We are looking to go to France on holiday in June (approx 16th) for a fortnight. We have been visiting the Greek islands for the last 6 years and normally aim to have a relaxing beach holiday but near to areas to visit ruins, old towns, nice evenings in bustling old town restaurants but also nice small village restaurants and hidden small villages.
We have looked at the South of France but just not sure where to go? We want a beach to be near (ish) and we aim to be getting a cheap flight from UK to one of the Southern airports and then hire a car. Hopefully it wont be too expensive!! Any help/advice/experiences gratefully received.
Many thanks
Chris (P.S. We are in our mid thirties, just the 2 of us and no kids)
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Hello Chris and welcome to the forum. As you can imagine your question is quite hard to answer. You say you have looked at the South of France. Can I ask have you got your hands on a guide book and had a look through to see if something catches your imagination? Down in the South you can get anything from glitz to quite rural. I have a house in the Var in a town called Cavalaire. The coast from Ste Maxime to Hyeres might be of interest. It tends to be a little(!!) cheaper than further round to the East .
Have a look at this web-site www.provenceweb.fr, it%26#39;s in English as well. When it asks for departments click on Var.
Then come back and ask some more.
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Thanks for the advice JBart, we have only been looking at websites so far and I am yet to get a book. The reason we are thinking of going to the south is for the warmer sea rather than the west coast (we have never been to France so this is only our guess!) If I was looking at the south do you know of any suitable books??
It%26#39;s slightly daunting when you spend so much of the year working and only get one decent foreign holiday, you want to make sure you get it right! I suppose I was hoping someone might say about where they stay. I was hoping for somewhere that had enough near by to keep you busy (Old bustling towns with markets and bistros?) and small cove type beaches. Anyway any more advice gratefully received.
Many thanks
Chris
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Hello Again
I%26#39;m being rather lazy here and doing a bit of cut and paste of my other replies so bear with me. June is a lovely time to visit before the crowds but with the long days. Yes you are right the sea will be warmer than the Atlantic but in June it has not had as much time to warm up as September. As I said my expertise is the Var coast and near where I am you will find the following
The hill villages of Gassin, various art galleries, Grimaud, La Garde Freinet. Bormes-les-Mimosas. There are the Iles d%26#39;Or to visit. If you like beaches I recommend Plage de Notre Dame on Porquerolles. You either walk or hire a bike to get there. Take all you need with you as there are no restaurants or facilities at that beach, there are at the beach on the other end of the Island. The other island, Port Cros, is a national park. There is an underwater snorkle nature route. Then inland you have the Chartreuse de la Verne where I believe (well they were there last time I visited) a silent order is still in residence. There is the Abbaye du Thoronet. They have concerts there some evenings in summer. A long day about but I%26#39;ve done it is to The Gorges of Verdon.
Market at St Tropez is Tuesday and Saturday. I forget which day it is in Le Rayol. Cavalaire is Wednesday. If you like shopping most people rave about Cannes. There are of course all the designer boutiques in St Tropez. Try to get there earlier one evening when the big yachts are coming in. A glass of champagne, front row place in Le Senequier sit back and take it all in! Eating in St Tropez the trade off is, if you sit in one of the portside restaurants it is great for people watching but you pay for the show with the prices. If you get a road or two back off of the front then it is cheaper. Again just stroll round looking at menus until you see something you like in your price range. The St Tropez tourist web-site is on www.ot-saint-tropez.com again there is an English version. It has lots of info about history and sites. I think some people who go to St Tropez never get off of the main street by the port or only as far as the Place des Lices. If you dive into the little back streets there is more to see and discover. A nice small art museum is the Annonciade by the port. It is air conditioned so great if you are wilting. Then nobody ever seems to mention it but the Citadelle is interesting and has some great views. At the far end of the port if you go through the Tour du Portalet (where the coast footpath starts) you are suddenly in a different world. A small quiet cove, the contrast is amazing.
