had a car in southern France but used public transport when we could. We stayed in Villefranche Sur Mer and took the bus to the Villa Ephrussi and Monaco. We used the car to drive the corniche and to Eze le Village. Look into public transport and use it when it is convenient.

You don't need a car for Nice or Monaco, but I would pick it up upon departing Nice, given your destinations. I now see Gourdon on Rick's map in the Provence/Riviera book.

Definitely a car. I've spent time in Provence both with and w/o a car, and wouldn't do it w/o a car again unless i was only going to spend time in a big city.

Thank you all for your continued feedback and suggestions. And to think I debated whether or not I should post something and ask for advice in the first place! Now I know our vacation will be so much better after learning from everyone here.

Thank you again. And, we will be renting a car.