10 Days in Provence, France (rental, itinerary, best, attractions)

[alphagifted]

I am going to Provence mid October with the SO, its our first time in that area ..

I have been reading some info related to provence but not sure... Here's draft schedule & notional itinerary, flexible but if at all possible we
should fix locations..of course there are many more cultural (including
music), historical, and natural attractions, just listing some illustrative ones
here and I'm counting on your great ideas and discoveries and all the best
that you bring.

Also we could skip Cannes and go straight to St. Tropez, for example, or decide on
just two "bases" rather than three if you like. Personally I prefer to spend at least a
few days in a place, and use it as a base since we'll have a car, so we're not packing
& unpacking every day or two. Especially if the venues are the right ones.



Arrive @ Nice:
Pick up rental car, drive to Cannes (less than 1 hour)

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Cannes

Cap d'Antibes, Picasso Museum, Marcello Mastroianni shrine



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St. Tropez

Beaches, water, light, Brigitte Bardot shrine



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Aix-en-Provence

Old Town, Cezanne country, Avignon, hill towns, The Camargue,


(about 3 km outside Aix, should be beautiful views & countryside)

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That was a rough idea......... what do you think? How about Monaco? should we go there?

Thanks

[corydon]

If money is not an issue, Monaco can be nice..... Just like Cannes and so on.
Enjoy, and eat at a few small out of the way restaurants, can be very good to be had.

Stay far away from Marseille, a rough and tough city.

[Jaggy001]

In my opinion .........

Get off the coast which is an over-crowded, over-priced tourist trap and get inland to discover the real Provence. Nowhere in particular, just lovely little towns and great scenery.

Monaco is okay. Quite safe but a rather expensive concrete jungle. Worth half a day. Nice has an old town which is also worth half a day. Cannes has a good waterfront and shopping streets. There is a small old town but it isn't all that interesting.

Marseille is not worth the visit. Aix en Provence is nice. Go further up the Rhone valley to Avignon and Orange and visit the vineyards of Chateauneuf de Pape.

[botticelli]

So you pick up the rental car in Nice and drive directly to Cannes? There is little in Cannes to see honestly. Nice is 10 times more interesting. Your post seems to indicate you are skipping it entirely.

I suggest skipped Cannes and St Tropez. Especially in mid October.

Monaco is ok, worth half a day since it is so close to Nice already.

I agree with Jappy001. Get off the coast. You can see nice beaches everywhere. Spend more time in towns like Arles and Luberon.

[alphagifted]

I decided to spend more time in NIce han Cannes and St Tropez just like you guys suggested.... Is he weather going to be ok? i think temperatures drop in october and no more beach weather?

[botticelli]

Originally Posted by alphagifted

I decided to spend more time in NIce han Cannes and St Tropez just like you guys suggested.... Is he weather going to be ok? i think temperatures drop in october and no more beach weather?

There will be no beach weather in Oct.

[Chava61]

Originally Posted by Jaggy001

Marseille is not worth the visit. Aix en Provence is nice. Go further up the Rhone valley to Avignon and Orange and visit the vineyards of Chateauneuf de Pape.

The only thing that I would recommend in Marseille is visiting Chateau D'If (just off the coast) for a day trip as it is interesting to see the setting for Alexandre Dumas's famous novel "The Count of Monte Cristo".

Château d'If - Centre des monuments nationaux