A Week in Provence

We stayed in Nice, very near the water. One of the best weeks of my life. That's all i've got.

I'm not sure, it was almost 7 years ago. I'll ask my parents if they remember.

Antibes,  Striking distance of everything else, and a lovely older section.  Picasso Museum is great.  If you're feeling flush, stay at Hotel du Cap - Eden Roc.  (They may still require cash up front.)  

 

Grasse is nice but not sure if I want to stay there.

 

lefty

You might be able to get an apt for a week.  Look at homeaway.com.

 

lefty

I always rent apartments when I get the chance.

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Sure, if the hotel offers high value.  If it is average (I've had my share of average hotel breakfasts) then I feel that I can get a better experience at a private residence.  The last time I stayed in Antibes I was at a friend's apt across from the Picasso.  The street turned into a farmer's market most mornings so I would head down and grab some fresh ficelle, pain au chocolat, fraise des bois and a cafe creme, and start my day with food as it is meant to taste.  Grab some sausage, more bread, cheese and a bottle of wine for a later lunch then take a short wak to the beach.

 

That said, breakfast at Eden Roc on the cliff is pretty nice.

 

Good luck.

 

lefty

If you're going to Nice, you must visit St. Tropez, especially if you're going anytime soon. I did the follow trip through Southern France (south of france is so bourgeoisie). I think that since you're already spending a week in Provenance, it would be worth your while to head out to the French Riviera...it's like a high-class Vegas, but the historic and artistic sites are real stone, not fiberglass replicas. My itinerary was:

London -> Marseille

Marseille was a tragic city. Absolutely stunningly beautiful underneath a thick verneer of dirt. Great Kebab places (in fact there's one that serves some good kebab out of the back of a Hermes store. Not sure how they keep the smell of fatty lamb out of the leather, but maybe that's the inspiration for the next hermes fragrance). Wouldn't spend much time here.

Marseille -> Avignon

Avignon is the other pope's palace. The Pope's residence is pretty sweet, but besides that Avignon struck me as a dirty industry city. We were excited about visiting Chateauneuf-du-pape so we spent the night in Avignon, walked around the Pope's palace, and then went straight over these beautiful bridges (one of them broke in the middle over the River Gard and you could walk out and peer over) to get there.

Chateaunuef was amazing. Nuff said.

Chateauneuf -> Arles

Arles is a must see, imo. Besides being a lovely town it has the insane asylum Van Gogh lived at towards the end of his life and many of the gardens (and his room) that he painted there. Must see, even if you're not an art fan.

Arles -> Aix-en

Aix was pretty disappointing. I know everyone says it's the jewel of Provence, but honestly besides some cool roman baths the place was lackluster. It was raining when I was there, which definitely played into my depressing review, but if you go, you have to pay homage here.

Aix- St. Tropez.

Since it was raining the next morning in Aix, we packed up and headed towards the coast. I wanted to go to Toloun to see the elite french navy, but missed a turn and we ended up in St. Tropez. I swear all of Provence was cloudy but god was smiling on St. Tropez. The place is heaven. And villebrequin is based out of there.

St. Tropez. -> Cannes

Cannes was also awesome. Wasn't there when the celebrities were, which was nice from a hotel room price perspective. Must visit, it's like Nice except smaller, cleaner, and richer.

Cannes -> Nice

Echoing Kyle, Nice was really cool. My finace's parents had been there like 20 years ago and told us it was a dump, but probably one of the cleanest european cities south of Zurich. And beautiful.

Nice -> Monaco

Play the casino. I did the Petit Americano (or something along those lines) that didn't require the 10 euro entrance fee. Also oogle at beautiful women, cars, and more, likely tax-evaded, money than anyone should have. Lots of cool little spots to have a beer overlooking the Mediterranean.

Yeah when I think about it now, I did go backwards. That said, if you're already spending a week in Provence, I still highly recommend spending some time in the French Riveria. It's totally different from the wicker-basketed farmer market oriented atmosphere you'll find throughout Provence.