Really struggling with Marseille, Monte Carlo and St Tropez

[mfinley919]

Really struggling with Marseille, Monte Carlo and St Tropez, just not finding the areas appealing, oh nad we have Sete too but haven't started looking a that yet. Have less than a week till cruise ship departs on 24 day med cruise and these places just aren't appealing to us.

 

My possible solutions so far are:

 

Monte Carlo - renting a car and heading up into the small beautiful french towns like Saint Paul de Vence, Peillon, Gorbio, Eze, La Turbie etc... will be in port from 8am -11pm

 

St Tropez - stumped???

 

Marseille - considering renting a car and heading to Avignon or more for the day

 

Sete - Stumped???

 

Any thoughts on my plans for Monte Carlo and Marseille and for the other two? We are 50 years old, enjoy more advernturous activities, caving, diving, hiking, spending the day at a world class museaum or just a nice glass of wine in a square, definitely not segway group tour people.

[Hlitner]

We like your thinking in MC. Having a car gives you lots of flexibility. Before heading out to places like our beloved St Paul de Vence, stop in Nice (in the morning) for the outdoor Flower Market at the Cours Selaya. As to Sete, if you have never been...we suggest going to Carcassone. We have done it with our own rental car...but it can be difficult to arrange for a rental car in Sete....so do check well in advance. Otherwise, consider getting together with some others (try the CC Roll Call) and perhaps hiring a car/driver to take you to Carcassone. As to St Tropez, perhaps this is where you take a leisure day and just explore the town and perhaps treat yourselves to a very good lunch.

 

Marseille can be considered a gateway port to a big chunk of Provence. Avignon is nice (but a very large city) and there are also some very nice smaller places such as Les Baux....or many small villages in the Luberon. We have spent weeks in the Avignon/St Remy area (rented apartments) and never got bored. And its also possible to get to Pont du Gard....if you are into that kind of place.

 

Also consider that if you simply want to make Avignon your destination, there are some pretty decent train connections from Marseille including the high speed TGV.

 

Hank

[elaine5]

for Monaco, we took the bus to Eze, then the bus to Nice and then returned by bus to M. We could have also taken the train back to M, but the bus came by. For a few euros, we had an excellent day. We went ot Avingon from M, but with a tour, as DH didn't want to drive. If you are comfortable with a car, then M to A would be a nice day. I would still take the bus to Eze and Nice, if it runs in the fall, as it is just much easier than renting a car, parking, etc. St Paul de Vence seems like it might be easier to park than Eze.

[Hlitner]

for Monaco, we took the bus to Eze, then the bus to Nice and then returned by bus to M. We could have also taken the train back to M, but the bus came by. For a few euros, we had an excellent day. We went ot Avingon from M, but with a tour, as DH didn't want to drive. If you are comfortable with a car, then M to A would be a nice day. I would still take the bus to Eze and Nice, if it runs in the fall, as it is just much easier than renting a car, parking, etc. St Paul de Vence seems like it might be easier to park than Eze.

 

So lets talk about buses. If using buses to Eze (from either Monte Carlo or Nice) one can wait an hour (or more) between buses. Sometimes the #112 bus (to Eze Village) has more then 2 hours between runs. And its pretty similar with buses from Nice to St Paul de Vence with about 1 bus every 45 min (which can sometimes be full). So imagine trying to get from Monte Carlo to both St Paul de Vence and Eze..via buses. You would first have to catch a bus from near your port (be it Monte Carlo of Villefranche) to Nice. You then have to get to bus station (or one of several bus stops) and wait (for up to 45 min) for the next bus to St Paul de Vence. When you return it is the same situation (although you can check the bus schedule and plan on leaving St Paul de Vence at the right time) and take that slow bus back to Nice. At the Nice bus station you would then need to wait until the next bus to Eze Village (this could be well over an hour). And then you have to carefully plan your exit from Eze Village to catch the bus to Monte Carlo...or you might have to wait another 1 or 2 hours.

