My SO and I are planning a 5-night trip to the Riviera in July after a one-month stay in Lyon. The current plan is to spend 4 days (probably with one day trip) in a quieter town before spending the last day and night in Nice. It will be our first trip to the Riviera (but not to France) and we want it to be really special (it%26#39;s our first vacation just the two of us in more than 3 years!) but are having a terrible time choosing where to go. Any thoughts?
We are looking for somewhere romantic, picturesque and fairly small rather than a more modern %26quot;resort%26quot; town. We%26#39;re not interested in a crazy, touristy party scene, but we are young (mid-20s) and as such don%26#39;t want to go straight back to our hotel every night - we%26#39;d just like to be somewhere where things are open at night and there are a few bars/cafes/etc where we could mingle with a crowd similar to ourselves in age.
We%26#39;re willing to splurge SOME on the trip, but we are on a fairly tight budget, so having a variety of reasonably priced restaurants, etc. is important.
Finally, things to do besides the beach would be wonderful - hikes, historical sights, etc.
Based on all this, I%26#39;ve zeroed in on Antibes as potentially the best option - but is there somewhere I%26#39;m missing? I also have Villefranche and the Saint-Maxime/Saint-Raphael areas in mind, but have heard those areas are significantly more expensive. Any advice (and suggestions on hotels) would be hugely appreciated!
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I think Antibes is a great choice for you.
Villefranche and Beaulieu have some of what you%26#39;re looking for (quiet, gorgeous setting, not crazy party scene, an elegant place) but it may be too quiet for you.
St Raphael is fun for families, with lots of beaches (esp. east of town going toward Agay), ice cream vendors galore in season, a water park. It%26#39;s also easy to visit St Tropez, Ste Maxime, Grimaud from St Raphael. If you%26#39;re into hiking, I highly recommend the Esterel Mountains next door. I hike there weekly with a group and never tire of it (see azuralive.com for directions to some Esterel hikes).
Antibes is more active and vibrant than the above. Lots going on, plenty of folks strolling along the old town. I still like the Var (west) better for the beaches, but Antibes has plenty of variety in its activities.
Enjoy!
AzurAlive.com
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Thanks for your helpful response, azuralive - but now I am totally confused, as just yesterday morning we had decided that Villefranche was our first choice! A couple more questions that might help us make a final decision:
-We were having a lot of trouble finding a hotel in Antibes that was as good a value for our money as the Hotel Darse in VSM. They quoted us 67E/night for a garden view room; anything of interest in Antibes was up in the mid 80s (Relais du Postillon, Hotel Modern) We did find Hotel de l%26#39;Etoile for the same price as the Darse but the location and hotel itself did not seem as good. Am I missing somewhere better? Or would it be worth the extra 20-ish euro a night just to be in Antibes over VSM? I know it%26#39;s not a lot of money, but hey - we are on a budget and the extra 20 could buy us a meal every day!
-How quiet is %26quot;quiet%26quot; in VSM? We%26#39;re fine with having a couple quiet nights on our trip sine we%26#39;ll be in big cities for the rest of it (Lyon, Aix, Nice) - all we really need is a few cafes that stay open relatively late (midnight?) where we could have a glass of wine after dinner! Could we at least find that?
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Villefranche (and Beaulieu next door) has a more quiet, elegant style than Antibes, but it isn%26#39;t dead by any means.
You will find cafés and restaurants by the waterfront. I%26#39;ve been to a fun snack-bar called L%26#39;X in VFM (place du Marché). It stayed open until late at night and had inventive, fresh and relatively inexpensive dishes (not too many choices if I remember well, but it cost around 12 euros, half or less as what some finer restaurants in the vicinity offer).
The Beluga restaurant in VFM is more expensive than the above (30-40 euros for a full meal) but it also offer a bar/lounge that%26#39;s open late for a drink after a full day of sight-seeing.
The Hotel Darse sounds like a very good value given the location %26amp; reviews posted here on TA.
Antibes will be busier, with a larger and younger crowd and a huge variety of restaurants %26amp; cafes including reasonably priced ones. More like Nice.
Hope this helps give you a better feel for both.
AzurAlive.com
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That is exactly the information I was looking for. Thanks so much! Based on your description, we are going to stick with Villefranche - it will be fun to spend some time relaxing and enjoying a different vibe than what we%26#39;ll have in big cities for the rest of the trip.
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Villefranche is quiet in winter but won%26#39;t be quiet in July. One of the advantages of Villefranche compared to Antibes is that it is only a few minutes by bus from Nice and Cap Ferrat. The walks on the Cap are magnificent. If you are fairly fit the walk from Eze Bord de Mer to Eze village is great and the walk from Villefranche to Nice over Mont Boron has some of the best views in the area.
I would strongly advise you to get a sea view room at the Darse. If you can possibly afford it, it is more than worth the extra money. Ask for room 31 if it is available. Otherwise, any room on the same floor for the best views.
The only real downside of Villefranche is that restaurants tend to be expensive. I live there part of the time but mainly eat out in Nice before getting the train back.
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Thanks, LondonBob - those walks sound wonderful, and we%26#39;ll keep the possibility of eating in Nice in mind!
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