bzcat

That is what I'm trying to figure out and I need some input from you guys ^

I'm staring at BCN and ending at NCE. That's all I know right now.

I'm trying to decide where to spend a few days in between. Maybe Nimes is the place. Maybe not. If you were doing this trip, where would you stay? I know I'm staying at BCN for probably 4 nights, and I will be in NCE for about the same. The rest is undecided. I would like to see and visit all the places near Avignon and Arles but I understand they are a little too far for day-trip from NCE. So the question is where should I stop for a few nights in between BCN and NCE?

jbcarioca

I would, if it were me, spend most of the time between Avignon/Nimes and Arles. You can stay in one and visit the others on days trips. Arles has a couple nice hotels in the Roman areas.

I'd spend the rest of the time in the Biot/Mougins/Saint-Paul area. I'm biased having lived there for a long time, in Saint-Paul.

uk1

The downside of this approach is that we'll simply tell you where we would stay!

You need to be more specific about what it is you want to see and do during that middle stay. What jbcarioca suggest could be spot on if you want that. Personally - I'd stay in Cannes AND then Nice. Cannes is completely different from Nice and provides a completly different experience. Or there's Marseille.

You need to think about what it is you want from those middle days and be clear and post a bit more detail otherwise you'll simply hear what others like rather than what they think you might like.

jbcarioca

uk1, Stimpy and I, to name three, are highly opinionated and have different perspectives.I agree 100% with uk1 words on this.

if you can tell us about your specific interests and dislikes we can give more than our personal preferences.

stimpy

I'll take a stab...

Day 1 looks fine.
Day 2: Skip La Rambla itself, but tucked behind it is one of the most fun food markets in Europe.
Day 3 looks fine
Day 4, never been there
Day 5, why only a couple hours in Andorra? What is the purpose of going there for such a short time unless you are cigarette smuggling? (which is a perfectly valid reason why many people go to Andorra)
Day 6 & 7, I didn't really see any reason to spend a day in either place.
Day 8, Aix is a fun place to spend a day. If you are into Antiques, maybe visit Isle sur la Sorgue? http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/vaucluse...g/islesorg.htm
Day 9, pick a place! I would choose Antibes for sure. Why even mention Biot?
The rest looks fine.

jbcarioca

A slight counterpoint

Day 6 I am a fan of Nimes mostly because of the ampitheatre and area around it. The wiki is decent: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%AEmes
Day 7 If you are a bridge fan then the Viaduc de Millau is worth the trip: http://www.leviaducdemillau.com/english/index.html there is a seriously overrated small gourmet shop just off the North side of the viaduc, but otherwise it is fairly boring. If you're a civil engineer or are curious the highest bridge in france ands all that is deeply reminiscent of some of the high bridges to nowhere in Sicily. Otherwise please skip it.
Day 9 "why even mention Biot?" well, here are the reasons. Fernand L�ger Museum, Les Tarraillers (one of the finest restaurants in the region) http://www.lesterraillers.com/eng/index.html and all the glass bowing shops and factories. http://www.biot.fr//modules/news/art...p?storyid=110/ Just next door is Vallauris where Picasso did his ceramics at what is now Galerie Madura the only place he ever authorized to produce and sell his ceramics. For potters this is the Holy Grail, for Picasso lovers too (together with the Picasso museum in nearby Antibes) and there are many pottery shops and ateliers in the village. (disclosure: my spouse is a painter and potter)

Otherwise I agree with Stimpy

bzcat

I like Roman architecture (all kinds of architecture/buildings actually, hence my interest in seeing the Viaduc Millau I'm an infrastructure/building fan). I'm also interested in museums and anything history related. I'm a fan of European history.

My wife likes boutique shopping and exploring small towns (we had lots of fun in Tuscany 2 years ago, just going from town to town). She also loves all things aquatic... hence the idea that I will take her to an aquarium or two. But overall, she is not that much into old buildings and shiny new bridges as me.

We both like the beach but we don't plan on spending days sitting under the sun as we have plenty of great beach time here in Southern California. My wife will definitely enjoy strolling around aimlessly in Barcelona and Cannes. I'm conditioned to always read the map and have a need to figure out where I'm going.

Because of our different interests, you can see why trip planning is a bit challenging! We picked Barcelona because it has great architecture (for me) and interesting culture/street life (for her). And Nice because we both wanted to visit the Riviera (I'm there for the history/sights, she is there for boutique shopping)

In terms of activities, we bike a lot in Los Angeles and we did that in Paris last year. I think Nice has a similar bike rental program which we will most certainly be using to get around. We are not that interested in hiking per se, but short walks in scenic areas are no problem. I'm also very good with public transportation (I'm one of the few people in LA that takes our metro on regular basis) and quite confident about navigating by train if required.

jbcarioca

That is excellent insight. Nice has a shiny new tram system you can try out. It also has bike rentals and Segway tours.

