Any favorite villages/towns in the South of France?

8 years ago

I'm tapping the group here to find if you have any favorite coastal-adjacent towns, smaller cities or areas in the South of France or Provence --- defined as as the edge of Languedoc-Roussillon to the Italian border/Menton. We've been to Nimes, Cannes, Aix-en-Provence, Avignon, St. Tropez and the larger cities, Marseilles and Nice, plus Monaco. It's a wide and diverse area, I know, but would like to narrow it to within 30 minutes of the coast. We're continuing to look at property and locales, and wondered if people had some hidden gems or sub areas that you really enjoy. I know several of you have traveled this area extensively.

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DYH

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

I've been to the places you've mentioned. I've also stayed in Mougins and really enjoyed the village. Very small, though. A car is needed.

I've visited, but not stayed in, Tourrettes-sur-loup (violet jam), Vence (a bit overrun now with tourists, as is Eze Village), and Grasse (perfume).

My favorite village is Antibes and it gives you a great feel for the area. My late DH and I stayed there several times. It's an easy train ride to other villages -- Cannes, Nice, Menton, etc., so there's no need to keep a car (parking is difficult). When we wanted a car, we walked up to the train station and found a car rental for a day -- and drove to Eze and along the Grand Corniche.

Things to love about Antibes:

The Marché Provençal is out of this world great with foods from the region. On one day each week, Monday, if I remember, it's an artisan place where people make things and bring to sell.

Old Town is lovely and pretty with winding streets, quaint shops and many choices for dining. There's a heavy Italian influence there, as with much of the Côte d'Azur.

Sandy Beaches - unlike Nice, Antibes has three lovely sandy beaches. There's a nice promenade along the two beaches in the modern section, with many benches for lingering and people watching.

Walk to Cap d'Antibes - It's a long walk, but we always did it several times for each week there. Once out to the Cap, we'd lunch at either La Rocher (a laid-back beach cafe with great fresh food), or on the sandy beach at Le Cesar on Plage Keller. The beach is La Garoupe.

Hike Le Sentier du Littoral on the Cap - after lunch, we'd hike around the (somewhat dangerous, especially during rough surf) the very rocky, trail around the peninsula. There are a few places where you really must be sure-footed and not afraid of heights as the trail clings to the cliffs above the sea. Once to the end, you can cut through to the paved streets where the rich and famous hang out and then walk back to Antibes. Google the sentier and you'll find more info.

Antibes Harbor - boats and yachts. Some magnificent yachts. We once saw Jude Law at the harbor. Many Brits go to Antibes, so expect some noisy pubs just inside the old walls near the harbor.

It is also easy to train from Antibes up to Aix-en-Provence or to Paris. The trip to Paris is 5 1/2 hours on the TGV. We would usually spend a week in Antibes and then go to Paris for several weeks.

If you go to that area, you can take a bus out of Nice to the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild on Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, where "To Catch a Thief" was filmed with the cat burglars on the roof. Beautiful gardens. You could see the villa in the morning, then choose from two directions for lunch

1 - walk down to the harbor on Cap Ferrat and find a restaurant. Then, walk a civilized paved sentier path to Beaulieu and go to Villa Kerylos. Train back to Antibes via Nice.

2 - walk down to the seaside village of Villefranche-sur-mer for lunch. See the little village, then catch a train back to Antibes via Nice.

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Comments (15)

Bonnie
8 years ago
Eze, on the French Riviera in the Cote d'Azur is a beautiful hilltop village overlooking the Mediterranean. Be prepared to climb the hilly cobblestone steps to the top. There are so many cute shops and restaurants built into the mountain. It was a cruise stop when cruised the Western Med from Barcelona. It was a highlight of our trip!
Gooster thanked Bonnie
cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
8 years ago
Tourrettes-sur-loup in the mountains north of Nice. Also, Vence for the Rothko chapel. In fact, there are a number of charming little towns if you want to wander the winding roads.
Gooster thanked cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
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bpath
8 years ago
I think Julia Child's house is for sale!
Gooster thanked bpath
Gooster
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks, @bonnie_ann, Eze looks wonderful. @cyn427 Tourrettes-sur-loup et Vence sound great as well, very close to Grasse.

@bpathome -- I read someone bought it!
User
8 years ago
Villefranche-sur-Mer---There's a lovely Rothschild mansion there with gardens TDF. It is a short drive to Nice and Monaco is a doable day trip (although you've already been to both).

