We are going to be in the area In mid October travelling from Rome to Paris and would like to stop at one of these areas. I have been to Florence before and LOVED it. I would like to visit a town/towns inbetween ROme and Paris that are smaller, walkable, relaxing, but still have a lot to do/restaurants etc. We will be travelling by train but are willing to rent a car for a few days. Looking to spend about 4 days in one of the Riveria areas.
A few suggestions I have received are Monaco, Nice, Sorrento, Portofino. Thoughts on any of these towns or others please! Thanks for your help.
Italian Riveria vs. French Riveria
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Others will be able to give you much better answers to this than I can, but a good place to start might be to look at the train routes and decide what would be convenient and enjoyable for you. Do you want to stay in a different place each of four nights, or stay in one place all 4 nights and day trip?
Sorrento and Portofino would not be on your way to Paris. And i don't recommend Monaco... Seriously expensive and not as interesting to visit as it sounds. Nice is a lovely option; be aware that it is a city, not a small town, but you could easily day trip from there to the other coastal French towns. Of course, Oct won't be beach weather, but lovely weather for walking and relaxing.
Personally, I would go to Provence. You could get there by train, then rent a car to visit different small towns, and then take the high speed train from Avignon to Paris. Happy planning!
Sorrento is in southern Italy. I dislike Monaco.
Consider the travel times: The train ride from Rome to near Portofino is about 5 hours. Rome to Nice is 8.5 hours. Portofino to Nice is also about 5 hours.
Or you could fly Rome-Nice in less than 90 minutes.
I would fly to Nice and rent a car for your time there.
Well Sorrento is south of Rome but the positive would be warmer weather. I would not stay in Monaco - overpriced. Nice is nice - I really like Nice - lots to do, many inexpensive day trip options using the local bus or you could rent a car. Near Portofino is Santa Maria Liguere (SML) - larger town, less chi-chi so some more moderately priced options. My choice would be either Nice or SML unless you want to head south to the Amalfi coast / Sorrento area.
Sorrento only makes sense if you fly Naples-Paris after the 4 days.
I like the idea of the Nice area as well--fly rather than train as you don't have much time, then rent a car.
We stayed at Villefranche-sur-Mer a few years ago at Hotel Welcome and loved it. You can drive up into the hills behind the town, tour Nice, etc. easily from there. You can even visit Monaco. Good base for a stay.
Camogli would make a perfect base on the Ligurian "Riviera." YOu can visit Portofino from there by bus or taxi.
Alternative would be the larger Santa Margherita Ligure; from there you can walk along the coast to Portofino.
Portofino is picture-postcard idyllic, but not a place to stay more than a few hours unless you are booked into one of the top hotels where prices run close to 1000 euro per night.
I stayed in both Camogli and SML a few years ago; we loved the area and hope to return. I am sure you can find a good train routing from nearby Genoa to Rome or Paris.
http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/ligurian-coast-lake-como-moscardini-missoltini-and-much-else.cfm