rental car in Nice

[texasstar]

We are planning a 9 day pre-river cruise trip starting in Nice. We will stay 3 days in the area and then pick- up a rental car in Nice. Is the Nice Gare station the best place to pick- up the car since we will not be at the airport? We have not finalized hotel plans yet, but will be somewhere in the Nice area or Villefranche-sur-Mer.

[Hlitner]

The train station area is fine if you are going to be staying at a hotel in downtown Nice. But we would normally book a hotel and then start looking around for the nearest rental car locations. If you will book a car for 3 (or more) days you might want to compare prices of several rental car companies and then check the pricing of some of the so-called consolidators (discounters) such as Autoeurope or Kemwel.

 

Hank

[texasstar]

Thank you for your reply. Do you have a favorite hotel in the area?

[Hlitner]

Thank you for your reply. Do you have a favorite hotel in the area?

 

Honestly no :). We have not actually stayed in Nice in more then 15 years since we prefer to stay elsewhere in the region (often outside any major city). But we think if you look on Tripadvisor and not only look at the rankings, but pay attention to some of the individual comments it will steer you in the right direction. In all the cities along the Riviera you can choose excellent high-end hotels with spectacular locations....or if you are on a budget you can always find some good hotels with not perfect locations. I will give you an interesting restaurant recommendation which is called Le Merenda. It is Chef/owned by Dominique Le Stanc who took the famous Chanteclar (at the Negresco) to its 2nd Michelin Star. Then, while he was one of the hottest chefs in all of France he quit and opened a tiny restaurant in Old Town Nice where he loves to play around with regional dishes. Getting a reservation can be tricky so the best way is to e-mail your hotel Concierge (wherever you book) and ask if they can help you out. We recently noticed that Le Stanc finally has his own Web site which is at

http://lamerenda.net/La_Merenda_Site_Officiel/La_Merenda_Nice_Eng.html

 

Hank

Edited January 6, 2015 by Hlitner

[marazul]

La Merenda is great, but good luck getting in!

It does not take credit cards.

Edited January 6, 2015 by marazul

[Hlitner]

La Merenda is great, but good luck getting in!

It does not take credit cards.

 

We always thought that Le Stanc was a genius for not accepting phone calls ). In an era when so many folks walk around with a phone glued to their ear, he has no interest in wasting his time on the phone. We recently watched a couple eating at a good restaurant...with neither saying a word to each other. They were both too busy on their respective smart phones and did not even put their phones down to eat their food!

 

Le Stanc is an interesting renaissance man who prefers customers who are willing to deal with some inconvenience so that he is not inconvenienced. Always wondered what he would do if one of his customers was glued to a phone while dining in his little restaurant. My suspicion is that if they survived the experience, they would never get into his restaurant in the future.

 

When we dined (many years ago) at Chantecler we told the Maitre'd that we would put ourselves totally in Le Stanc's hands and simply do a degustation. What followed was the most amazing meal we have ever experienced and after about course number 10 DW and I were in culinary nirvana. To see such a world-class talent walk away from fame (and money) to just cook his beloved regional cuisine is something special. There are plenty of decent dining venues in Nice, but few chefs with the passion of Le Stanc.

 

In a relatively long life of culinary adventure we have only had two meals in France that rivaled Le Stanc's cooking. One was in a small Paris restaurant owned by a (then) young Chef named Eric Frechon (now the Executive Chef at the Bristol). The other was at the legendary Boyer Les Crayers when the old man (Chef Boyer) was still at the helm. We could not afford to stay at the inn, but did shell out the big bucks to sample the cuisine of Chef Boyer. We were not disappointed. Not sure if DW and I will ever experience such cuisine again in our lives, but the memories of those great meals in France will not be forgotten.

 

Hank

Edited January 7, 2015 by Hlitner

[marazul]

This is going back quite a while, but we have similar memories of a meal in Le Moulin de Mougins when Roger Verge was the owner-chef. That was a magical setting with extraordinary food. Another at Le Chantecler under Jacques Maximin when he was in his glory years.

 

La Merenda was a well known local eatery for many, many years before Le Stanc took it over. It was always good Nicois food, now it is another dimension.