Hey Jordan – I was just dreaming about my old life down in the south of France. Antibes was always a favorite of mine. It’s big enough, small enough, close to a lot of other great places, has the Picasso Museum (reviews and info on my blog), and best yet – sandy beaches compared to Nice’s pebbley ones. The highlight of all of my experiences in the south of France though was making my very own signature perfume in Grasse at Gallimard. Whatever destination you decide, you’re in for a treat! Enjoy!

st. jean de luz if you’re looking for lower key – basque goodies, beautiful linens, home of the espadrille…gorgeous markets. and easy to hop to san sebastian for a change. if you want to go all out, then go for cannes.

Nice, the city obviously, is one of my favorites! Amazingly little beach vacation.

http://bywayofney.blogspot.com

A few years ago, my family rented this place in a town called Sigale in the moountains above Nice: http://www.rentalsfrance.com/provence_cote_dazur/lou_sourgentin/625.html

You can take the TGV down from Paris to Nice, but would then need to rent a car. The town is about an hour’s drive from Nice. The town of Sigale is a charming medieval perched village. There are no roads in the town – you have to park in a parking lot at the entrance to the town. There are no permanent stores in the town, but there’s market days where a truck will come and set up and sell produce, meat, bread, etc. There are some great places to walk near the town. Nice is close enough that you can take a drive to the coast and go to the beach. And there’s a Carrefour just on the edge of Nice on your way to Sigale so you can go grocery shopping.

Loved it!

Hello fellow Parisian lady!
Well, the place I absolutely LOVE in the South is the Pays Basque: St Jean de Luz is just so beautiful and typical. There are other lovely cities nearby (Biarritz for instance), the prettiest little villages (Arcangues, Espelette, Ascain….), the most beautiful countryside, great GREAT food, and Spain so very nearby (San Sebastian is a magical city: the architecture is amazing and you eat the best pinxos ever). This part of France is very preserved and authentic.
I know this comment may sound a bit “too much” but trust me, I’m not exaggerating!

I would echo the recommendations for Antibes! We did a week based in Menton and traveled from there to Nice, Villefranche sur Mer, Monaco, and Antibes and we have always said that if we could go back to just one place we would choose Antibes. The public bus that drives along the coast is easy to use and makes for a very exciting ride given the direct plunge down to the sea along the side of the road! Have fun!

If you’ve never been to Cannes, you should go there!

Jordan, St. Jean de Luz was my first love when my then fiancé first brought me to France 12 years ago and I still love its charm, my in-laws live in Moliets and there are beautiful beaches there, Hendaye is a nice quiet family beach and Arcachon is the vacationing hotspot, very fun! You can take a peek on my blog for posts about these places. Looking forward to see where you go! Bisous xoxo

I absolutely second Aude’s suggestion. Having lived in the region for almost twelve years it is very un-spoilt and far less crowded than the more touristy “south of France” (ie south east france).
My home in south west France is in Hossegor (about 20 mins drive north from Biarritz).
I’ve just written a little blog piece about it: http://tootsamacginty.com/blog
I’d suggest you rent a little house in the Landes region & not in Biarritz itself as it’s a little over priced and only a hop skip & a jump away by car. The beaches of the Landes are vast and you’ll always be able to find an un-crowded spot. Check out my local spots here: http://viewsurf.com/vue-314-Seignosse_-_Les_Bourdaines.html ….. & you’re just in time as September is the best time of year to be here. Bon Voyage!

Gosh – so many places to choose from. My friend and I chose Arles – we’ll head there soon – we want to visit the Camargue, perhaps Uzes, Aix, Avignon, St Remy….not sure we’ll have enough days 😉 But we are desperately hoping for some sun, given the poor summer we’ve had here in Scotland.

I would also recommend St Jean de Luz and Biarritz – lovely beach towns. Also, like someone already said, it is not far from San Sebastian – one of my favorite Spanish cities. And it’s easy with kids – we took all 3 of ours with us 🙂

Jordan, you should consider Corse, the French Island. It is the most beautiful you have ever seen.

Don’t spend longer than a day in NICE, you’ll be disappointed. I went and it was just OK. My friends have gone to the small towns along the French Riviera and said it was amazing!!!! I wish I had done the same instead of spending a very expensive three day weekend in Nice which was just so-so.

