dubai_phil Posted 18 May, 2014 Share Posted 18 May, 2014 Hey travel guru's We're off doing some touring around southern France in a few weeks. We land at Nice & will do the town & a day trip to Monte Carlo & the Coast road back. After that we plan to head into the National Parks, Gorges de Verdun and head towards Avignon/Arles/Orange/Chateauneuf Du-Pape for 4/5 nights camping. Anyone have any totally must see places in that area we should add into the bumbling around plans? It's been AGES since I did something like this and yes I need to buy a good map as Google Maps really ain't much help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Window Cleaner Posted 18 May, 2014 Share Posted 18 May, 2014 Hey travel guru's We're off doing some touring around southern France in a few weeks. We land at Nice & will do the town & a day trip to Monte Carlo & the Coast road back. After that we plan to head into the National Parks, Gorges de Verdun and head towards Avignon/Arles/Orange/Chateauneuf Du-Pape for 4/5 nights camping. Anyone have any totally must see places in that area we should add into the bumbling around plans? It's been AGES since I did something like this and yes I need to buy a good map as Google Maps really ain't much help! No but here's a tip for you. Brush up on your Russian and bring your cash in a wheelbarrow. Cote D'Azur has been invaded by the Russian mob and their Roumanian slaves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twiggy Posted 18 May, 2014 Share Posted 18 May, 2014 If you're heading towards Avignon - Head to the coast for the Camargue. Great wildlife - stunning scenery and you can see Flamingos! Highly recommended! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecuk268 Posted 18 May, 2014 Share Posted 18 May, 2014 Eze's worth a look. It's a "perched village" between Nice and Monaco located 1400 ft above sea level and built on a small outcrop of rock. Stunning views along the coast although it is a bit of a tourist trap and seems to have more restaurants and arty shops than residents. St. Tropez is very touristy but it's amusing to watch the huge yachts (some never seem to leave harbour) and the very rich coming and going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huffton Posted 18 May, 2014 Share Posted 18 May, 2014 Mont Ventoux. Probably best not to try it on a bike though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
so22saint Posted 18 May, 2014 Share Posted 18 May, 2014 Pont du Gard is breathtaking and well worth a visit. Near to Thur is a little village called Castlenou which has amazing views and some fantastic places to eat. The floating restaurants in Agde near Cap d'Agde are wonderful and the town is very sweet as well. Carcassonne is also mind blowing if you like your castles, and the Carcassonne sur Plage lake next door is a lovely swim and place for a picnic. If you drive down toward the Spanish border a swim in the med next to the castle at Collioure is also lovely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubai_phil Posted 18 May, 2014 Author Share Posted 18 May, 2014 No but here's a tip for you. Brush up on your Russian and bring your cash in a wheelbarrow. Cote D'Azur has been invaded by the Russian mob and their Roumanian slaves. Lol, if anyone finds ANY part of the planet that hasn't been infested yet let me know! FFS they even now have Russian Girls stripping in Patong in Thailand. We're staying very clear of the beach areas but thx If you're heading towards Avignon - Head to the coast for the Camargue. Great wildlife - stunning scenery and you can see Flamingos! Highly recommended! That's likely to be a bit far but thx Twigs. We plan to hang round Avignon and do a pilgrimage to C-n-d-P for the Wine. Also we do have a Flamingo reserve here (inserts randmom golf story here - Birdie, Dead Flamingo in Lake, does runner) Eze's worth a look. It's a "perched village" between Nice and Monaco located 1400 ft above sea level and built on a small outcrop of rock. Stunning views along the coast although it is a bit of a tourist trap and seems to have more restaurants and arty shops than residents. St. Tropez is very touristy but it's amusing to watch the huge yachts (some never seem to leave harbour) and the very rich coming and going. Thx Great thanks Eze is on the list but no way St Trop not my scene at all & remember the traffic was awful 15 years ago! Mont Ventoux. Probably best not to try it on a bike though... Actually 2nd on my list. I have a number of looney mates who do the Cycling thing, NOT me! Have been before but would not miss it for the world. Pont du Gard is breathtaking and well worth a visit. Near to Thur is a little village called Castlenou which has amazing views and some fantastic places to eat. The floating restaurants in Agde near Cap d'Agde are wonderful and the town is very sweet as well. Carcassonne is also mind blowing if you like your castles, and the Carcassonne sur Plage lake next door is a lovely swim and place for a picnic. If you drive down toward the Spanish border a swim in the med next to the castle at Collioure is also lovely. This one has been passed straight to my Research Assistant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridge too far Posted 18 May, 2014 Share Posted 18 May, 2014 I'd second Carcassonne - we arrived there by barge on the Canal du Midi. Fabulous place and great restaurants on the hill up to the old city Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twiggy Posted 18 May, 2014 Share Posted 18 May, 2014 Get a cassoulet if you go to Carcassone... Be prepared to not move for a hour or so - but so so so worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Window Cleaner Posted 18 May, 2014 Share Posted 18 May, 2014 I'd second Carcassonne - we arrived there by barge on the Canal du Midi. Fabulous place and great restaurants on the hill up to the old city Bit of a trek though, must be over 300 miles from Nice. Different part of the country. Honestly though La Côte D'Azur is vastly overated, invaded by all sorts of riff-raff to an extent where a couple of major towns are now