My family and I would like to travel from the D-Day beaches down to Nice. Does anyone have advice on how to do that? I think we would like to look into the fastest option. Also, is it worth it to pop back up to Gorges Du Verdon? Is it hard to rent a car in Nice? Thank you!!
The airport in Caen has direct flights to Nice
You might get lucky and find a non-stop flight from Caen to Nice on the day you want to fly. Check skyscanner.com. Also check the day before and the day after your target date, because the flights I see depart around either 8 AM or 8 PM.
All other options are pretty awful: Flying from Rennes or Paris subjects you to a rather long train journey, then a trip to the airport. Rather than doing that, I'd just spend the whole day on trains; many would disagree with me.
You shouldn't have a problem renting a car in Nice. It's a major city. However, you should consider your sightseeing plans carefully before you decide when to pick up the car. For coastal locations it's much easier to get around via the regional rail line. Driving to coastal towns means potentially-heavy traffic, a struggle to find a parking place and then a high parking charge. Plus you'd be paying to park the car at your hotel as well. Be sure you're really going to need a car. Also check agency hours. They can be more limited than tourists expect, with some offices closing for a lunch break.
So helpful. Thank you. I didn't think about all the travel in a car.
If you want to go to Gorges du Verdon, it makes sense to spend the night there, and rather than going from Nice, it will be just as fast to drive there from Marseille airport (if flying from Caen, there are a few weekly flights to Marseille) or from Aix TGV station, which saves 3 hours of train time vs Nice!