French Riviera and Surrounding Area

Check out Villefranche sur Mer. Nice village on the Med, easily accessible transportation. Try the Hotel Darse.

I think it partly depends on what type of atmosphere you want to be surrounded by. It's pretty easy to get around that area by public transportation. Do you want good beach access? (Nice is nice, but others have nicer sandy beaches) Nightlife? (Cannes has a lot) Art scene? (Antibes) Personally, I love the vibe that Cannes has. But I know others don't. I found Nice to be too large. Monte Carlo is beautiful, but has too few trains daily to make it a hub. (But definitely worth the visit!) Good luck with your decision. It's a great area IMO!

you have to take the train to Antibes for at least an afternoon....one of my favorite small towns in France! There's a lively market there, too (in the center of town).

I'd second Villefranche sur Mer. Great town with seaside cafes and restaurants and one of the best beaches in the Nice area. Its on the main line so easy to get to Nice and Monaco. Antibes is great as well with a large British boating crowd, lots of pubs and closer to Cannes.

We stayed in Nice for 10 days in Feb and rode the bus for 1 Euro each way, to all the Riviera towns. It was easy and fun! Four of us rented a 3bd/2ba condo/apt called Rue Congres in Nice through Riviera Pebbles website. In Feb, it was only 100 euros per night (25 euro each!). The photos on their website don't do it justice! It is all remodeled with granite kitchen & baths. Beds comfy. (No air cond. if you will be there in summer) This condo mgt company is owned by Brits and very well run. I highly recommend them. We rented off-season (Feb) but were only 1 block to the beach, easy walking distance to food stores and shopping and bus station. We ate breakfast & a light French style evening meal in the condo each day. We ate a large lunch (plat du jour) at a restaurant in each town we visited by bus. Don't miss the outdoor market in the Nice old town each morning. We visited by bus: Menton, Monaco, Eze, Antibes and Villefranche-sur-Mer. Also we rode the bus all over Nice when it was too far to walk. Loved the whole thing!

I would suggest locating in Nice or Cannes as both have numerous accommodations, train and bus access, and are centrally located. Don't miss the opportunity to visit Eze - wonderful medieval town on the coast overlooking the ocean - magnificent. We also enjoyed St Paul-de-Vence. Have fun!! It is a beautiful area.

French Riviera sounds perfect for you because everything is connected by train - very easy (make sure you go when its warm though). Nice (bring rubber slippers for the pebble beaches) Monti Carlo (dress to kill) Antibes (take your top off) Cannes (keep it on) St. Rafael (best souvineers) and Frejus St. Tropez (take a bus/ferry from San Rafael) There are a bunch of pretty little beaches in between. Ask the locals.

Be sure to research what might be going on when you plan to be there. We tried to find a room in Villefranche not realizing it was the weekend of the Monaco Gran Prix. We ended up in Genoa. Long story.