 

As to parking, there is a parking lot right in front of the main entrance to Eze...and we have always been able to get a spot (they are free). At St Paul de Vence you have a choice of parking along the road (free...but you might have a long walk) or a large indoor parking garage (it does have a fee) located just past the main entrance. The last time we rented a car in Monte Carlo we drove directly to Nice for the morning Flower Market. Then, we hopped in the car and drove to St Paul de Vence (about 25 min) where we spent a few hours and had lunch. At that point we drove back to the coast and stopped in Antibes for an afternoon drink/snack. Then, on the way back to Monte Carlo we took the Middle Corniche and decided to stop at Eze Village for an hour. And finally back to Monte Carlo. Because we never had to be concerned about waiting for buses we did this on our own schedule and had no issues with time. Actually, using local/regional buses to duplicate this day would have been very difficult to impossible.

 

And a recent post reminded us of another very good reason to use a car for St Paul de Vence. There is a wonderful art museum (The Maight Fondation) located a few minutes from Eze. With a car, it is easy to make the quick drive from St Paul de Vence. If using the #400 bus you are essentially out of luck.

 

We think buses are great...especially if moving between Monte Carlo-Villefranche- and Nice (the #100 bus hits all these places). But the frequency of buses to Eze Village and St Paul de Vence (they are different buses) makes this rather difficult...and one could easily spend several hours just waiting for buses. And having to rush through lunch to catch a bus has never been our idea of fun.

 

Hank

[Cornishpastyman1]

Really struggling with Marseille, Monte Carlo and St Tropez, just not finding the areas appealing, oh nad we have Sete too but haven't started looking a that yet. Have less than a week till cruise ship departs on 24 day med cruise and these places just aren't appealing to us.

 

My possible solutions so far are:

 

Monte Carlo - renting a car and heading up into the small beautiful french towns like Saint Paul de Vence, Peillon, Gorbio, Eze, La Turbie etc... will be in port from 8am -11pm

 

St Tropez - stumped???

 

Marseille - considering renting a car and heading to Avignon or more for the day

 

Sete - Stumped???

 

Any thoughts on my plans for Monte Carlo and Marseille and for the other two? We are 50 years old, enjoy more advernturous activities, caving, diving, hiking, spending the day at a world class museaum or just a nice glass of wine in a square, definitely not segway group tour people.

 

In case it gives you any ideas here's what I did in that area :

 

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24 days in the Med is a a seriously intensive cruise so Hank's idea of a relaxing day off in St Tropez sounds good :) All the best, Tony

[dritan]

Hi

 

Just back from a HAL cruise which covered most of these - suspect you are on the same line.

 

After several visits I found something about Monaco to really like and it's not much talked about here. This is the Prince Rainier Car Collection. This is a pretty amazing collection of aroudn 100 cars from the dawn of automobiles all the way through to formula 1 cars. I'm definitely not a car fan but it really was interesting to see the development of cars through the past 100 years.

 

I agree with the poster above, that Marseilles is a seriously underrated port. As the port bus wasn't running on the day we were there, we just got a taxi into town and had a lovely day at the Musem, the Notre Dame de la Garde and the Panier. The old port is just so pretty.

 

As I was travelling with two young kids, we just walked into Sete and did a boat tour along the coast. But really there wasn't much to Sete itself. If we hadn't been tired and if I had planned better, we would have just taken the cruise transfer only to Carcasonne.

[Hlitner]

While we can understand a resident of Marseille trying to promote his/her city....we think there are better options (such as Aix) in the region. As to Marseille, it has been ranked (by some publications) as the most dangerous city in France. I seem to recall it also accounts for about half of all the murders in the entire country. The reality of Marseille is that while a tourist (and we have spent some time walking and riding around a lot of the city) might feel comfortable in some neighborhoods (like the Vieux Port)....this is a very high crime city. This is a city that has been harmed by a huge migrant population (mostly unemployed), a major presence of organized crime, and a drug trafficking problem that apparently is not equaled anywhere else in France.

