I am teaching at a conference in Nice in November and then plan to head to Provence for Sunday afternoon, Monday and Tuesday. We have to fly home for Thanksgiving.

Please help me plan our trip. In what city/village should we stay?
Friends have suggested Les Baux and the hotel Riboto de Taven. Others said Gordes. Would another place be better? What are the must sees in that time frame? We love wine and history so it should be easy. I am just overwhelmed. Is Arles a must? Avinon? Orange? Chateaux Neuf du Pape? Helllllllllllp.

Hmm, we need some more information to help you. Are you planning on driving to your Provence destination on Sunday morning? Are you flying home from Marseilles? Or Nice? Paris? Do you reeallly have to be home for Thanksgiving?

If you'll be flying out of Nice, I'd say you don't have enough time to make it worthwhile to drive 3 or 4 hours east to the locations you name, then back to get an early morning flight out of Nice. But you could have a wonderful time in the immediate vicinity of Nice. Nice is a fascinating place, and there are some wonderful villages in the surrounding hills. I haven't spent much time in that area, so someone else who knows it better will have some advice.

If you're flying out of Marseilles, you have a little time at least to see Provence.

With just two days, I'd suggest you spend your time in one of the larger towns, like Aix en Provence or Avignon. Les Baux is so tourist-oriented that I'm afraid it might be mostly closed up for the winter in November. Aix and Avignon on the other hand are large enough to be lively even out of tourist season.

I think Aix would be a great city to stay in. In one day I often take visitors to Lourmarin, Cucuron, Bonnieux, Roussillon and Gordes. It is a long day but you get to see much of what makes the Luberon area of Provence so great. If you stay in Nice, Vence, St Paul and Eze are fun to see. If you are interested in Roman architecture and history, you could stay in Arles and visit Nimes, Uzes and the Pont du Gard. I love Avignon as well. A lot depends on if you will be able to rent a car. Staying in a larger city, such as Aix, will put you in touch with the tourist info center and they can arrange trips out to various places around the area in vans or buses so you won't need a car.

Sorry I wasn't clear. We plan to leave Nice on Sunday afternoon and then return on Tuesday afternoon to catch a Wednesday morning plane.

We definitely plan to have a car.

i agree with saint paul en vence also villefranche sur mer are both lovely towns as is Antibes, you can even take a bus from the gare routiere in nice next to airport and take a trip to Cannes really easy and cost about 7 euros. with the car you can take the N98 dir antibes then juan les pins and get to Cannes in about 40 mins. free road no tolls.

if you like larger towns and inland then Avignon is the best one.

quote:

Originally posted by fairoaksjim:
Sorry I wasn't clear. We plan to leave Nice on Sunday afternoon and then return on Tuesday afternoon to catch a Wednesday morning plane.

Then I think you'd have a much better time staying in the immediate vicinity of Nice. If you don't, you'll spend 7 or 8 hours driving to and from and have only one day for sightseeing. This time of year, Vence and St. Paul de Vence (within 30 minutes of Nice) should be lovely.

No question. spend thanksgiving in Provence. Your family will get over it and you will have an additional 3-4 days to enjoy without the pressure. Thanksgiving comes every year and is usually over in 1 hour or so.

My wife and I returned from two weeks split between the Cote d'Azur and the Luberon yesterday. Spend the three days around Nice. On the coast, Antibes has a wonderful old town, without overwhelming crouds. With a car, Vence's old town, and Tourette Sur Loup are a must. For a truly adventuresome drive, go up the Gorge Sur Loup to Gordoun for a truly perched village. The Nice-Villa Franc-Monaco drive is a full day. Take the high route back past Eze.

Hi:

If you are into modern art then you must visit the The Maeght Foundation: Jewel of the French Riviera. It is just outside of St. Paul de Vence. Everyone I have ever taken there has just loved the experience. The other little jewel is the Matisse Chapel in Vence. Germaine

The Matisse Chapel in Vence is indeed wonderful, but getting in to see it can be very frustrating because of its closure for religious holidays (including some rather minor ones). Call before you go to be sure the chapel will be open.

I agree completely with Doug's suggestion. The places which you initially listed are just too far. You could get there, yes, but I think you would have an experience that was just too rushed. Antibes is great. ST Paul de Vence would be nice as well. Do less, and you will enjoy it more. The old part of Nice itself is also well worth exploring.
Linda