France - Help W/ Trip Planning: Provence-Alpes-Côte D'Azur

Greetings from LAX,

I am planning a trip to Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France; specifically Nice, Antibes, Cannes, and Marseille, France and a day trip to Monte Carlo, Monaco. We'll be leaving LAX on Tuesday 03JUL12. I did some Google search and it seems like there are a lot of things to see and do in those cities. My first few questions are:

What is the MUST see/do in those cities?

We'll be staying in Nice for 2 nights and Antibes for 2 night. What hotel would you recommend? Budget-wise, I think anything between $100-200 USD/night can be considered.

There seem to be different train stations in Marseille. We will be taking TGV to Paris. Which station should I look at in Marseille? How far in advance can I book TGV train tickets online? It is showing unavailable to book for Marseilles - Paris for Friday 13JUL12.

Also, my return flight's choice is limited to either (1) IB CDG - MAD - JFK or (2) BA CDG - LHR then LCY - (SNN) - JFK on BA 1. The problem with choice (2) is we'll have to stay in London for a night and the tax is more than double than (1). We'll be using miles to fly in Club World (or equivalent with IB). So, my final questions are:

Is it worth the extra $1000 USD (hotel + more expensive tax) to fly on BA 1 rather than paying less to fly IB business class?

If we do LCY - JFK, is it easy to get to LCY?

Feel free to send me private messages if you'd like (or we can exchange e-mail address). I'd love to get advice/suggestions from seasoned travelers or locals. Thank you very much in advance for any suggestions and advice. This will be my FIRST time in Europe so I am very excited about planning the trip. :D

I can propose some answers to a couple of your questions


Greetings from LAX,

I am planning a trip to Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France; specifically Nice, Antibes, Cannes, and Marseille, France and a day trip to Monte Carlo, Monaco. We'll be leaving LAX on Tuesday 03JUL12. I did some Google search and it seems like there are a lot of things to see and do in those cities. My first few questions are:

What is the MUST see/do in those cities?

D


I would not hang around Marseille too long, the city is not the nicest and he train station where you will arrive from Paris is in an area which is not so nice. In my opnion in Marseille, the "not to miss" are: the vieux port (old harbour), which is very pittoresque, the Notre Dame de la Garde church 8la bonne mere), which stays on a hill above the city and offer a nice view, then if you have time and a car, the calanques, which are some nice nature area just outside Marseille

Nice & Cannes: mostly city tours, enjoying the view, the sea front, the small streets and small shops, the very specific atmosphere of these two cities, as well the famous casinos in Cannes, same for moncao, the sea front, the casino and the view are the most see there.


We'll be staying in Nice for 2 nights and Antibes for 2 night. What hotel would you recommend? Budget-wise, I think anything between $100-200 USD/night can be considered.
D

first, do book in advance as it will be high season there. In your price range, you will not be able to enjoy these nice hotels that you can see on Tv where the stars go in Cannes or Nice. I would recommend some Accor hotels, pay particular attention to the location and use trip advisor. in Nice, I like the Mercure which is on the sea front (promenade des anglais)


There seem to be different train stations in Marseille. We will be taking TGV to Paris. Which station should I look at in Marseille? How far in advance can I book TGV train tickets online? It is showing unavailable to book for Marseilles - Paris for Friday 13JUL12.
D

you will arrive at Gare Saint-Charles. I think reservation opened yesterday for the summer, you can go on the www.idtgv.com where the nationnal train operator offer some "discounted" ticket for advance purchases.

hope this helps!

Sure, there's almost an infinite number of things to do and see on the Riviera, depending on your taste.

It looks like about a week. I would not go to Marseille this time, nor would I move from Nice to Antibes (They are only about 10 miles apart). Nice is a good sized city. There are 22 museums, most notable among them are the Matisse and the Chagall. An interesting Russian Church in a dicey area of town.

Vieux Nice has little winding streets, great restaurants, and a lot of character. Big market on the Cours Saleya.

We personally do not like Monaco/Monte Carlo. A lot of hype, but we prefer to stay away. Prefer surrounding areas of Villefranche, Beaulieu, Cap d'Ail, Cap Martin, and Menton. You can even dip across into Italy for a complete change of culture and environment, language, and food. Only the money is the same! A wonderful botanic garden just over the border, Hanbury Gardens.

If you could narrow down your interests, I could get even more specific.

Is it worth the extra $1000 USD (hotel + more expensive tax) to fly on BA 1 rather than paying less to fly IB business class?



First question has been answered, so I just answer this one. I my opinion, BA Club World is much better than Iberia Business Plus.

But...on such a short flight (~8 hours) when a full flat bed isn't absolutely necessary, I would stick with IB and save both the money and the trouble of commuting from LHR to LCY.

The only reason I could choose the second option is that the LCY/SNN/JFK flight a special, dedicated, full business A318. If it's not full, it really gives the feeling of flying a private jet ;)

i would confirm hotel rates first. cannes and nice in july are expensive. i think monte carlo a bit of a waste. if you have a car, you can stay in the countryside. it is much nicer, and a whole lot cheaper and more friendly.

i think cannes, , and monte carlo are nothing special to see(been there, done that). the coast line from cannes to Marseille is spectalular.

i have no idea what is club world. is that y,c,or F. the backs of all the planes are terrible. biz class on all that have lie flats are very good.

welcome to ft.