La Napoule is tiny dot on the Côte d'Azur, a very pretty village close to Cannes. We've sailed there several summers, the marinas are lovely and there is good golf for those interested. It is small but there is a medieval castle :-)
Gooster thanked User
Gooster
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks dyhgarden and kswl2! We've discussed Antibes, and I'll make sure we consider Mougin and Villefranche-sur-Mer (and the other places mentioned). Further west, anyone like Hyeres or Arles?
westsider40
8 years ago
We, too, loved Antibes. I used to daydream about it. And it is big enough to keep it interesting. That's my favorite part of the world. We haven't been there for about ten years but loved St. Paul de Vence, touristy and because we like cities, Nice and Cannes. Lovely beach at LaNapoule. Biot for the Leger museum. Great transport all along the coast. A couple of years ago we were looking at property in Nice but we decided on Tucson. Yes, I know but my mobility is compromised now. Antibes and Nice for this French Riviera lover.
DYH
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Gooster - if you decide on Antibes, I can recommend apartments through Apartments in Antibes. Michelle is great to work with, so have no fear of renting from her. If you need a larger apartment for more people, I can find out if a lovely apartment where stayed once is still on the rental market.

We were in Antibes twice when the Cannes Film Festival was underway. It was fun to train over to Cannes to people-watch, see the red carpet, watch the stars walk it, etc. For some reason, the guards waved my late DH and i through for an up close view one evening.

From Cannes, you can take a ferry over to Île Sainte-Marguerite. Lovely, nature walks, but pack a picnic. When we were there, only one food stand was available where the ferry landed. There, you also see the fortress where the man in the iron mask was held for awhile.

Hyères is lovely, but I've never stayed there. The islands (Porquerolles) were on our list, but we hadn't made it there before my DH passed away.

Bormes-les-Mimosas and Bandol are also lovely. I know a couple who live in Bandol and have wine tastings. My late DH and I visited them when they had a vineyard near Aix. They moved to a smaller vineyard on the coast.

Cassis is a seaside village that is often visited on day trips by those in Aix and Avignon areas.

In the fall, I'll be going to Basque County (Saint-Jean-de-luz and Biarritz) and sharing a house with friends who live in Paris. I'll be there a week between a week before and after in Paris. It will be interesting to see the Atlantic Coast in the southwest of France, as well as the Pyrenees.
Gooster thanked DYH
Gooster
Original Author
8 years ago
@dyhgardens -- thanks for the additional suggestions and the referral! Enjoy your trip to the Basque country. I've not been to that corner of France yet, the last major section of France that we have not visited.

BTW, I see that Julia Child's house is now available on AirBnB! (before it is converted into the cooking school). At $610 a night, they are making an investment pay off.
texanjana
8 years ago
Great info. Can anyone recommend a driver or company in this area? Our cruise this fall will end in Monte Carlo, and we will fly home from Nice. We want to hire a driver to pick us up and drive down the coast a ways and then to Nice where we will spend a couple of days. We did this several times in Greece, and it was wonderful. Thanks!
DYH
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Limousine Tours Monte-Carlo has good reviews on TripAdvisor. I've not used them, but I'm sure you could arrange to be dropped off at the Nice Airport. I don't know if they have a minimum tour/charge for the service.

BTW -- The only village past Monte-Carlo that's worth seeing is Menton--then, you're in Italy. That's traveling east.

You want to travel west to go to Nice.

What I'd recommend is that the driver take you on the Grand Corniche (that famously perched road above Monaco). Up there, you'll have views of the sea. You could ask to stop at Éze Village (though I find it too touristy now).

As I mentioned above, the village of Villefranche-sur-mer is charming and on your way to Nice, but it's down at the coast.

Traffic can be ghastly along the coastal highway during high season, another reason to take the Grand Corniche instead.
Gooster thanked DYH
Bonnie
8 years ago
Texanjana, you are wise to hire a driver. We rented a car in Villefranche-sur-mer, and it was a nightmare, absolutely the worst driving experience we have ever had in Europe.
Gooster thanked Bonnie
Gooster
Original Author
8 years ago
I'm coming back to the prior thread I started to review the responses; we're finalizing our plans now on where to stay. DH already booked a car, so that may be a liability in certain locations. It looks like we may split our stay between Nice and another location, like Grasse/Vence or Antibes, and daytrip to the other places. Been sorting through AirBnB and VRBO locations in an effort to get a feel for what real residential property feels like.

The big news is we've hired a property consultant to help us as we've gotten a bit more serious.
Gooster
Original Author
7 years ago
Reviving my own thread, as the time is near. We're staying in AirBnB properties in St. Paul de Vence and Nice itself, with possible additional house hunting in Villefranche and Haut de Cagnes.

Any other suggestions on favorite things to do in this part of the Cote d'Azur? We've been before, but there is a lot to explore.

Any favorite villages/towns in the South of France?

DYH

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Any favorite villages/towns in the South of France?

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