Help on Southern France

Hi Lindsay - While you're in Monaco, you could spend a day in Nice, a short bus ride away, and see the Cours Saleya market. You could also visit Villefranche or Cap Ferrat for beaches and perhaps Eze le Village.

You might then spend a week in Provence, rent a house in a village (we used and were happy with France Homestyle and there are many other rental agencies), and explore Provence. For history, you can consider Pont du Gard and Vaison la Romaine. For markets, visit Isle sur la Sorgue (Sunday market) and other towns which have weekly markets. For scenery and old towns, visit the Luberon hill towns. For wine, there's Seguret, Chateauneuf du Pape, Gigondas and many other options. For hiking, Rick has several in his Provence book. Provence has a lot to offer and you could spend much more than a week there.

I second Provence. Grier has listed many reasons, so I won't get into that, but my wife and I spent 5 days there, and we hated to leave. It's magical.

Provence is wonderful, and would be my choice, but it lacks both mountains and beaches.

Some lovely hills, though. And views of mountains.

I agree with other posters see Nice, Villefranche sur Mer and Eze while in Monaco then drive to Provence for your old towns, wine, flea markets and more scenery. It is beautiful, I have been 3x and still love it. ANd finding new interesting sights everytime. enjoy.

Lindsay, we have finished planning our trip, but have not yet gone, so my information may not be very good. If you have RS France, I would suggest you look around Marseille. This could be a day trip or so from Provence, but if I recall, he also notes a smaller town near by Marseille that has lovely beaches. We are very much looking forward to our trip to Provence. A villa might be a really good idea if you have that much time there -- some of the hotels in Rick's book are already booked up.

Anton

check this travel guide blog on south of france, this may help decide between places http://www.nyhabitat.com/blog/category/south-france/south-france-travel-guide/
one area east of marseille that is unique is Camargue, check that destination, too.

Don't want to steal the thread, but it is making me think of my upcoming trip. Is provence a cool spot for a 24 year old male traveling solo? The flea market idea is making me think it might be more of a couples thing

Nice Provence combo would be perfect. Maybe stay in Arles make sure to see the Pont du Gard and Avignon aussie.

While in Monaco, do try to visit the town of Menton which is just next door to the east (toward Italy). It is my favorite town on the coast, lovely beach, old town, port, market etc. It is famous for its lemons and warmth. I believe you will enjoy provence more if you have a car.

A charming seaside village to visit just about a half hour from Marseilles is Cassis which has the added attraction of the calanques (a Corsican word meaning inlet). You can hike to them although I've read there are restrictions in summer due to fire hazard. We were there in mid October and it was gorgeous! We got a late start in the afternoon and only had time to hike into the second one where the swimming was wonderful! There are also many boats in the harbor that you can hire to take you to see them. Rick Steves' Provence book has a section on Cassis and visiting the calanques.

My wife and I were just in the Rhone-Alpes region, Annecy and Chamonix, and thought it was great. Both are very worthy stops. However with the short amount of time that you have, you are probably better off in Provence and the Riviera.

We were in those two regions in 2003, and wished we had stayed in Villefranche instead of Nice. Nice is a big city and quite gritty. Rick is on the mark as far as recommending Arles in Provence. Les Baux which is nearby and the Pont du Gard are great. We sort of blew through Provence quickly and wished we had more time there. There are a lot of towns worth visiting in that area, and you have just the right amount of time. I would suggest striking out from Monaco into Provence, then coming back for a couple of nights in Villefranche before heading home. A car would be helpful in Provence but not critical as there are some pretty good train connections. For smaller towns like Les Baux you would want a car.