We just arrived home from Nice. It was the most amazing trip. We took the TVG from Paris. It was very easy. We stayed at the Westminster hotel on the Promenade de Anglais. It was beautiful! We started each morning eating breakfast on the patio terrace overlooking the water. Wow! We visited the sights in Nice. We climbed up Castle Hill and saw spectacular views. Vielle Ville ( Old Nice) was great and we ate dinner there each evening! It was fun to walk around the streets. In the morning, we visited the Flower Market. It was a feast for your eyes, nose and taste buds. They had fresh produce.
We also visited Villefranche-sur-mer. It was like walking into a picture postcard! Gorgeous! I think that was probably our favorite! It is easily accessible by train- 15 minutes. From there, we walked ( a long walk) to St. Jean Cap Ferrat to see the Ephrussi-Rothchild Manor- lovely gardens!
We visited Eze Village. Again- another wow! It is a medieval village- wonderful!We took the train to Eze and then a 20 minute bus up the hill. The bus stop is right when you get off the train.
We also visited Antibes and loved that as well!
We also visited Cannes and Monte Carlo, too. We took the train from Niceville station for these.
If I can be of any help to others, I will try! You all helped us with wonderful tips to make our trip a memorable and magnificent experience! We fell in love with France, and hope to visit again!
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Hi MickeymOuse
Glad you enjoyed your trip to Nice and thanks for the feedback. Nice is wonderful and addictive.
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I agree about Eze - simply fabulous. Just as an alternative, though - you can take the bus directly from Nice to Eze village for 1 euro each way, without having to do the train to bus transfer at Eze Bord sur Mer. We tried the train way the first time, and it was a 40 minute wait from when the train arrived to the next bus. The direct bus is much easier.
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Hi MM and everyone!
I am totally new to this forum. I did a quick search for some things, but could use your help. Husband %26amp; I are going to France in early October - first time -(October 2-20) actually 16 days in all not counting the 2 days getting there and back. We are spending 4 nights in Paris upon arrival then heading off to Normandy to stay at a friends house. We originally thought that we would spend 10 days there, then head back to Paris for 2 last days before heading home. But, I do have a dream of visiting the South of France. What would it be like to spend say 5 days touring Normandy, then take a cheap flight to Nice and spend 5 days in the South before heading back to Paris and eventually home? Is this doable? Can someone please advise on: cheap flights or train - whatever is best,some good websites to look at, decent but cheap hotels because we are on a major budget. I am now wondering if we could do all this. Am I trying to cover too much? I%26#39;m thinking 5 days in Normandy is plenty, but who knows, having never been , I really can%26#39;t say. I would really appreciate any advice given my way. Thanks so much.
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Shackvancouver,
I think it sounds doable to me.
We started our trip in Paris ( which we loved) and then took the TVG train to Nice. I have never been to Normandy, so I am not sure if they have a similar set up, but it was so easy to get to the TGV. Ours left at the Gare de Lyon, which happened to be one stop on the Metro from our hotel near the Tulleries Gardens. It was a wonderful way to get to Nice. I would look into this to see if there is something similar to Normandy and then to NIce. Once you get to Nice, the Niceville train station, as well as the Nice airport is very close to the Promenade de Anglais. This is where we stayed in Nice. We stayed at the Westminster Hotel. It was gorgeous right off of the water. There is another hotel that I was recommended to that I heard was also great that was cheaper, but still close to everything- The Hotel Gounod. It is on the way to the main train station and close walking distance to the water and the Vielle Ville ( Old Town). If you can get to Nice, I would highly recommend it. It was a trip that dreams are made of!
One more thought- is it possible to change your going home airline tickets to leave from the Nice Airport. They have a major International Airport right there ( It took us back to JFK in New York). This way you can stretch out your holiday and not have to back track to the Paris Airport. It might save you a day that way, since you will be doing a lot. I hope this has helped!
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Yes MM it has helped and I thank you. I will look into those hotels and the TVG. I%26#39;ve heard that it is just beautiful in the South of France and always wanted to go. If it doesn%26#39;t work for this trip, then I%26#39;ll start saving for the next! I cannot change my tickets now.Question: How long does it take on the train to get from Paris to Nice? I%26#39;m thinking that maybe we could go there first from Paris, then back up to Normandy. I don%26#39;t have any hotel reservations in Normandy to worry about. I think that the coast of Normandy and the south of france are just about as far away from each other as you can get in France! But I%26#39;ll look into it.
Thanks again.
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It took about 5 1/2 hours on the TGV. We left at 11:46 and arrived around 5:15PM. It only takes about 3 hours to get to Southern France, but then we did stop at various stops once we got there, like in Cannes and Antibes( brief stops). It was extremely pleasant. It was my first real train trip ( even though I am originally from New York and have been on many trains in my life- this was way more pleasant). It was something my husband wanted to do, instead of taking a plane, and it was great. You get to see the countryside. The seats were very comfortable. They do have earlier trains though.
Once we got to Nice ( the Niceville Station- they call it), we did take a taxi- 16 Euros, but really we could have walked. It is so close to the Promenade de Anglais and even closer to the Hotel Gounod. There is another hotel that looked good- not on the water, but very close to it and also to the train station. It was called the Splendid Hotel. I am not sure how it is, but it looked good from the outside.
If you can arrange it, I would. The people and the scenery were magnificent. It was wonderful. Good luck, Let me know how you make out!
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Hi
We stayed at the Hotel Gounod the other weekend. I can recomend it. Good room with balcony, air conditioning and clean bathroom. The Hotel Splendid is next door and if you stay at the Gounod you can use all the facilities at the Splendid, roof top pool, gym and spa.
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I just received a reply email from the Hotel Gounod and they quoted me 151.80 euros, all tax and breakfast buffet included. That is approx 243.00 CDN a night. I realize that the euro is really up there right now. Hope it doesn%26#39;t get too high by October. Is this a reasonable price for that area in October? I am going to try hard to arrange this visit MM, so maybe I%26#39;ll have to look around for a slightly cheaper hotel, but one that is in a good location, and clean. It it means some budgeting to get there, I%26#39;ll do it! Thanks veryone.
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Shackvancouver,
Good luck with your search. Let me know how it turns out. I hope you can work it out!
My husband has always wanted to visit Vancouver. We have heard that it beautiful! Friends of ours just went there and then took a cruise to Alaska.
Good Luck again with your France trip!!!No matter how it turns out, you will have an amazing time in France!
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Thanks MM - Will let you know what we do. If you ever need any info about Vancouver I will be glad to help. Some day you should come and visit.
Thanks again for all your help.
Regards,
Leslie
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