French Riviera itinerary; please help

Hi all--

We are on a cruise out of Nice in October. We're planning on coming in a few days early and doing some exploring. Does this itinerary make sense?

Arrive Nice mid-day, October 10th: Use bus pass that we used for airport bus to visit Matisse & Chagall Museums, walk around Nice in general if we're not overly exhausted. (Would have preferred not to do museums the first day but the rest of the time is crowded, as you'll see.) Overnight: Nice

Sunday, October 11: Rent car and drive the Corniches; happy for suggestions on routing. Want to make sure we visit Villefranche & Eze. Will be in Monaco on the cruise so not as concerned with that. Overnight: Nice Keep car overnight? because

Monday, October 12: Use car rental to visit St. Paul de Vence, Vence, and Matisse Chapel on outskirts of Vence. I know you can do this by bus (don't know if you can get to Matisse Chapel that way) but figure it is more time-economical to have own transportation if getting to 3 places. Visit Fondation Maeght, wander St. Paul & Vence (?), etc. Return to Nice, return car. Overnight: Nice

Tuesday, October 13: Cours Saleya Market, Vieux Nice, Promenade des Anglais, etc. Board ship by 4 PM or so. Overnight from here on in: Ship.

Wed, October 14: St. Tropez. Easy day to recover from busy Nice. Musee de L'annociade, Citadelle, wander Vieux Port. All aboard is 5 PM.

Thurs, Oct 15: Monte Carlo. Use HOHO bus to get around to basic sites. Shop provides excursion to Casino in the evening. Ship is in port until midnight.

Friday, Oct 16: Cannes. Not that interested in Cannes proper so renting car (from Mistral) and driving to Antibes (Picasso Museum) and around there. Could stop at Bio or Vallauris if there's time and inclination. All aboard is 5 PM.

After that, the ship calls on ports in the Italian Riviera which is another forum and needs to be worked out.

Any thoughts? I realize I've skimped on Nice in order to do day trips but isn't the French countryside what this area is all about? I think?

Thanks for any & all advice.

I was just on a cruise with a Wednesday St Tropez port stop. We visited Bormes-les Mimosa and it was market day. A very picturesque town. We then went to Grimaud and lunch in Gassin before visiting Chateau Minuty for a wine tasting. I was glad that I ventured out of St Tropez as the surrounding towns I enjoyed even more than St Tropez. We did this on a small group tour that I arranged with a few others from our roll call. And, we enjoyed a nice bottle of wine from the vineyard with dinner that night!

Hi all--

We are on a cruise out of Nice in October.

Any thoughts? I realize I've skimped on Nice in order to do day trips but isn't the French countryside what this area is all about? I think?

 

Thanks for any & all advice.

I don't know if it counts as 'advice' but I did this at Nice and St Tropez (in October).

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A few videos from the Italian Riviera can be found from the ITALY link in my signature below. All the best, Tony

 

...I realize I've skimped on Nice in order to do day trips but isn't the French countryside what this area is all about?

I think it is, or should be. The big question is what kinds of things you want to lodge in your memory trove. Nice is an okay tourist city with several pleasant attractions to check out. At the same time though, coming this near to Provence, but then missing it in favor of a museum or two? Nah.

I was just on a cruise with a Wednesday St Tropez port stop. We visited Bormes-les Mimosa and it was market day. A very picturesque town. We then went to Grimaud and lunch in Gassin before visiting Chateau Minuty for a wine tasting. I was glad that I ventured out of St Tropez as the surrounding towns I enjoyed even more than St Tropez. We did this on a small group tour that I arranged with a few others from our roll call. And, we enjoyed a nice bottle of wine from the vineyard with dinner that night!

Hello

Could you please tell me who you arranged the small group tour with and the cost? Did you go to any beaches?

Thank you

Lori

Hello

 

Could you please tell me who you arranged the small group tour with and the cost? Did you go to any beaches?

 

Thank you

Lori

Hi Lori--I booked through a Canadian company called "Tours by Locals" that contracts with local guides around the world. You select the tour you want to do with a specific guide. Pricing is per tour, not per person. We wanted an itinerary that visited different towns. The tour we found was designed for up to eight people for a full 8 hour day. I was able to get five others from our roll call to join us and the cost was around $135 pp. The tour must be paid upon booking and can be done online. We did not choose a beach visit....which worked out well as though it was a sunny May day, it was very cool! Let me know if you have further questions.

https://www.toursbylocals.com/saint-tropez-shore-excursion