Nice to Arles by car -- Route?

I've not driven in France on Easter Monday, so I don't know if traffic in the South is different that day. It is a public holiday. I suggest you post in the TA Nice forum to get opinions about that. Assuming traffic in the area isn't an issue, I suggest a lunch in St. Tropez then a drive along the coast route to Cassis, then on to Arles. If you're on the road by 9:30ish, you would have time to drive the Corniche d'Or between Cannes and Saint-Raphael then on to St. Tropez.

The via michelin website : http://www.viamichelin.com/
gives you the option of selecting among several different routes giving you detailed directions as well as such things as driving time, traffic hazards, toll, etc. for each.

My experience in southern France on Easter Monday has been most people are at home with their families or at the town centers which seem more lively than expected. I think as far as traffic is concerned, you will be fine either way. There was much lighter traffic than usual. If you are looking for a place for a lunch stop, I have done both Cassis and Aix on trips between Arles and Nice. Both are great but I think I prefer Cassis. The TA experts who live in both areas can tell you definitely what is open on the holiday but I'm sure you are fine almost everywhere. Enjoy! I adore Arles.

The French travel authorities have developed a quite accurate calendar which predicts traffic flow day by day across the country. The character they use is a crazy buffalo, the Bison-Futé. That is a cunning play on words from the word <<bis>> which is how alternate diversionary roads are indicated. If you look at pdf file at www.bison-fute.equipement.gouv.fr you will see that Easter Monday is RED in the return direction throughout the country. I don't usually plan on going at all on black days, I don't plan on going terribly far on red days. Its difficult to generalize on a national forecast for any particular location but if anywhere besides the Ile-de-France will bog down I believe it will be the Cote d'Azur and, to a lesser degree, Provence. YMMV

Last year, my husband and I flew into Paris on the Monday after Easter. We picked up a car at CDG and drove around the city to Auxerre. There was very little traffic on the Monday after Easter. Thus, I can't imagine there would be a lot on Easter Sunday itself. If you are the least bit concerned, I would use the A8 from Nice and the A54 to Arles. It would be faster even though there might be some more traffic. Otherwise, we always like the smaller roads in every area. Think of the opportunities to explore and see the smaller sites! :) I am envious! Enjoy!