Airports: Nice or Marseille??

If it makes no difference to you, then you should choose the one where you find the most convenient flight (in terms of price and/or time). I don't think there are significant differences between the two. They are two medium size airports that handle less than 10 million passengers a year. Don't know MRS but NCE is very easy to reach from the freeway, the freeway passes just by it and the exit is right there.

Don't fly from Marseille to another European town by a budget airline, the budget airline terminal is unspeakable. If you're flying back to the USA Marseille or Nice will be fine.

The Marseilles airport is also easy to get to, whether by car or by bus from the center of Marseilles.

I have flown out of both a couple times and both were fine. I had rental cars to return both times as well and everything was marked well enough as I made it home. I would base it on whichever area you want to end up in. If you have not been to either city and will be chosing one I would probably pick Nice. Prettier beach area, even though I enjoyed Marsailles. I usually do fly out of Marsailles as it is closer to the areas in Provence where I tend to spend more time. $ also matter to me, so if one is substantially cheaper, I would like it better:)

Although both airports are pretty much the same, I've noticed that international flights to/from Marseille tend to be generally cheaper, for the same carrier/same dates. Also flip your itinerary when you price it (Paris for the return). Play around with these scenarios and pick the one that best meets your budget and itinerary, as the first response aptly advises.

I've driven and returned rental cars to both airports. I personally found the marseille airport easier to drive to although Nice is also just off the highway. However, the traffic seemed to be much heavier into Nice. With Marseilles, you are really quite a ways out of town so the traffic seemed lighter. I would try to find the most convenient departure time however. The differences in returning the car is negligible.

Thank you everyone for your replies. After many many pricing searches Nice worked best for the dates and schedule. I appreciate all the info you shared.