I am traveling to france for summer and am looking for a small town, but has to have some night life, not too sleepy. Ideally I would love Eze, or Saint Paul de vence, but i feel like they are so touristy, no? We will be there in June and July. I was thinking about VilleFranche. I worry about these southern beach areas feeling so touristy as well. I want to feel like a local and wondering if VilleFranche is a more community feel, less toursity, with some night life ? thanks!
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10627 posts
Touristy and nightlife go hand-in-hand in most of these places. This is the Riviera, where people come from all over Europe to soak up the June and July rays. Have you thought about Aix-en-Provence which is a little larger but still a college town. Consequently there is a lot of nightlife. It's in Provence but not on the Riviera.
Posted by
Stuttgart, Germany
3050 posts
Aix is lovely, big enough to have nightlife, somewhat touristy but often overlooked by a lot of visitors to that region (a lot of people on this board recommend skipping it, which might be a good recommendation in and of itself in a way!) It's day trippable to Marsielle, Cassis, and other lovely spots. But it's not really a small town, I'd call it more of a small city. Almost all the beach towns are going to be touristy, it's the beach, so it's where the travelers want to go. I wouldn't rule them out, though. Some beach towns are popular for day trippers or cruise ships and at dusk are much more charming. Cassis springs to mind, but I'm sure others here can mention more. I personally happily put up with touristy in exchange for beach time.