Hello! We have never been to the Côte d'Azur before and would very much appreciate some advice on where to stay. I've heard wonderful things about both Grasse & Nice (if we learn of a great picturesque town in between the 2 all the better). We want to stay somewhere central(ish) enough as a base to explore the whole area (by car) instead of packing/unpacking every few days. But we also love French countryside charm & ambience so trying to balance convenience with ambiance. Beginning the trip with a few days in Paris (we've been there before so just hitting a few sites we ran out of time for last time), then 10 days staying in Aix-en-Provence as a base to explore that region (Cassis/Calanques, Isle-sur-la-sorgue, pont du Gard, Arle, Nîmes, Les Baux, explore Provence, etc) & ending with 5 nights somewhere in/near the Côte d'Azur region. Using AirBnB for the first time after a wonderful experience with VRBO in Paris in 2014. Anyone have a good experience or have any suggestions on where to stay in that area pretty please? And French immersion is a goal of the trip so limited access to English would be a plus in our case! Merci beaucoup my fellow travelers!!
Posted by
London, United Kingdom
4684 posts
If you want to explore the countryside by car I'd go for Grasse, as the traffic getting in and out of Nice by car is often very bad.
Posted by
Portland
3643 posts
For Nimes (actually in Languedoc Roussillon), Arles, Pont du Gard, etc. staying near Avignon will be better. Less driving. And, just a heads up about the calanques. Check with the TI office on the morning you plan to visit. We were rained out on the first day we had planned for. The next day was bright and sunny, so we made the drive to Cassis, only to discover that high winds and rough water had kept all the boats in dock. Sigh, I guess we'll just have to make another trip to Provence.
Posted by
Pantego, NC, USA
1014 posts
We stayed in Nice and enjoyed seeing it for a day or so. We then took the bus from Nice to Grasse, Monte Carlo, Eze, etc.. The bus was 1 euro each way. I left the mountain driving to the bus company and sat back and enjoyed the views.
Posted by
franktown, colorado
2252 posts
I'm with John on this one. We found quite a bit to do in Nice itself but also we enjoyed leaving the driving to bus drivers as we explored the smaller town and sites from Nice. The price is right!
Posted by
5 posts
I also agree with John. We stayed in Nice in July this year with my 2 sisters and we took the bus for 1 euro each way to Grasse, Monte Carlo, Eze. So every day we did sightseeing in a different city which was so awesome. I highly recommend this and it’ll help you achieve your goal of French immersion @kristamiller.mv.
Posted by
Truro, NS, Canada
3941 posts
We used an airbnb in 2015 and stayed in Villenueve Loubet. It was great for taking trips out to other places - we visited Vene, Gourdon, St Paul de Vence (which was very nearby and one of my fav spots) and stopped in Antibes. Didn't see anything of Villeneuve except the place we stayed in. We did like the spot - it was a private room - but they were preparing for a baby, so not sure if they are still bnb'ing. We had planned to visit Grasse, but our hosts said there wasn't much there other than the perfume stuff and recommended some other little spots instead.
I can concur that the traffic in Nice was beyond insane (well, along the Promenade). To save money, we (stupidly) decided to drop the car at the rental place right off the Prom instead of the airport. Well, after missing the turn off, it took us a good 20 min to get back to the right spot. Then find out we have to go back a street to drop it at the garage - seriously - about 30 min later we got to the street one back - and the traffic as we were walking up the Prom was just mental - this was mid-afternoon in early Oct.
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
After the country of Provence I would choose somewhere right on the sea.
For ease of travel, somewhere on the railway line that runs along the Côte d’Azur.
Cannes - Antibes - Nice - Villefranche-sur-Mer - Eze - Monaco
Posted by
S.F. Bay Area, CA, United States
1878 posts
My wife and I stayed in Nice for a couple of nights at the end of a two week France trip in 2003. We did a day trip to Monaco, and stooped off in Villefranche on the way back to Nice. We will try and stay in Villefranche next time, very magical, charming town. The only thing is that nowadays the cruise ships stop there (tender required I think) so it might be less wonderful. We found Nice to be a bit gritty, but maybe that's because the lingering images are of the area around the train station. We did not have the chance to visit the museums in Nice, which are supposed to be great. The waterfront promenade was really cool. If staying in Nice I would try to stay closer to the old town next time. I can confirm the challenges of driving in Nice, one of the hardest rental car drop offs ever. There is plenty to keep you occupied that is accessible by other means than driving. Cruise ships stop at Nice too, but it's big enough that it would be less likely to be overwhelming.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Thank you all so much!! These tips are awesome!! I've been hearing that Grasse might not be the best spot from others also so I like your ideas of staying near the sea & along the transit lines. If it's easy enough to get into nice by rail or bus we can leave the car where we wind up staying and not deal w the insanity.
Thanks so much for the tips on thé Calanques also- I hadn't thought about that. I thought we could take the boat trip from Marseilles to see them from the water but sounds like I should make sure tickets are refundable in case of poor weather before buying in advance!!
I really appreciate you all taking the time to give us some advice- and hopefully save us some tourist pitfalls- to help make this trip a wonderful (& hopefully minimally stressful) experience! If anyone else has any thoughts/tips I am eager to hear them! Thank you thank you thank you!!!