controlled by the FN (Avignon,Orange) and the others are controlled by the hard right of the hard right. Languedoc Roussillon is far better and less touristy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubai_phil Posted 18 May, 2014 Author Share Posted 18 May, 2014 Bit of a trek though, must be over 300 miles from Nice. Different part of the country. Honestly though La Côte D'Azur is vastly overated, invaded by all sorts of riff-raff to an extent where a couple of major towns are now controlled by the FN (Avignon,Orange) and the others are controlled by the hard right of the hard right. Languedoc Roussillon is far better and less touristy. The plan came about thanks to the UK's bloody Airport Tax system. It was 120 quid each cheaper to "fly to Glasto" with a stop over in Europe and a short haul hop. Emirates don't charge extra if you travel to the same zone but use different airports. For us having done Italy with Daughter's wedding in 2012 was Barcelona or Nice as non stop links. 'I looked at Languedoc as it is fantastic, went there 1st time when they were still building the bridge at Millau, drove over it the 2nd time- also as first expectation I had imagined flying on Ryanair/Easyjet and Carcasonne to Bompey was top of my EASY TO DO list. To my shock with bags BA full service was 60 Euros each one way to Nice! The cheapie boys were well over 100 quid per person and also stupid waste of a day timings Main nightmare is sorting the packing - camping gear, touring round gear & Glasto gear into 2 x 23Kg bags! (Luckily discovered BA allows your Cabin Bag to be up to 21kg as long as you can lift it & it is the right size so that helped a LOT! Arrival is at Nice as we land at noon and can get organised into Rental car. Day 1 is motorway to Monte Carlo for a quick selfie or two then the coast road before heading inland after Cannes (staying clear of) and looking for 1st campsite. So we don't do beaches (I live 600m from one and haven't been there for about a year!) we want to do scenery, trees, hills and rivers and old towns and stuff and of course WINE, more WINE, then even MORE wine, and maybe some of the food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutch Posted 18 May, 2014 Share Posted 18 May, 2014 I'd second Carcassonne - we arrived there by barge on the Canal du Midi. Fabulous place and great restaurants on the hill up to the old city Me too. It was where I learned to reverse park a 12 metre cruiser. But it is a very long way from Nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Window Cleaner Posted 18 May, 2014 Share Posted 18 May, 2014 The plan came about thanks to the UK's bloody Airport Tax system. It was 120 quid each cheaper to "fly to Glasto" with a stop over in Europe and a short haul hop. Emirates don't charge extra if you travel to the same zone but use different airports. For us having done Italy with Daughter's wedding in 2012 was Barcelona or Nice as non stop links. 'I looked at Languedoc as it is fantastic, went there 1st time when they were still building the bridge at Millau, drove over it the 2nd time- also as first expectation I had imagined flying on Ryanair/Easyjet and Carcasonne to Bompey was top of my EASY TO DO list. To my shock with bags BA full service was 60 Euros each one way to Nice! The cheapie boys were well over 100 quid per person and also stupid waste of a day timings Main nightmare is sorting the packing - camping gear, touring round gear & Glasto gear into 2 x 23Kg bags! (Luckily discovered BA allows your Cabin Bag to be up to 21kg as long as you can lift it & it is the right size so that helped a LOT! Arrival is at Nice as we land at noon and can get organised into Rental car. Day 1 is motorway to Monte Carlo for a quick selfie or two then the coast road before heading inland after Cannes (staying clear of) and looking for 1st campsite. So we don't do beaches (I live 600m from one and haven't been there for about a year!) we want to do scenery, trees, hills and rivers and old towns and stuff and of course WINE, more WINE, then even MORE wine, and maybe some of the food. There's a decent (or was 2 years back) campsite at Castellane, you can look it up on the information super highway no doubt. Should be Ok before the french and dutch school hols. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weston Super Saint Posted 18 May, 2014 Share Posted 18 May, 2014 I wouldn't worry about it. Doubtless the French air traffic controllers will be on strike as usual during the summer and you'll be re-directed to Italy. Probably easier to research Rome... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubai_phil Posted 18 May, 2014 Author Share Posted 18 May, 2014 I wouldn't worry about it. Doubtless the French air traffic controllers will be on strike as usual during the summer and you'll be re-directed to Italy. Probably easier to research Rome... Lol thx WSS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandwichsaint Posted 18 May, 2014 Share Posted 18 May, 2014 Gorges de Verdon will definitely tick your boxes, stunning natural scenery, and the balcony road is like self-driving your own private mono-rail! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buctootim Posted 19 May, 2014 Share Posted 19 May, 2014 Viillefranche is a pretty old town a few miles from Nice, worth a half day visit. It can be easier to use the train to go anywhere along the coast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Posted 19 May, 2014 Share Posted 19 May, 2014 I go to the vacluse region of Proevence every year. Near the Mt Ventoux mountain there's a lot of beautiful countryside which isn't too touristy like some areas. Sounds like a pretty solid plan. There's a nice place on the coast called Cassis, which is good for families. St Tropez is definitely worth a day/ night just to see the place. The huge boats, amazing women and just in general the harbor has such a buzz about it. Also worth mentioning France can be really horrifically expensive if you're not careful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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