Villefranche and Marseille in June suggestions

[NCteacherlovescruising]

It will be our first time in Europe. Any suggestions for my husband and I for our first time in the area?  I went back 3 years in here and haven’t found a whole lot of information. These will be our only ports in France so I want to feel like I’m in France. I’m up for about anything. Walking tour, bus tours, food or wine tour, just walking around a beautiful town. Should we go to Nice or Provence?  

[Hlitner]

You should find a few posts here but we can go over a few options.  Whether you want to take a cruise line excursion, join with some others on private tours (best done on the CC Roll Call board for your cruise) or go on your own is a personal choice.  All have their pros and cons.  In Villefranche you want to read about the Nice Flower Market (best done in the morning), Eze Village, and Monte Carlo (especially the area around the Palace where there is a changing of the guard just before noon).  

 

As to Marseille, most look at this as a gateway port to Provence!  There are quite a few good options but they all involve going some distance from Marseille.  Trains, rental car, and tours are all options depending on where you want to explore.  You have possible access to Aix en Provence, Les Baux, Avignon, Pont du Gard, Nimes and Arles (I am listing these places so you can do some research).  I think a first time visitor would probably benefit from an excursion since most options involve some distance and it can be a bit complicated to string a few different things together.  There are also many smaller towns worthy of a visit.  Bottom line is that this part of France is an area worth several weeks of vacation :).  The cruise will only give you a small sample of the wonders of Provence.  If you want a good read try reading one of the Peter Mayle books...especially "A year in Provence."  Many long time visitors to France consider this part of France among their favorites.

 

Hank

[marazul]

On 1/1/2023 at 10:30 PM, NCteacherlovescruising said:

It will be our first time in Europe. Any suggestions for my husband and I for our first time in the area?  I went back 3 years in here and haven’t found a whole lot of information. These will be our only ports in France so I want to feel like I’m in France. I’m up for about anything. Walking tour, bus tours, food or wine tour, just walking around a beautiful town. Should we go to Nice or Provence?  

OK, I have one last day at home before I am rid of the plague, so here are some comments on my favorite part of the Med (I lived in Nice for a while).  

 

Yes, you should tour out of both ports.  They are in an outstandingly beautiful and historic area.  Nice is the main city of the Riviera (Alpes Maritimes) region.  Marseille is the main port of the Provence region.  Although adjacent to each other, they offer some very different experiences. 

 

All my comments are geared to first time travelers who want to see the main sites and think they will not be back.  (You will be back 😉😁)  For what I understand, most cruises have long days at both ports. To see the most, it would be best to take a private tour out of both places, which of course you can share with others.  Ship tours tend to go to just one or two places, while there is really plenty of time to see a lot more on a private tour.

 

Villefranche-sur-Mer is just East of Nice and it is used by large ships as a tender port.  It is a very  pretty town, but the main attractions are centered around Nice.  West of Nice are Saint-Paul de Vence and Cannes.  East of Nice are Eze and Monaco.  Right next to Villefranche is Saint-Jean-Cap Ferrat.  Eze and Saint-Paul are "perched villages" - medieval towns on top of a hill.  They are gorgeous. And those are the best-known name places.  It is a beautiful region with lots to see.

https://www.google.com/maps/@43.6457305,7.2343295,12z?hl=en

 

For your sightseeing out of Villefranche, I would recommend to start with Nice in the morning to visit the Flower Market and the old city.  Then you have two main options: 

1.  Nice-Saint-Paul de Vence-Tourrettes sur Loup-Antibes (Leave Cannes for your next trip.  Tourrettes if there is time.) 

2.  Nice-Monaco-Eze. 

On a very, very long day, you can actually go Nice-Saint Paul-Monaco-Eze.  Don't spend too much time in Monaco - see the palace and cathedral and then a drive by of the Casino. 

At the end of a shorter tour, either ask to be left off at the Villa Ephrussi-de-Rotschild in St Jean-Cap Ferrat (you can actually walk back to Villefranche), or simply spend some time in Villefranche.   

