Nick2024

Hi there,

We’re planning an 9 days trip to southern France in early November with our 5 month old baby. Starting from (and landing in) Nice this is what I have:

Nice (3 nights): Check out Nice WITHOUT car
Drive to Aix (2 hour drive)
Aix (2 nights): Spend 1 day checking out Aix, and the next day driving to nearby villages of Roussillon, Gordes, St. Remy
Drive back to Nice
Nice (4 nights): Check out Antibes, Eze, Menton, Villefranche Sur Mer, (and maybe St. Paul de Vence) WITHOUT car

1. Does this look too much? Our base in Cote D'Azur will be Nice.
2. Should our base in Provence be Aix? I know people recommend other smaller villages for stay but we definitely DON'T want a completely sleepy town either.
2. What other places (if any) should we add to this list?

This will be our first trip with our baby so we're a bit apprehensive about driving with him as we've only every used public transport in Europe before.

Thanks so much for help!

kja

I must admit that I think your plan quite ambitious. You might want to think about trimming a bit, perhaps keeping some options in mind in case you find that you do have time.

I'm surprised you don't mention the Villa Ephrussi or Villa Kerylos. Both are magnificent and together make an exceptional day trip from Nice. You could, perhaps, combine them with Villefranche Sur Mer which, IMO, is not nearly as spectacular.

Personally, I loved Aix and would definitely base there, particularly as you really only have one day there. YMMV.

You might find some useful information in my trip report: A stellar month in southeastern France

You'll see some wonderful things no matter what you decide!

mjs

I would think traveling with a baby in a car would be easier than public transportation. I would not do a 2 night drive to Aix to see that part of Provence. First Aix is not close to Gordes or St Remy etc. Secondly you would be missing a lot of interesting places like Avignon, Les Baux, Pont du Garde, Arles, the Rhone wine country etc. I would save this area for another trip.

shelemm

I don't think it's too much. Near Roussillon I am deeply fond of Fontaine-de-Vaucluse which has a ton of great features:

https://www.provenceweb.fr/f/vauclus...e/fontaine.htm

With tiny kids, I much prefer villages, and I think they are easier than towns. St Remy is a town, so that interests me less.

A couple of my favorite, hidden places (you will have these places all to yourself):

Les Grottes de Calés, 7th Century BC Ligurian grottoes. In the village of Lamanon.

Le Vieux Vernégues, village in ruins.

I personally would add another night to Aix. Antibes is too resort-y for my taste.

Nick2024

I agree! From what I can tell one can spend weeks in these villages but we just want to get a taste of them and still not be too bored because at the the end of day, they're still tiny towns, albeit charming. From all I've read online, the consensus appears to be that Aix, Gordes, St. Remy, and Roussillon are the must see in the region. I've seen Arles and Nimes mentioned a lot too but they look like bigger cities.

gooster

In early November, you will notice seasonal closures or just annual vacations in the smaller villages and towns. (Even hotels and restaurants close for the season, not just tours and seasonal shops) Aix is a year-round destination but can be challenging to day trip from -- but you only have a couple of days so it should not be bad. If you expect to be close to lodging during the day, I'm might rebase in St. Remy or somewhere a bit more central and easier to get into and out of. .

On your return from Western Provence, you could hit St. Paul. You may encounter some closures (like the famous Colombe d'Or) but it will be beautiful still.

Christina

Aix is not a great base for the Luberon. Neither would Arles or Nimes be. You have some wrong info on size, both Aix and Nines are ci ties of about 150K population, about 3x the size of Arles.

Nick2024

Yea so that's what I've been finding as I research more on this. Also parking looks to be a challenge anywhere within Aix unless we stay on the outskirts but at that point it makes no sense to stay in a city because with a baby it will be challenging to figure out how to get to city center from the outskirts. St. Remy looks to have more reasonably priced and better hotels than Aix anyway. BUT I did notice that St. Remy appears rather boutique style place catering to day trippers whereas Arles and Nimes seem to have less of that vibe, with Arles being more of picturesque and charming city for strolling. Ideally we'd like to stay in a central location in any of these towns so we can stroll later in the evenings with some level of life happening at night instead of being a completely sleepy town. Would you recommend St. Remy or Arles for 2-3 night stay?

How bad will the closures be in these places: Aix, St. Remy, Gordes, Roussillon in early November? Will the smaller towns be too empty? And how will the weather be compared to Nice/Riviera?

kja

If you want to stay in Aix, you might look at Hotel la Caravelle. It offers parking and is an easy, flat walk into the heart of the city.

gooster

Arles can work, some people find the exterior a little less charming but the center is very nice. St. Remy is a bit more central but I don't know if I would solely call it a day tripping place --- many people use it as a base during the main tourist season but I've not stayed outside of that time. I do know, from speaking with the owners of a small hotel in Bonnieux, that in the Luberon area is it quite common for inns/B&Bs/hotels and some restaurants/shops to close between November and Easter. We stayed in April, and everything was just reopening but it was nice to see the area without as many tourists.

It has the chance to be a few degrees colder and windier in November in western Provence than on the Cote d'Azur. But anything can happen, as the weather is less predictable in that month. The weather differences grow in Dec-Feb.

pgtraveler

Your itinerary sounds like a lot of packing up and moving around to me. Especially with a baby. Can you compact the Nice portion to either the beginning or end of the trip, but not both? Or even just stay in Nice the entire time? Travelling with a baby entails a lot of extra "stuff" and packing up and moving around just does not sound relaxing to me.

HappyTrvlr

I recommend staying in Nice the entire time. Day trips from Nice are easy to do via bus and train.
I think that since you are traveling with a young baby, staying in one place will be much easier.

tomboy

Re: Aix-difficulty driving, exiting, etc.
We stayed twice at a Best Western hotel, near the northern edge of X. Nice room, great breakfast, free parking, close to a bus stop that's 2 stops from cours mirabeau. Handy & convenient