First time visiting France

[Ashley24]

I have booked excursions for all the places I am visiting except France. I am a bit confused on exactly what port we will be at since it is listed differently than all the other ports.

It says Toulon/Provence (La Seyne), France.

All the other ports are listed like this: Livorno (for Florence/Pisa), Italy OR simply Lisbon, Portugal.

 

Secondly, any recommendations for a pleasant visit to this area would be greatly appreciated! I would love an enjoyable meal, perhaps some boutique type shopping, and any interesting sites to see.

Thank you!

[Hlitner]

Toulon will be the Port of Toulon.  They mention Le Seyne, since that is a charming seaside village in the area (you would need a shuttle, tour, or public transit to get to Le Seyne).  Livorno is a port city, best known for being about a 1:20 drive from the fabulous city of Florence.  It is also relatively close to Pisa.  

 

When visiting these popular western European ports, you have many options.  You can get a good idea of the various options by simply looking at all the excursions offered by your cruise line.  Keep in mind that western Europe is a very well developed part of the world (similar to our own country) and you do have to make choices between cruise line excursions (generally overpriced and large groups of 50+), booking private tours (which you can do online or working with others on your cruise by using the Cruise Critic Roll Call board for your specific cruise), or by simply going off on your own.  If you do go off on your own (known here as DIY) you can use your feet, public transit (buses and trains), or even rent a car.  Another option, in many cities, is to use Hop On Hop Off (we call them HoHo) buses.

 

There is no "one size fits all" approach to a first visit to these places.  You need to do what is best for your own comfort level and budget.  

 

In some ports, your cruise ship will provide shuttle buses to get from the port to a nearby city/town.  Depending on your cruise line these shuttle buses will either be free (common with the luxury lines) or involve a fee ($10 - $30 is common).

 

Hank

[edinburgher]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

Toulon will be the Port of Toulon.  They mention Le Seyne, since that is a charming seaside village in the area (you would need a shuttle, tour, or public transit to get to Le Seyne).

Sorry to disagree Hank, but Toulon has two porting options, Toulon itself and la Seyne sur Mer which is around 5 or 6 miles away and is mostly used by bigger cruise ships.

 

ashley24 reading how Toulon is described on your itinerary, I am guessing you will be onboard a big ship (you didn't say) and  most likely you will be docking in la Seyne s/Mer.  From there you could take a cruise shuttle (could be bus or boat) or the little public shuttle ferry boat to Toulon or walk into la Seyne itself, a quite pleasant little seaside town which has both a train statiuon and public buses, opening up further sightseeing options should you not want to stay in either Toulon or la Seyne.

 

there are some past threads for both and reading a few might be helpful.  very few for la Seyne, more for Toulon.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=la seyne&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=462

 

 

Toulon

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=toulon&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=462

 

.

Edited August 1 by edinburgher

[marazul]

@Ashley24

I agree with @edinburgher that you will be porting at La Seyne.  I would recommend an excursion to Aix-en-Provence (things to see and boutiques) and Cassis (lunch by the seaside).

[Ashley24]

1 hour ago, edinburgher said:

Sorry to disagree Hank, but Toulon has two porting options, Toulon itself and la Seyne sur Mer which is around 5 or 6 miles away and is mostly used by bigger cruise ships.

 

ashley24 reading how Toulon is described on your itinerary, I am guessing you will be onboard a big ship (you didn't say) and  most likely you will be docking in la Seyne s/Mer.  From there you could take a cruise shuttle (could be bus or boat) or the little public shuttle ferry boat to Toulon or walk into la Seyne itself, a quite pleasant little seaside town which has both a train statiuon and public buses, opening up further sightseeing options should you not want to stay in either Toulon or la Seyne.

 

there are some past threads for both and reading a few might be helpful.  very few for la Seyne, more for Toulon.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=la seyne&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=462

 

 

Toulon

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=toulon&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=462

 

.

The cruise is the Emerald Princess.

[edinburgher]

5 minutes ago, Ashley24 said:

The cruise is the Emerald Princess.

You can double check by looking at cruise schedules on the official Port of Toulon website or cruisetimetables or any of the other cruise calendars..

[Ashley24]

1 hour ago, edinburgher said:

You can double check by looking at cruise schedules on the official Port of Toulon website or cruisetimetables or any of the other cruise calendars..

I looked at both areas you suggested, and they both say the Emerald Princess will be in Toulon on May 1, 2025.

[D&N]

@Ashley24 Toulon is a main base for the French Navy and also a major freight port and a main ferry port for Corsica and Sardinia. The actual port of Toulon is full with those activities.

If you open Google Maps and search for "Toulon" it will show the natural inlet with all the ports. The map will show a red dotted line around the Toulon City boundaries and you will see the port of Seyne-sur-Mer in the South-West corner of the inlet.

Here's a screen shot of it.

 

 

[edinburgher]

1 hour ago, Ashley24 said:

I looked at both areas you suggested, and they both say the Emerald Princess will be in Toulon on May 1, 2025.

then it must be so.

[shecritic]

Since it sounds like you'll be docking in Toulon, I'd recommend checking out La Seyne-sur-Mer, as Edin suggested. It's a nice seaside town that is very close to the port. If you're looking for boutique shopping too, Aix-en-Provence is beautiful - you can see pictures of Cours Mirabeau online, and the main street is gorgeous. For lunch with an amazing view, Cassis is hard to beat.

There's also a fantastic guide on https://gowithguide.com/blog/tourism-in-france-statistics-2023-all-you-need-to-know-5275 about tourism in France that gives detailed stats and recommendations. Might be worth checking out for more local insight as you plan your day.🙂

[sailing canary]

Not sure how this might affect your planning, but May 1 is a public holiday in France - le Jour du Travail and things may be closed. But you have plenty of time to find out.

[D&N]

I hadn't paid attention to the date.

Not many years ago almost everything shut down on May 1st. Trains and buses might operate a Sunday service if anything. Restaurants were generally open though as with everyone on holiday they would be full at lunch times.

That's relaxed a little recently and some supermarkets have opened in the morning for half a day. I'm not sure how museums and other attractions are affected but I wouldn't count on being guaranteed to find any particular place open without enquiring in advance.

[Hlitner]

5 hours ago, sailing canary said:

Not sure how this might affect your planning, but May 1 is a public holiday in France - le Jour du Travail and things may be closed. But you have plenty of time to find out.

Good catch :).  Mayday can require some planning.  This past May 1, we disembarked an Oceania cruise in Trieste.  Every rental car agency, in Trieste, was closed for the holiday (and I needed a car).  We had to plan on going all the way (over 20 miles) out to the airport where some rental car agencies were open.  As far as in Paris, it is not unusual for some of the labor unions (remember that May 1 is Labor Day) to plan marches/protests.  This can impact tourism as they will sometimes protest at major areas (such as near the Arc de Triomphe).   It is not usually a big deal as long as one is aware and plans.  

 

Hank