 

Marseille is a gateway city.  Yes, there are things to see there and it has been vastly cleaned up in the last few years, but do go to other places in the Provence region instead.  The towns are somewhat spread out:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Marseille,+France/@43.6170149,4.7821638,9.75z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x12c9bf4344da5333:0x40819a5fd970220!8m2!3d43.296482!4d5.36978?hl=en 

 

There are some basic circuits that are quite doable in a private tour out of Marseille:

1. Les Baux de Provence-Saint Remy-Avignon  (Skip the light show in Les Baux if they offer it.  It is in a dramatic setting, but I am sure you saw the Van Gogh light show in Charlotte.  You can better use the time in other live places.)

2.  Arles-Pont du Gard-Nimes

3.  Arles-Les Baux-Saint Remy

4. Aix-en-Provence-Cassis-Le Castellet

For a first timer, I would choose the first one.

 

There are many good tour companies in the area.  Check this board and tripadvisor for recommendations.  Google the places I mentioned, see what you like best and go from there. 

 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

I am taking notes and will look into all your suggestions.  Thanks!

[mskaufman]

We had a driver pick us up in Marseilles.  Went to Arles, Avignon, Le Baux and San Remy.  A fantastic day.

[marazul]

57 minutes ago, mskaufman said:

We had a driver pick us up in Marseilles.  Went to Arles, Avignon, Le Baux and San Remy.  A fantastic day.

It sounds great, but for others it depends on how much time they have in port.  Rely on your tour company to tell you what is possible on the time you have.  The first town to drop would be Saint Remy.  That is the minor stop in the group.

[Hlitner]

I think there is another issue that impacts all ports.  A basic question that should be answered by the cruiser is do they want to see how many different places/things they can handle in a day or do they want to see/do fewer things and have some time to enjoy and "smell the roses?"  Consider that one can certainly do a quick walk through part of St Remy in a half hour if they do not stop to browse some shops, perhaps sample some food, etc.  One can probably do a fast walk through Les Baux in about an hour if they simply walk (fast) up the street, turn around, and walk fast back to their bus/van!  As to Avignon, it is a relatively large town (the main tourist area is walled) where it would take more than a day to just walk all the streets.  A tourist could be dropped near the famous bridge, spend 30 seconds to take a photo, quickly walk over the Palace of the Popes to take a quick photo (without going inside) and jump back on the bus!  We have watched these kind of tours (when we rented an apartment in Avignon) and found it the best entertainment in town :).

 

I should add that all this is happening in France which is a country known (worldwide) for its wonderful cuisine.  Do you think it makes sense to stop for a couple of hours to enjoy a decent lunch?  or...do you just want to grab a sandwich from a street vendor and eat while on the run?

 

I am always amused at dinner (on a ship) when we ask a newfound friend what they did during the day and they say something like "we went to so many places that we cannot even remember!"   But if your goal is to visit as many places as possible in the shortest possible time you can certainly, do it.  But when Marazul (and I) talk about visiting Avignon and Les Baux on a single port day we are suggesting that limiting yourselves to that kind of day will give you some time to "stop and smell the roses."  If you want to add St Remy, Glanum (Roman ruins outside of St Remy), Arles, Nimes, etc. than you can cross these places off your checklist but will have little time to appreciate any of these places.

 

Hank

[NCteacherlovescruising]

12 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I think there is another issue that impacts all ports.  A basic question that should be answered by the cruiser is do they want to see how many different places/things they can handle in a day or do they want to see/do fewer things and have some time to enjoy and "smell the roses?"  Consider that one can certainly do a quick walk through part of St Remy in a half hour if they do not stop to browse some shops, perhaps sample some food, etc.  One can probably do a fast walk through Les Baux in about an hour if they simply walk (fast) up the street, turn around, and walk fast back to their bus/van!  As to Avignon, it is a relatively large town (the main tourist area is walled) where it would take more than a day to just walk all the streets.  A tourist could be dropped near the famous bridge, spend 30 seconds to take a photo, quickly walk over the Palace of the Popes to take a quick photo (without going inside) and jump back on the bus!  We have watched these kind of tours (when we rented an apartment in Avignon) and found it the best entertainment in town :).

