My girlfriend are looking to go there on our final stop before moving to Florence. We'd be going from from August 30th to September 2nd. From what i've seen august is 'high' season and 'september' the rates drop a good bit, which could help us save a little bit of $$.
I need help finding some places to stay in Nice and Cannes - we don't need anything nice, but we want something comfortable, safe, and in a good location. We plan to relax on the beaches and be out and about almost all of the day.
Best Western Les Fleurs in Nice or Hotel Welcome at Ville Franche.
Both are filled with basic hotels that cater for the summer season. Prices drop as soon as the season is over. The question is, does that mean August 30 or September 4?
Tripadvisor is a great site to drill down for more information on specific places.
Highly recommend Hotel Windsor in Nice. Clean, large rooms, great food, free internet access in loby and 2 blocks from the beach and a couple from the main historic centre. Fantastic pastry shop across the street on the next corner too.
This year we really enjoyed Mercure Marché aux Fleurs. Location was great, people were friendly, good beds and breakfast. We had a Tb at 145E with a loft for the double bed. Preferred this over Windsor where we stayed in '98 and '05.
I just got back from the Riveriera. We stayed in Antibes which is between Cannes & Nice. LOVED it! It's a cute, smaller-than-Nice doable town. The old ramparts line the Med & are fun to walk. We stayed @ Hotel Pension de Mas Djoliba. But Rick lists many other places in his books. There are many options very close to the beach. I can't wait to go back. Have fun!
Amanda,
Glad to hear you had a great time. We are wondering what to do about where we're going to stay. We only have 3 nights there, and really only two FULL days being that its a day train from Interlaken, and we have to take a train to Florence on the final day which leaves before noon.
We have a global rail pass so getting to and from cities wont be an issue - did you save any $$ by staying outside of Nice and Monte Carlo?
For hotels, Mercure Marché aux Fleurs is a splurge but probably worth it if you don't mind. The Beau Rivage is super nice and super expensive but their beach resort is fantastic. Last time I was there in 2006 it set me back about 250 per night, now with the euro as it is now I'm sure it is out over 300. Much smaller hotels that are less expensive are certainly available. Check Ricks book. I stayed at Hotel Buffa (75 euro) one year to save money but I ended up walking a lot more to get to Old Nice for dinner (an absolute must). Hotel Buffa was not bad but it was simple and family owned.
The Beaurivage has beach access for 15$ and you don't have to be staying there. Many people prefer the public access but I find the rocks in Nice unconfortable without the lounge and umbrella that come with paid access. My wife and myself but we had a great day of sunbathing, swimming, people watching, eating and drinking wine from our fantastic server, Vincent. If you see him say Hi for me!
Just returned from a 3 week trip to Europe and the Riviera was our last stop. It was so crowded we left after 1 night. Hotel Welcome is located in a really good spot but it takes 50 minutes to drive up from Nice with all the crowds. I don't think I will ever go there again. I've heard September is less crowded.
We stayed at the Mercure Promenade des Anglais (Nice)...very reasonably priced...our room had a view of the Mer and of the Old Town...it is located right on the Promenade des Anglais, one of the most famous frontage roads in all the world. We paid about $150 a few years ago, but it is now listed on TripAdvisor "Starting at $188". Easy walk to old town - 200 meters. Cannes really doesn't have any charm and apart from the annual film festival, there is really no reason to go there. Antibes is wonderful, but somewhat pricy and harder to get to. Monaco and Monte Carlo is not much more than Las Vegas with a yacht harbor.
