France Help Please

[nyyhoneybee]

We will be in Nice & Provence in August. I would rather not book through the ship to save some money.

 

A bit about us: 27, from NYC and it will be our honeymoon/first anniversary cruise. Neither one of us has ever been to France. We are foodies so something with good food would be great.

 

Any recommendations what to do or what to see?

[4774Papa]

Buy a Rick Steves Mediterranean.

[Hlitner]

We would 2nd getting a Rick Steves book to give you some excellent ideas on what (and how) you can do things on your own. Its also a good idea to take a few hours and scroll back through this particular France board in order to read lots of the posts (more then a few posted by moi) that can add to your idea base. There is a lot of information on this board about how to do things on your own via public transit and rental cars. Once you two have started to focus your ideas down to a plan we urge you to post detailed questions on this board where you will get lots of very detailed help. Print-out any good advice and build a file to take on your trip. Since you are a "foodie" I will give you a head start for your research. If you are going to be near Nice on nearly any morning (except Monday) there is a famous "Flower Market" located in the old town area. But not only do they have lots of flowers, they also have many stands with local produce, cheeses and other regional food items. Its lots of fun to browse (this market is outdoors). And right in this same neighborhood and loads of cafes/restaurants where they have all the regional specialties (this area is popular with both tourists and locals).

 

Hank

[nyyhoneybee]

Thanks! We will be in France at the end of our cruise so the last week of August

[TLCOhio]

Agree with most of the points made by Hank and others. You've got lots of great options in this area. I also like the Eyewitness books with their great pictures and maps to help you consider your many options. Below are some visuals to highlight your potentials here.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Recently back from a June 7-19 Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now over 39,742 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

 

In Monaco, the Casino might be the most famous building:

 

 

 

Here is one of the parks in Monaco with the scenic mountains in the background:

 

 

 

The charming mountain top village of Eze is nearby and offers great view along the southern French coast to the west.:

 

 

 

This picture shows more of the gardens at the top of Eze that offers great views along the coast:

 

 

 

Along the scenic southern French coast west of Cannes while driving from Saint Raphael eastbound on this great scenic D559 route.:

 

[radsailor]

The south of France is wonderful. My brother worked in Aix for a while and I went to visit. He had a car which was nice. Places we visited were Eze, Cannes, Monte Carlo, Cassis, Arles, Chateauneuf du Pape, etc. Enjoy!!!!!!!!

[Jolimont]

Hire a local guide for the day, they will keep you away from tourist traps, especially food tourist traps.