 

I should add that all this is happening in France which is a country known (worldwide) for its wonderful cuisine.  Do you think it makes sense to stop for a couple of hours to enjoy a decent lunch?  or...do you just want to grab a sandwich from a street vendor and eat while on the run?

 

I am always amused at dinner (on a ship) when we ask a newfound friend what they did during the day and they say something like "we went to so many places that we cannot even remember!"   But if your goal is to visit as many places as possible in the shortest possible time you can certainly, do it.  But when Marazul (and I) talk about visiting Avignon and Les Baux on a single port day we are suggesting that limiting yourselves to that kind of day will give you some time to "stop and smell the roses."  If you want to add St Remy, Glanum (Roman ruins outside of St Remy), Arles, Nimes, etc. than you can cross these places off your checklist but will have little time to appreciate any of these places.

 

Hank

I would rather get to enjoy an area or two than go quickly from place to place.  I certainly want to try some delicious french pastries!

[marazul]

On 1/3/2023 at 7:27 PM, NCteacherlovescruising said:

I am taking notes and will look into all your suggestions.  Thanks!

 

12 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I think there is another issue that impacts all ports.  A basic question that should be answered by the cruiser is do they want to see how many different places/things they can handle in a day or do they want to see/do fewer things and have some time to enjoy and "smell the roses?"  

 

I should add that all this is happening in France which is a country known (worldwide) for its wonderful cuisine.  Do you think it makes sense to stop for a couple of hours to enjoy a decent lunch?  or...do you just want to grab a sandwich from a street vendor and eat while on the run?

 

I do agree completely with Hank.  A visit to Les Baux should include a slow walk to savor the town and the views.  Include a short visit to the Yves Brayer museum and to the church next door.  (Yves Brayer was a renowned, contemporary of Picasso, Chagall, etc,  who painted wonderful landscapes of the South of France.  I do have three of them. https://www.yvesbrayer.com/en/yves-brayer/biographie/)

 

A visit to Avignon should - must - include an inside visit to the Pope's Palace.  And Avignon is a great place to enjoy a lunch in one of the many restaurants near the Palace.  

 

Saint Remy, as Hank says, is a nice little town distinguished by being the home of the Marquis de Sade and of Nostradamus.  Right outside the town and across from each other, are the Roman ruins of Glanum and the insane asylum where Van Gogh spent his last year.   The ruins are impressive to dedicated scholars, but I would not bother since you are going to Rome next.  The insane asylum is truly interesting to VanGogh fans.  Both, and the town, are best saved for a subsequent trip.  

 

So, skip Saint Remy and have a wonderful lunch in Avignon instead.

 

Edited January 5, 2023 by marazul

[ollienbertsmum]

Another fan of smelling the roses.  For example one of my best memories of Marseille was of a day wandering down from the Notre Dame De la Gard and passing a cooking utensil shop.  We spent ages in there.  My best purchase was a device for pricking egg shells before boiling.  Who would have thought such things exist.  I use it weekly and always recall my trip to Marseille when I pick it up.  

 

Although we usually plan to get back to the ship to eat a late lunch, some of the meals ashore have included “pinch me” moments when you cannot believe you are eating in special places.  

 

To add to Hank’s conversation about rushing around - I have to add DH’s photography skills in Avignon.  He is a retired history teacher but his interest tends to be military history.   So I was standing sur le pont d’Avignon along with many other tourists.  I asked him to take a photograph for me.  Only later did I look at it and see that he had only included the complete arches.  DH had missed the brief about the bridge collapsing.  

 

I really do feel that I need to do a land tour in Provence.  There are too many wonderful places that I have not yet seen in my few port stop hours.