South of France

Hi all,

My boyfriend and I have decided to go to the South of France for our holiday this year in late July/early August for about a week. We were thinking of flying to Nice and doing 4 nights there, 3 in Canne and we were considering visiting St Tropez/Montecarlo. We are in our late 20s/early 30s, hoping for some nice beaches and a fun nightlife. I was just hoping for some advice about where the best places to go are and how long to stay in each place?

Any advice would be much appreciated :)

July August absolutly upper high season for the whole Côte d'Azur. What do you mean by "best" places to go?

It will be a mob scene at that time of year.

I don't know how we can help you determine what the "best" places to go are without knowing a lot more about why you chose this destination, at this time of year, and what you care to do and see once there. There are beaches and nightlife galore there, so that doesn't narrow it down. Everyone's idea of travel is completely different, and you haven't given us any clues. For me, for example, "best" would be to stay far away from that neck of the woods in high season.

It will be a mob scene at that time of year.

I don't know how we can help you determine what the "best" places to go are without knowing a lot more about why you chose this destination, at this time of year, and what you care to do and see once there. There are beaches and nightlife galore there, so that doesn't narrow it down. Everyone's idea of travel is completely different, and you haven't given us any clues. For me, for example, "best" would be to stay far away from that neck of the woods in high season.

By best I mean nicest beaches and most fun nightlife, great food etc. We know It'll be busy but I'm a school teacher so have to go when it's the most busy.

I hope you have deep pockets accommodation will be expensive eating out and drinking is some of the most expensive in Europe.

Oh my. I'll start off by being honest. I love France but I really don't like the Cote d'Azur. But this thread isn't about my likes and dislikes, it's about what you want.
Here is an honest assessment of the area (yes it does same don't come in August) but it has useful tips:
http://www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/travel/articles/french-riviera-on-a-budget.shtml
Here's the Lonely Planet guide (online on this website) for the area, lots of good advice and information:
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/france/provence

I did a search for 'cote d'azure party central'. Aside from individual listings for businesses which declared themselves 'party central' there was
one which turned out to be for the 2015 edition of LP's Provence and Cote d'Azur.
and a quote (much as richiavo said..):
Drinking & Nightlife
"Dress to kill. And bring more money than you think you'll need.
Many places close in the winter but in summer it's Party Central
seven days a week." (I read this on the google/books link...)
Here's a link for the book on the LP website. It shows the prices in
US$ because I'm in the US...
http://shop.lonelyplanet.com/france/provence-and-the-cote-dazur-travel-guide-8/
I'm not trying to sell books for LP, I prefer to give specific info when I can but I think the regulars on this forum are the people who would know about party hearty by the sea...but the people who wrote the book have done the research...
Good luck.

By best I mean nicest beaches and most fun nightlife, great food etc.
In your first post you wrote Nice, Cannes, Monaco, St. Tropez. For fun nightlife my suggestion will be to look in places like Nice, Cannes, Monaco and St.Tropez. Example to search: http://www.cannestouristinformation.co.uk/nightclubs.html
Along the coast you have beaches - like all over the world. No idea about what can be a nice beach. Nice has 8km, Cannes less but sand on, Monaco not more than 50 Meters with sand and St. Tropez has no beach - you need to go between 5 and 6km far into the water.
Great food: Between the .http://www.cotedazur-tourisme.com/gastronomie/les-restaurants-etoiles-de-la-cote-d-azur-06_90.html and the last selfservice on the raod somewhere you will find everything. Question of money!

Ok done some more research, Avignon could be nicer and perhaps just couple nights in nice etc and day trips to at tropez

Hey great idea. Love the south of France, especially in July and August when everyone is on holiday.

It need not be expensive as many of the posters have mentioned. I've holidayed there a few times during the summer and due to the number of rooms something was available, just book in advance.

So my first tip would be to not split the trip between Nice and Cannes. Pretty similar in my opinion and you have the hassle of packing up and unpacking and losing a day to change city and hotel to just move a bit along the beach. If it was me again choosing between the two I would say Nice as it has better transport connections, is closer to the airport (i.e. cheaper taxi to your hotel) and from Nice it is easy to make day trips into the hills, to Monaco, and / or over to Italy.

I would have day trips to St Paul de Vence http://www.saint-pauldevence.com/en You could also take the train into the hills http://en.nicetourisme.com/nice/1342-train-des-merveilles
I would also look at a day trip to Italian coast - I recall San Remo and I stayed in small town Finale Liguria.

The shopping is very good in Nice. Eating out is a bit of a hassle as so touristic . On my last trip I had a great meal near Place St Francois.

Beaches near Nice I love Eze it's a long walk down (take your lunch and drink as nothing down there) and back but away from a lot of crowds. It is just outside the town in a bend in the road (bus stop and parking opposite, don't take the train). For whatever reason I prefer the beaches east of Nice.

Beaches near Nice I love Eze it's a long walk down ???? Do you mean Eze-Village or Col d'Eze with a long walk down. If yuou mean Eze bord de Mer its about maybe 3 minutes down from the street (Low Corninche) or less down from the railway station who is situated between the street a

...sorry!
the street and the beach. Beside this you have three restaurants on the beach for lunch and dinner time.

Nightlife is better with lots of people, no? Summer is a great time to go. Never let that stop you. Besides, if you have no choice, you might as well make the best of it.

My suggestion is to look over the website below which gives you a good rundown on the beaches and what to expect. If you are looking for world famous mega night life, then the big cities have that. Tons of international tourists boozing it up. But smaller places like Antibes (this is my suggestion) will be hopping and might have what you want... and there are fine sand beaches on the Cote d'Azur, you just have to know where to look. In Antibes, Plage de ponteil is fine sand and free. There is a relatively inexpensive place to stay nearby , Le Ponteil. Of course, private beaches at 20 euros a day will provide you with a certain level of luxury. I've never done it, but the website lists an approximation of that at free public beaches as well:

http://www.riviera-beaches.com/index.html

This topic has been automatically locked due to inactivity. Email community@lonelyplanet.com if you would like to add to this topic and we'll unlock it for you.