If you get the Viaduc Millau, and that is easy to understand now, your spouse should get Tarascon. http://www.getfrench.com/homes/souleiado_lifestyle.htm
French Provencal fabric was invented there and there is a delightful museum as well as the original factory and a shop. I have gone there repeatedly as a swap for something I wanted to do. It is easy to get to, close to Nimes/Arles?Avignon.

Vallauris and Biot can help on the shopping front and history abounds in almsot every village. The Antibes attractions will help you both, especially the Picasso Museum and the streets and seaside there.

That is a taster. There still remains a nasty problem of eliminating wonderful places. Unless you have your heart set for Millau, that would be a good thing to cut. It is a long boring slog to get there unless you are a driving addict. I am and I drove from Nice just to see it. I had a BMW Z1 at the time and it was delightful to go in the era of minimal speed limit enforcement.

That also reminds me. There are speed cameras all over France. AutoPlus is a weekly publication sold everywhere that has an updated list of them for all France on the inside cover.

bzcat

Millau is probably going to get cut from my list if it means missing out on other more interesting things/places.

Biot as I mentioned, maybe of interest to my wife due to the glass making and ceramics boutiques.

I don't mind driving... it is one of my passion too (I have an Audi S4 that I take on long trips and an occasional track event once or twice a year). The traffic camera thing is a good tip... we don't have many of those in the US.

I'm seriously considering adding 2 or 3 more nights to my trip base on all or your comments.

jbcarioca

Since you are fond of nice cars you might begin checking out the Hertz EU transfer desk BCN options. http://www.hertz-transfer.eu/ The rates are cheap, no one way drop charge, high mileage allowances and you can only get what happens to be available to go from, in your case, Spain to France. There are often quite nice cars available, sometimes not, but I have never failed to get one from MAD or BCN to France and I have been doing it for a long time. My last was a BMW 5-series for, IRRC, Euro 36 pd and unlimited mileage. I have also had a Citroen C5 and at least three MB C-class. All of them have been diesels, thanks to Hertz for that one. Twice I have rented a car for the local BCN area when there was nothing I liked at the EU Transfer desk and monitored every morning and evening. Something decent has shown up every time, so I just returned my local car and switched.

stimpy

Good to have different opinions. And I always thought of Biot as purely residential.

As for aquariums, I'm not an expert, but I have visited what I consider 3 out of the top 5 in the world. And one is only a half hour from Nice.

1. Mus�e oc�anographique de Monaco
2. Shedd aquarium Chicago
3. Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach, California

jbcarioca

Have you visited the new one in Dubai? I always have liked them but I have nto visited very many apart from Monaco and Monterey. I love scuba, which is a slightly more interactive aquarium experience, wherever you do it.

stimpy

No, but I'm going there soon, so maybe...

Anyhow, I really like the one in Monte Carlo. Right near the Royal Palace too.

flylinda

Do you have hotels etc booked? I recommend La Mirande in Avignon,Villa Gallici in Aix,Chateau Chevre d'Or in Eze,Carlton in Cannes,Beach Club in Monte Carlo. I have stayed at all of these and highly recommend each.

Skeeter.gogo

I'm late to this thread but I'd like to add my $0.02.
Barcelona is a great start but I'll focus on the pionts after that. If you've any interest in a drive into the Pyrennes you might want to consider visiting the Romanesque L'Abbeye de St Martin du Canigou or Romanesque Priory of Serrabonne. You can take a jeep taxi up the final steep road to Canigou or drive all the way up to the Priory. Remarkable sites and history. A reasonable place to stay could be Le Grand Hotel in Molitg-les-bains. Not very expensive and attached to the thermal pools.

The drive up to Andorra was hardly worth it (in my mind). Just one big tourist pit stop with little to do unless you like to shop for the same things you can buy elsewhere. The road up there was pretty hair-raising: fog started to move in and the line of traffic was huge, all in a single lane in each direction. My GF was driving too slowly, I thought, until we approached another sharp blind curve where we came nose to nose with a HUGE tour bus trying to pass in our lane (to hell with right-of-way!). Horns blared, she slammed on the brakes to stop and the bus zoomed past us with inches to spare. If I was driving in a hurry as usual, I'm sure we would have been totaled. Not a trip for the faint of heart.

We liked Avignon but elected to stay in Villeneuve-l�s-Avignon for solitude and availability was better on short notice. That's all I've got for now...well consider the Route du Cazanne as you exit Aix and head east. Takes you past his favorite subjects. Some Cezanne/Aix info.