 

For those that doubt my post, we suggest just using Google (try "French cities with high crime). We did spend a little time trying to find a web site that is somewhat fair and balanced (there are always two sides to a story) and here is a link to our best find:

http://www.thelocal.fr/20150917/marseille-murder-capital-or-must-see

 

Hank

[buggins0402]

While we can understand a resident of Marseille trying to promote his/her city....we think there are better options (such as Aix) in the region. As to Marseille, it has been ranked (by some publications) as the most dangerous city in France. I seem to recall it also accounts for about half of all the murders in the entire country. The reality of Marseille is that while a tourist (and we have spent some time walking and riding around a lot of the city) might feel comfortable in some neighborhoods (like the Vieux Port)....this is a very high crime city. This is a city that has been harmed by a huge migrant population (mostly unemployed), a major presence of organized crime, and a drug trafficking problem that apparently is not equaled anywhere else in France.

 

For those that doubt my post, we suggest just using Google (try "French cities with high crime). We did spend a little time trying to find a web site that is somewhat fair and balanced (there are always two sides to a story) and here is a link to our best find:

http://www.thelocal.fr/20150917/marseille-murder-capital-or-must-see

 

Hank

 

Is this crime centered in the tourist areas?

 

Coming from the murder capital of the US, I know how these things can be exaggerated to someone visiting a city. At Detroit's worst, I had no problem walking downtown at night when I worked in the city.

 

In two port trips, one spent in Marseille and one finishing a long day in Aix, we never felt unsafe...and we really walked around.

[angeleyes27]

Each person has their own criteria as to what makes them feel safe. I grew up in inner city Camden. I did not feel safe and would not walk anywhere there, nor in Detroit and some areas of Philadelphia so I probably would not in Marseille either.

 

 

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[cc_rider]

In April we had a short port stop (back on board by 3:00) in Marseilles. Spent the time in the city and loved it. Free port shuttle to La Joliette, walk around the Vieux-Port and MUCEM, city bus up to Notre Dame du Garde, walk around the Cantini and into the Noailles/Arab market (Saturday so it was very lively) with lunch from a street vendor, stop at La Brouse, more walking around Vieux-Port, walk up into the Panini (stopping at shops and art galleries) to Vieille Charite, down to La Major and back to port shuttle, all by 2pm.

 

We never felt unsafe in the areas we were in. I found the people there very friendly and helpful, despite of my poor French. Given a chance I'd go back there again.

[cruisemom42]

I imagine much depends on what you enjoy when traveling. I enjoy cities over quaint villages (which often look too "tarted up" for my taste). Marseille reminds me a little of Naples -- a large, very old, gritty, vaguely off-color but very "real" port city with lots to see if one likes history. I spent four days there a couple of years ago and enjoyed it. There are interesting museums and other sites, and some good food if one doesn't just settle for a mediocre bouillabase somewhere touristy!

 

That's not to say Avignon isn't also a great place to spend time. I enjoy it as well. I'm just not as fond of the "beautiful villages" that are often one-trick ponies.

[marazul]

For St Tropez, I recommend renting a car and driving to Port Grimaud (quick look, it is a modern development), Grimaud village, Gassin and Ramatuelle. You can stop at the St Tropez beaches along Pampelonne. You will still have time to return the car and enjoy St Tropez. There is a Hertz very near the port.

 

Since you are planning on driving at several ports, I advise you to buy the Michelin Green Guides for Provence and the French Riviera. They are intended for driving vacations (they do sell tires :D) and it gives you the routes (such as the St Tropez circuit above), driving times, places to stop, etc.

 

Hank has good suggestions for other ports. The best place to park in Nice is the new underground parking garage (Parking Sulzer) in the Quai de Etats Unis (that is the name of the Eastern portion of the Boulevard des Anglais), pedestrian exit right by the Flower Market.

 

And do get out of Marseille. There is much more to see in the area.

Edited September 21, 2016 by marazul