flying into Nice; need suggestions for one day

[Pearl64]

We are looking at flying into Nice next March the Friday of Palm Sunday weekend. We then are going to spend about 10 days in the Languedoc region of France. Since we will be arriving from the US that morning, we thought we would stay somewhere in the area before venturing out in the rental car. Suggestions on where to stay? Nice, Villefranche, or elsewhere. We do not need anything fancy but needs to be clean and safe. We will probably tour until about dinner time and then crash shortly after dinner. Then the next day we will travel to Uzes when our rental will be available later in the afternoon.

 

What can we do for the day? Monte Carlo? Stay in Nice? Taking a scenic ride (remember we are coming from an all night flight from the US) or reserve that for Saturday? I have just started research by reading Rick Steves. Many options. The beach is out as it will be late March!

 

Thanks for any options you may be able to give.

 

Pearl

[pobulus]

hello

depends exactly when you ll arrive!!! ( what is palm sunday???)

if it's the end of the month it's okay

but if it's the beginning or the middle you'll still be in Carnaval and children holiday time !!!very hard to drive some days

[KayAnnie]

Nice is very pretty and has a wide selection of food as well as a market. We enjoyed the Russian Orthodox church with its onion domes. Eze is also great. You can take a bus directly to Eze from Nice. Rick Steves has a decent little chapter on Eze. I would say not to rely soley on his directions and maps. Get another map that is more detailed. (we got lost thinking that we could just use the maps out of the book)

[Pearl64]

Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter and is at the very end of the month. I have skimmed Rick Steves's info on the area but was kind of overwhelmed. I have already purchased Michelin local maps for two other areas of France, but I think I will probably spring for one in this area as well. They are very detailed. We learned to have a very detailed map from our trip to Norway last year.

 

KayAnnie, I like your suggestion of Eze but RS mentions two of them and I was sort of confused. Are you recommending that we stay in Nice as opposed to Eze? We will have a rental car so need some place with safe parking.

 

I will research some more. Thanks.

Pearl

[CorgiGuy]

Hi Pearl,

 

I have a suggestion for a resonable price place to stay when you arrive in Nice, it is the Hotel Suisse. It is located accross the street from the Baie des Anges, and is only a two minute walk from the "Old Town" area of Nice.

 

We stayed their pre-cruise in 2008, and would stay there again in a heartbeat. Location is wonderful!! The rooms are plain and simple, but clean. The bathroom was updated and the size was not a problem. The front desk was always very helpful. In 2008 we paid 190 euros a night, which for Nice is very reasonable. Couple of important notes:

 

1) Make sure you request a fith floor room with a balcony.

 

2) Don't bother with their breakfast package, it is somewhat pricey for what is offers. Besides, its' an easy short walk to Old Town with all its' bakeries & cafes. I pick up breakfast items in Old Town, and we would enjoy them on our balcony.

 

3) You can easily spend several hours or a whole day enjoying Old Town.

 

4) I would pick St Paul de Vence over Eze, but both are worth visiting.

 

We were in room # 56, I believe #55 has a slightly larger balcony. Her is a picture of our view from the balcony.

 

 

Hope this helps.

 

Stay well,

 

Anthony

[KayAnnie]

Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter and is at the very end of the month. I have skimmed Rick Steves's info on the area but was kind of overwhelmed. I have already purchased Michelin local maps for two other areas of France, but I think I will probably spring for one in this area as well. They are very detailed. We learned to have a very detailed map from our trip to Norway last year.

 

KayAnnie, I like your suggestion of Eze but RS mentions two of them and I was sort of confused. Are you recommending that we stay in Nice as opposed to Eze? We will have a rental car so need some place with safe parking.

 

I will research some more. Thanks.

Pearl

 

I would feel comfortable staying at any of these towns in this region: Eze, Villefranche, or Nice. There is a parking lot at the foot of the hill in Eze, and in Nice, it would depend on the specific hotel. This is a really easy region to get around on the train or bus. There is a direct bus from Nice to Eze, depending on when you get your rental car. I like Steves' recommendations usually, but I also use tripadvisor like crazy when looking for hotels (as I am sure you do also).