I can propose some answers to a couple of your questions

I would not hang around Marseille too long, the city is not the nicest and he train station where you will arrive from Paris is in an area which is not so nice.

...in Nice, I like the Mercure which is on the sea front (promenade des anglais)


Thanks for the advices! I think it's a consensus that I can skip Marseille on this trip. :)


It looks like about a week. I would not go to Marseille this time, nor would I move from Nice to Antibes (They are only about 10 miles apart).

Vieux Nice has little winding streets, great restaurants, and a lot of character. Big market on the Cours Saleya.

If you could narrow down your interests, I could get even more specific.

I've modified my trip and will skip Marseille and go to Aix-en-Provence. We know Monte Carlo may be overrated but we sort of want to make a day trip there and just see what Monte Carlo looks like. Ha ha!

I should do some more research on Menton. Does the TGV stop in Menton?

Right now, it seems like we're doing Nice (2-3days), Monte Carlo (day trip), Antibes (2 days), Cannes (day trip), Le Lavendou Beach-St Tropez (day trip) and up to Aix-en-Provence (2-3 Days) then hit Paris (1 day) for the flight home. What do you think of the schedule? :)


The only reason I could choose the second option is that the LCY/SNN/JFK flight a special, dedicated, full business A318.

That is exactly why I am trying to skip a few meals and few cups of Starbucks to save enough for LCY-SNN-JFK. Lol! :D

if you have a car, you can stay in the countryside. it is much nicer, and a whole lot cheaper and more friendly.

i have no idea what is club world. is that y,c,or F. the backs of all the planes are terrible. biz class on all that have lie flats are very good.

welcome to ft.
Thanks for the welcome. :) I've heard people telling us renting a car is the best way to go around the French Riviera but we generally dislike the idea of renting a car unless absolutely necessary. We are open to the idea of riding bicycles around (we are both pretty good bikers). Is a car necessary for our trip? :confused:

Club World is C for British Airways. The Club World London City is a A318 with only 38 lie-flat business class seats hence the premium over the Iberia flight...

Thanks everyone for the suggestions and advices. This will probably take a few more weeks to plan since we both have full-time job and pretty much know nothing about the French Riviera. We're both reading travel guides in bed trying to plan this trip out. :D

As for cycling to get around, my advice as someone who has very recently driven the lower corniche road (only between St. Raphael and near Cannes), and someone who is a cyclist, is to have sturdy nerves and don't look back as the French sport cyclists do. Roads are narrow, no shoulders, windy, and you have heavy vehicles travelling on them.

The big cities now have rental bike programmes (not sure if it is credit card, cell phone or subscription, or some combo required to rent) where you remotely unlock a bike and return it at another station in town. Good for travelling around town but no much outside. Not sure what kind of gears they have.

One way to get around is by bus. Many of the departments now have these bus schemes where you can take a bus within the department for EUR 1. Bus schedules to some towns may be very limited though.

The high roads can be quite a climb (or descent) with the similar caveats above.

Thanks for the advices! I think it's a consensus that I can skip Marseille on this trip. :)



I've modified my trip and will skip Marseille and go to Aix-en-Provence. We know Monte Carlo may be overrated but we sort of want to make a day trip there and just see what Monte Carlo looks like. Ha ha!

I should do some more research on Menton. Does the TGV stop in Menton?

Right now, it seems like we're doing Nice (2-3days), Monte Carlo (day trip), Antibes (2 days), Cannes (day trip), Le Lavendou Beach-St Tropez (day trip) and up to Aix-en-Provence (2-3 Days) then hit Paris (1 day) for the flight home. What do you think of the schedule? :)



Too hectic, IMO. In my experience with this kind of breakneck schedule you see things in a blur and, especially in France, never really absorb the places you visit. (St Trop is really too far from Nice for a day trip) If you prefer, I recommend you do about 5 nights in one place like Nice and 4 nights in Aix. Packing up from hotels is very time consuming and exhausting as well. There's always next year!

Are you doing museums? What is your interest in these towns? As I mentioned, we hate Monaco, it's so congested, teeming with tourists and full of high rise buildings. We can't wait to get out of there even when we just pass through. There is the Cousteau Museum there, if you like him and his pursuits of nature and oceanography; Cannes is pretty devoid of anything, it's got a couple of pretty streets and that's about it. Antibes has a wonderful Picasso Museum, but I can't see filling up 2 days in Antibes.

Menton is really nice, a real town, a great street running along the seafront for about 2 miles with a really wide walkway, reminiscent of the Promenade des A. in Nice but much nicer-- loads of moderate restaurants along this street where you are practically on the beach while you dine. A really interesting,quirky Cocteau Museum in a 250 year old castle in Menton, great gardens, a park with 1000 year old olive trees (Parc Pian) and a magnificent Old City that you can climb up into the labyrinthine streets. About 5 km above Menton is Gorbio, accessible by bike if you can do uphill on the bike. A magnificent quaint hill village. Also ride your bike around the Cap Martin Peninsula and pass by great huge mansions, Coco Chanel and Winston Churchill lived here.

There is a pretty quick local train from Nice to Menton (and everything in between), it's about an 18 min ride. You can also continue on after Menton into Ventimiglia Italy, and get a taste of a totally different culture and a different feel.