Dear experienced travelers,
I'm a first time Europe traveler looking for a bit of itinerary advice. I’m travelling from Venice to Barcelona via train, but have 2-4 days scheduled for visiting southern France. Any recommendations as to where I could stay for a few days that would be easy to access via rail? I’d like to avoid the crowds and expense of the French Riviera as much as possible, but still enjoy the southern France coastline.
Thanks!
Joel
Posted by
S.F. Bay Area, CA, United States
1878 posts
I have not been to Antibes, but have been to Nice and Villefranche. We stayed in Nice but after seeing Villefranche we wished we had stayed there instead.
Posted by
Fox Island, USA
88 posts
I visited Cassis last October and loved it. It's about a half hour east of Marseilles. After you get off the train you catch a shuttle for a short trip downhill to the town. It is beautiful with a boat-filled harbor, nice beach and a vibrant Friday market. It is also the jumping-off place if you want to hike to the calanques, which are like fjords and are fabulous for swimming. Rick Steves mentions them and Cassis in his book on Provence and the French Riviera.
Posted by
Centennial, CO, US
2186 posts
Collioure is a beautiful little seaside village about 3 hours from Barcelona, right on the rail line. It's much smaller, less hectic and less expensive than Antibes or Nice. Not much to do there other than enjoy the gorgeous scenery and maybe take a hike up to the windmill and the fort. But it would be a great place to unwind and relax before Barcelona.
You might consider 2 nights in Villafranche, which is also a beautiful place, then back on the train for 8 hours(?) and 2 nights in Collioure.
Posted by
Calgary, Canada
78 posts
Like Tesa above we visited Cassis last summer and LOVED it. We stayed for a week and I could've stayed for a year. Every single meal we ate was fantastic, the market was fabulous and we just walked around eating and drinking and simply relaxing. We took some daytrips from there but in my mind nothing compared... Not sure you can go wrong but I did feel that Nice was a bit too busy (felt like Paris with a beach!) and of course unless you want to hang out with P. Diddy and Mariah you may want to avoid St. Tropez. Have a great time!
Posted by
OP
San Diego
2 posts
Thank you all for the thoughtful suggestions. At this point I'm leaning toward 2 nights in Villefranche and 2 nights in Cassis if I can find an affordable hotel or hostel. I'm not booking rail tickets or rooms for another few days, so any additional thoughts or suggestions would be much appreciated!
Joel
Posted by
baton rouge, la, US
269 posts
I would also recommend a brief stop at Collioure, since it makes such a logical connection to Barcelona -- and it's so charming and friendly! From there, it's a fairly quick jaunt over to Barcelona even via the slower moving commuter trains.