I hear Cap Ferratt is ridiculously gorgeous.

Collioure is beautiful and it won’t be as busy now as it is in July- you can swim in the bay & walk up a hill to the windmill and look out over the gorgeous view.

How about northern Italy? We went to Levanto this summer. It’s a nice, not to big city, with beach and boulevard. It’s not too touristic, but enough to be comfortable. You can visit the Cinque Terre. You can walk or take a boattrip, or just enjoy the beach. I loved it.

Just remember: “NICE IS NICE BUT CANNES HAS SAND”. I wish I’d heard that li’l saying before I was sitting uncomfortably on Nice’s rocky beach! Have fun!

Nice is a wonderful town to spend a day or two; if you do go there, the flower market and farmers market are both famous and beautiful and worth a stop. If you are into cooking classes, Rosa Jackson (a Canadian) offers some great market tours and cooking sessions in her home. My favorite restaurant in Nice is Oliviera, a little shop that specializes in dishes with olive oil – delicious and special.

However. Having said all that, Nice is not my favorite beach at all. Rocky, and quite crowded in the summer. You can walk the promenade all around it and the parks are great, but if you want to truly go to the beach, I would suggest driving further east into Italy. Skip Sanremo (like the Myrtle Beach of Italy, I swear) and continue on to Alassio.

Alassio is a perfect tiny beach town. Hemingway used to live there – there are all these memorials to him and other famous writers who spent time there. There are sandy beaches, restaurants right on the beach, and it’s quiet and good for families.

Just my two cents — have a marvelous trip, wherever you end up!

Hi Jordan,
I enjoy your blog. In answer to your question, I would avoid going anywhere in the south of France in August, if you can. Wait until after the French return from their summer holidays. If you go in early September, you’ll still have good weather but will avoid the crowds of holiday makers and the horrendous traffic.
That being said, I personally am not a huge fan of the Côte d’Azur. I find it too bling-bling for my taste, but I do love the arrière pays and Provence. Some of the places suggested, albeit lovely, are located nowhere near a beach, by the way (I’m thinking in particular of Saint-Rémy).
If you don’t want to go too far, I would look into these options:
1. Ile de Ré (a small island off the Atlantic coast, midway b/w Nantes and Bordeaux). Here is their official website: http://www.holidays-iledere.co.uk/.
2. Ile d’Yeu (http://www.ile-yeu.fr/) – another island off the Atlantic coast, but more northerly than Ré.
3. As some others suggested, the Basque country is lovely and has some nice beaches.
4. Corsica, of course, has great weather but you would have to fly there.
Good luck with your search!

Marseille! Lovely beach, very close to centre of town. Lots of lovely seafood and north African restaurants around the harbour. We stayed in the Le Corbusier hotel, a design classic if not right in the centre. Paddling pool on the roof! And good transport. Get the TGV, such fun and so fast.
Arcachon as recommended above is great too, i remember climbing the dunes with my parents when I was about six, beautiful pictures.

I recommend anywhere that touches the Mediterranean! So beautiful and peaceful. No wonder why so many people flock there.

But when we were in Nice, there was a nice man that said his favorite was spot was St. Tropez (we never made it there).

Bonjour !
I’m a French girl living in Seattle and following your blog, I think you’d love Sanary-sur-Mer. It’s between Marseille and Toulon, not far away from Aix-en-Provence. You have the vineyards in Bandol, the beautiful beaches in Sanary and so much more. And from there, you can drive to Aix,Cannes, Antibes for the day. You can, also go from Sanary to Vintimille which is in Italy, just at the border with France by train, the railroad is along the sea, a trip to remember. Let me know, if you want more info.

The water in Nice was very warm and clear. The ground was all pebbles, though– fine if you don’t want to get sandy, but not very comfortable to sit on!

Nice is a great location for bathing in the sun, but only if you go to the private beaches (which can be costly!). I think we paid 18euros a day (each) for access to the private beach, which included a towel, umbrella and chair.

ps. everyone is talking about Picasso in Antibes but if you happen to be on team Matisse, like I am, Nice has the best Matisse museum in the most gorgeous neighborhood, its heavenly. Just wanted to add that in!