Babu

I have a meeting in Nice, and want to stay on in Europe for a few days on leisure. With 5 and 7 year old.

Should we stay in the Nice area, go to Mallorca, or somewhere else? I want to use Starwood points if I can for the trip, but its not essential.

Which destination makes for a better family vacation?

magexpect

What time of the year? This week, in two months, next summer?
Mallorca out of Nice is going to cost you a bunch for the whole family.... In my opinion, Mallorca is nice out of season but in the summer it is one of the worst places to go. German and British hordes of the drunkard species. Absolutely disgusting. Easter Break in FLL in comparison is a church visit

GUWonder

From Nice you can enjoy the French coast, drive over to Monaco, Italy or Switzerland (even for long day trips) or just enjoy driving into and around the Maritime-Alps.

GUWonder

Duplicate.

Babu

This would be in June 2006.

So, I am reading that you guys are advising to stay in the Nice area? Got it.

Wife actually wanted to do PARIS, but I can't get excited about toting the kids around a major city vs. a resort.

netsurferrr

There are really LOTS of places and things to see and do in the Riveria and Provence areas. Plus, you can visit Corsica from Nice. Mallorca will complement any trips to Barcelona nicely because of the close distance and cheap air fares. By the way, there are many fantastic places on Mallorca to explore without the drunkard tourists.

Fredd

Within the past few years we've spent a week in Mallorca and a lot more time on the Cote d'Azur, although not specifically in Nice. As a grandfather, I would lean toward spending the time with children of that age around Nice, planning a few activities such as a train ride down at least as far as the Italian border. Have you considered compromising with your wife and spending two days at the end in Paris? Your kids would enjoy the bateaux mouches, the view of the gargoyles from atop Notre Dame, and maybe a walk through a museum or two - at least ours did.

http://www.bateaux-mouches.fr/English_index.htm

Babu

Fredd,

Thanks for the advice. How old were the kids when they did Paris with you?

magexpect

One or two suggestions:
Drive to Cannes and take a boat trip to the Islands of Lerins. Go visit the botanical garden in Monaco, go visit the equivalent of Sea World not far from Nice.

Fredd

On our first trip (Paris was two days of a six-week summer tour of Europe in the early 80s) our children were ages 10, 9, and 3 1/2. Our "baby" is now 26 and still recalls the boat ride on the Seine. I think one of the "secrets" to travel with young children is to plan for some daily obvious kid-friendly highlights. Sometimes those aren't as popular as you hope and then they surprise you and went to spend an extra hour in the Louvre, for example. With the planning you're doing even at this early point, I'm sure you'll make it a terrific trip for your family no matter where you go!

netsurferrr

Alright, Easter Break in FLL is a church visit in contrast. What kind of image the misbehaved Americans project in the Mexican resorts then?

By the way, a visit to St. Tropez with another two charming small villages nearby will be fantastic. Many European families with children visit this gilded village as well.

netsurferrr

Three of the most popular tourist attractions on Mallorca:
http://www.valldemossa.com/vallde.htm
http://www.sollernet.com/trendesoller/en1.html
http://www.a-palma.es/fpjmiro/english/

Analise

Very good reasons to select Nice. Also, Nice is probably easier on the wallet for a family vacation than Mallorca.

flyingbee

Since you have got a meeting in Nice anyway I would stay there rather than spending out and going to Mallorca. Nice is a great place and a good base to make day trips from, and there are planty of suggestions here. The train is easy to Monaco or Italy, or Cannes in the opposite direction. One word of warning - I and my parents have repeatedly been over charged by taxi drivers in Nice. You watch the meter from the airport, and then just as you arrive at your destination switch it off and add an extra €10 to the price. My French is not good enough to argue, which I think is why I've been targeted, but now I take the bus from the airport if I don't have too much luggage.

Mallorca is unfortunatley very popular with the larger lout British holiday maker. These are young people for whom the objective of the holiday is to spend all day on the beach and all night drinking, and the criteria for having a good holiday is to drink as much cheap alcohol as possible, be noisy as possible and make a really bad impression of British holiday makers. There are higher end resorts that aren't frequented by such louts, but careful research is required to make sure you find an appropriate place to stay.

netsurferrr

You can also buy something called "Carte Isabelle" from the French Railroad SNCF. It costs 11 Euros per adult. It enables you one-day unlimited travel from Vintimille (on the Italian border) to Frejus on all trains with frequent departures (except TGV) (Cannes is in between) and from Cannes to Grasse. Within this coverage, there are so many beaches, charming towns and and museums to visit. This is also a cheap express bus service leaving from the Airport; many tourists are using it.

On the other hand, people here have so much prejudice against Mallorca because they really know nothing about the island besides the beer drinking Brits. My last post on this thread shows some wonderful attractions offered on Mallorca. Michael Douglas is a long-time fan of Mallorca; he and Catherine Zeta Jones often vacation in their 8-million-dollar villa on the Island.

For example, Mallorca offers some delightful accommodations like:
http://www.shortgrandespalmer.com/index_en.htm