Now the other place you might look at and be interested in is the Old Town in Antibes. Jodles wrote this about his/her holiday %26lt;%26lt;We spent a week in Antibes last September and thorougly enjoyed it. The old town is pretty, with lots of restaurants and nice food shops etc. The Provencal market is lovely too. Visits to the castle and the Picasso museum recommened. We stayed in a great apartment at the start of the Cap - so about 15 mins walk into Antibes old town and the same into Juan Les Pins and the lovely beaches on the Cap. I can send the details if you email me direct on jodlesXXXkenny@skynet.be (taking out the XXX). It had an ernormous roof terrace and 2 balconies.%26gt;%26gt;
The other place that might suit is Villefranche-sur-Mer. We have many experts on this forum with knowledge of both Antibes %26amp; VSM. Also if you put those key words into the search box under the green banner you can read other posts about the places.
For a guide book there are two Michelin green guides that cover the area but I find them a little %26quot;dry%26quot; for looking through to get an idea of whether I would like somewhere. I prefer the Dorling Kindersley Eyewitness Travel Guides. There is one to Provence/ Cote d%26#39;Azur.
I hope I have given you enough to keep you occupied this week-end!
Happy hunting.
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Another good book is the Cadogan Guide to the South of France.
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Thankyou JBart, you%26#39;ve been very helpful, I really appreciate you taking the time to post that reply. I think you are right, I will have a busy weekend researching all the info you have given me.
Many thanks
Chris (and thanks catullus for the book recommendation)
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Hi Chris!
If it%26#39;s variety you seek (as I do when I travel), the obvious answer is Nice!
The city alone has everything: a long beach, lots of hotels in every price range, a huge restaurant district and eateries around every corner. It has a shopping street (Medecin) with all the big stores, and numerous boutique shopping areas. The old Italian quarter of Nice (from the days 150 years ago when %26quot;Nizza%26quot; was Italian) has exactly the old town things you%26#39;re looking for. Don%26#39;t forget the Chagal Museum and the Russian Orthodox church, commissioned by the Tsar himself because he loved Nice too!
That%26#39;s just the city. Fifteen minutes away is the Principality of Monaco. A half hour to the east is Menton, a smaller version of Nice with an ever more interesting Italian quarter. Less than an hour to the east is the Italian city of San Remo, with a very long old walking quarter.
Do you like medieval villages? Go to Peillon, 20 minutes above Nice on a winding paved road too narrow for the buses to climb, but easy by car. Peillon is a village with no streets. It is laced with little walkways connected by stairs. All the cars have to park in the common parking lot at the mouth of the village. In fact, in the hills behind Nice is a chain of medieval villages almost (but not quite) as evocative as Peillon.
One of my faves in the medieval-villages department is Tende, about an hour-and-a-half up into the Alps. Tende was Italian until 1947, when it voted to join France. Don%26#39;t miss it.
Do you like gorges? There are two deep river gorges, the Vesubie and the Chaudan, only 20 minutes north of Nice. And perched villages, built on steep overlooks directly above the river. The granddaddy of all French gorges is just two hours away, up the Route Napoleon, the Grand Canyon of Verdon.
And I%26#39;ve just scratched the surface! I could go on and on with more interesting things close-by from Nice.
Happy travels, and let me know if I can help further!
David
capetien10@gmail.com
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Thanks Capetien, those all sound great! I%26#39;m so glad I posted a question on this site, the replies so far have been a great help!
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Chris just in case you do not realise it the %26quot;beach%26quot; in Nice is large pebbles. Some people get a shock when they see it.
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Thanks JBart, I probably wouldn%26#39;t have found that out until getting there!!! Sand is def. my preference.
Many thanks
Chris
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Cavalaire has the finest beach on the Cote d%26#39;Azur, 2 miles of fine sand, sweeping round to the Cap Lardier. I suggest this be your base. The Var coastline is far greener than the Alpes Maritimes. With a car you have plenty to fill 2 weeks sightseeing (when you%26#39;re not on the beach!) all within 25 miles. We have been going to our place down there since 1962, now three generations and we never tire of it. If you decide that this is the place,i%26#39;ll be happy to give you plenty of inside tips to put the cherry on the cake!
David Melville
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