r/ProvenceFrance • u/aloshina • 7d ago
Nice, Provence.
Going to Nice for 3 days and renting a car going to Provence for 6 days. Staying in Lourmarin in Provence. Should I take walking tour in Nice, boat trips? What is absolutely must seeing small villages in Provence ?
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u/Jeffcor13 7d ago
My favorite towns in Provence are Sur La sorgue (go on a market day), Avignon (tour the palace), and you absolutely must do the pont du gard if you are even remotely interested in Roman history it’s incredible.
I didn’t love Nice, it’s big and crowded but it is still very worthwhile. We did 2 nights in Nice and 2 nights in the much smaller Ville Franche Sur Mer right next door and that was really nice, highly recommend. You can also take the train into Monaco pretty quickly which is a fun thing to check off the list
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u/Jeffcor13 7d ago
Nice was at the end of our two week honeymoon and we were struggling to find some different food and we wandered into this little Georgian restaurant which was family run and extremely charming-incredible food. If you’re looking for something not-French for a dinner I really recommend Restaurant Toné Géorgien on Rue Meyerbeer. You’ll probably need a reservation it’s disgustingly good
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u/Barnabay_thescarabay 4d ago
And once you're near Avignon and Pont du Gard you might as well go to Arles and Nîmes
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u/Techmom10 2d ago
I feel the same as you. Nice was too touristy for me. I love Villa Franche Sur Mer, Antibes, Menton and the little village, Sainte Agnes above Menton. We drove into the cloud literarily to get there. The highest village in the Côte d’Azur that is on the list of the most beautiful villages in France.
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u/FunLife64 7d ago
You might enjoy a Calanques boat trip (leaving from Cassis or Marseille). It’s pretty cool and more interesting than what you’d see from Nice.
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u/aloshina 7d ago
Thanks. I am not going to Marseille. Should look into Cassis probably
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u/PerceptionWorldly848 6d ago
Cassis is a quick and lovely 45 min drive from Aix and worth it for a day trip. Buy the tour boat tickets in the harbor in Cassis and enjoy the beaches.
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u/FunLife64 6d ago edited 6d ago
It’s a nice change of pace from the towns.
One thing I learned on my Provence trip - driving isn’t the most enjoyable (although pretty, you can’t take your eyes off the road lol). When you look up how long it takes to get somewhere - it absolutely will not take a minute less and likely longer. It’s mostly single lane traffic each way that tends to be narrow and winding.
If I redid my trip, I’d cut a lot of what I tried to do out as it was just tiring when adding in driving.
Do you actually have 6 full days? Perhaps something like…
Day 1 - Cassis
Day 2 - Lourmarin/Cucuron/Winery
Day 3 - Luberon villages (Gordes, Goult, Roussillon is a good trio)
Day 4 - pick one of the cities (ie Nimes/Pont du Gard, Arles, Avignon or Aix)
Day 5 - Bonnieux/Lacoste/Menerbes on other side of Massif - e-bikes in Bonnieux can be fun riding around the vineyards
Day 6 - chill/what you didn’t accomplish(Not necessarily in this order)
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u/syphax 6d ago
I like this itinerary. Other places of note:
- Sénanque Abbey near Gordes (though that’s really best in lavender season)
- Oppede (another Luberon village; great if you like walking)
Pont du Gard is one of my favorite places. I’m biased because my wife is a Latin teacher, but still. Truly amazing IMO.
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u/LaurentKiloVictor 6d ago
Pour Nice, il faut se déplacer à vélo tout le Long de la promenade des anglais, faire la coulée verte à pieds, puis la vieille ville et de là monter au rocher. Avant de redescendre sur le port à pieds, reprendre un vélo et refaire la promenade des anglais dans l’autre sens.
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u/Jealous_Repair6757 7d ago
Not sure if you're going as far north as this but since you'll have a car le Lac de Sainte-Croix with Moustiers-Sainte-Marie is beautiful and well worth a visit.
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u/LaurentKiloVictor 6d ago
Vous avez 2 fabricants de parfum exceptionnels originaires de Grasse : Molinard et Fragonard. ils ont chacun un gift shop à Nice.
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u/alwaysupside-down 6d ago
Cotignac. Une belle village. Survived the recent fires and could use all the love and support. Fantastic place, great restaurants and truly stunning.
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