Accomodation in May, South of France

[hal55]

Thanks for the previous advice from members re a Europe holiday we are doing in May. Bookings are coming along nicely with a very good deal in the Hilton Dubai Creek a bit of a standout.
In France we want to drive from Paris down thru the Loire valley, finishing in Nice where our connecting flight leaves from. This will be in the last week of May and we don't want, after Paris, to make bookings since we want to take the trip "as we go" and as quick or slow as we want.
The obvious question - will accomodation be easy enough to find "on the road" at this time or is rural France also likely to be booked out?
After Versailles, any standout attractions that are recommended (non thrillseeker variety)

Thanks for the help

Hal55

 

[medhead]

Couple of random things:
Avignon - see the graves of many kings, the pope used to live here.
Fontainebleau
Abbey of Fontenay
Out of the way is the Millau bridge, I want to see that.

I'm sure you'll find heaps of things. If your into bike riding then there are some alpine tour de france bits there. I'm sure you'll also find some wineries.

I've stayed at Albert Premier hotel in Nice (in qantas holidays brochure). Small rooms, but great views and location. Close to the flower markets - worth a visit, beach and also shopping area.

I also had a fantasic steak in Nice, in a little restaurant (can't remember the name) in one of the back streets behind the hotel. Much needed after 2 weeks in the land of the tapas

 

[hal55]

The bridge looks fantastic - particularly if you were to strike a day with the cloud around it like in the photos I found. Looks a lovely spot with the township below it and it fits easily enough into our drive across to Nice. Thanks for the info - we now have it on our schedule.
Did you find much to do in Nice/Monaco? We have two nights there and are just wondering if it's best to stay in that area or if the drve/scenery to either southern Swititzerland or Milan is worth it?
Too much to do.... so little time.......

Hal55

 

[moa999]

Coast road from Nice to Monaco. Monaco itself.

For Starwood fans - Le Meridien Monaco is awesome, Le Mids in Nice and Juan le Pins are pretty average.

In Nice,
recommend eating at La Voglia (west end of the main food stall strip near the Irish pub) - Amazing pastas, and huge deserts.
Hotel Nice Riviera, is a good value well located 4* right near the main plaza. found cheap rate on otel.com when i was there inc breakfast

 

[medhead]

Did you find much to do in Nice/Monaco? We have two nights there and are just wondering if it's best to stay in that area or if the drve/scenery to either southern Swititzerland or Milan is worth it?
Too much to do.... so little time.......

Hal55

We pretty much limited ourselves to Nice and had plenty to do. We also had 2 nights, but only 1 day, iirc. We'd just come from Madrid, a wedding in rural Spain and 3 or 4 days in Barcelona. We also took trains from Barcelona to Nice with a hell connection at montpellier. We got in late one night, but just early enough for the fantasic steak. We spend the next day in relaxed walking, flower market, a swim for the kids, seafood lunch, shopping, seafood dinner and bed. All of this could be done in a morning, we took it pretty easy.

Certainly, you could do much more, if well rested. We took the train from Nice to Rome and the scenery along the coast is amazing to Genoa. But monaco was just a tunnel on the train.

 

[turtlemichael]

Am I reading correctly you only have a week from Paris to Nice? If that's the case my thoughts are probably out of the question as you'd need 10 days plus, particularly if you spend a few days in the Loire Valley.

However, for what it is worth my route would be heading southwest down to Bordeaux from the Loire, then cutting through some of the wine regions to the Dordogne and finally down to maybe Carcassonne, Arles, Nimes and Avignon. That is a gastronomic route, particularly in the stunning Dordogne, but also of immense beauty. As to accommodation I'd think that you'll have little difficulty finding many good smaller hotels on the day at that time of year.

 

[borsa]

Whilst on the French Riviera you might like to consider staying at Antibes or Villefranche instead of the larger places like Monaco or Nice. They are both still within short driving
distance or rather than being hassled by parking the car, take the train which runs along the coast about every 30 minutes or so. Since you are flying out of Nice you could book a hotel at either of these two places for your last one or two nights.

 

[turtlemichael]

Whilst on the French Riviera you might like to consider staying at Antibes or Villefranche instead of the larger places like Monaco or Nice.

Villefranche has a village atmosphere and is really just a few minutes away, as you say, by train from the bright lights of Nice and Monaco. It has quite a few decent restaurants and bars too. The only negative is that it is a cruise ship port but they tender in rather than dock. Most cruise passengers head off on buses or straight for the train to distant places. Good suggestion and much quieter and more liveable than Nice!

 

[Sydneymax]

I can vouch for Villefranche. Beautiful little waterfront village tucked away in between Nice and Monaco. Lovely little restaraunts overlooking the Med. The backstreets are lovely.

You have to go to St Paul de Vence as well, about 15 mins north of Nice. Lovely little walled village on a hilltop, with views over to Nice.

If you can stay clear of Nice. I don't think it's worth the hassle. That's just my perspective after a few visits.

Monaco - the Aquarium is fine, but not a patch on the Sydney aquarium. The Jardin Exotique de Monaco is interesting, and has great views of Monaco. Also you have to remember that the Monaco Grand Prix is on from 23 - 25 May 2009. It'll be very crowded, but the people watching would be amazing!

 

[Commuter]

In my experience, May is still quite OK to leave accommodation booking as 'turn up at the hotel and ask for a room' in most parts of France. I never encountered any problems doing that anywhere in France up to around mid-June.

I wouldn't recommend trying this after mid-June though - apparently it does get a lot hard to get a room.

 

[borsa]

A good website for B & B's in France is "Google: france-balades" (there's an English

language option at the top). Don't be put off by the fact that the site is mainly for B & Bs, as

many of them also have apartments which can be rented for a few days, a week or more. I

subscribe and get a newsletter every month or so.

If you're planning an itinerary but still don't want to book in advance because you are not

sure where you will be on a particular day, you can take a note of likely

places en route and phone ahead or wait until you arrive and take your chances. May should

be OK for impromptu bookings.

There's an amazing choice of places to stay. It's worth a look.

Because I have less than 10 posts, I can't give the web address, so you'll have to Google it.