On May 6, My husband, 20 month old daughter and I will either fly into Marseille or Nice. (Airfare and arrival times are the same either way.) From May 9-16 we are staying just south of Avignon then taking a train to Paris and staying there from the 16-21. Then we fly home from CDG. I%26#39;m trying to figure out what to do from late afternoon on May 6 to morning on May 9.
Would we be better off staying in and exploring Marseille and nearby areas (Cassis, etc.) or should we land in Nice and explore the area around there? Marseille is closer to Avignon but Nice isn%26#39;t really that far off (online map says 2.5 hrs driving). Which city offers more interesting sights? We%26#39;re not interested in nightlife and I%26#39;m pregnant so anything alcohol based is out. (I already know that we%26#39;re crazy vacationing to France with a young toddler while being pregnant but leaving her at home is not an option and we%26#39;re adventurous) We%26#39;re planning on renting a car.
This is our first time visiting France. We both speak a little bit of French. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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I should know by now that the first thing people always ask on this website is, %26quot;what are your interests?%26quot; I really should have mentioned that. We love history and interesting architecture. We love walking. Because we%26#39;ll have the baby with us places where she can run and have some fun between looking at museums and going on walks is a must. We%26#39;re from a land-locked province so the sea holds quite a fascination for us. We love to eat good food and are very adventurous eaters (of course the whole preggers thing might restrict that. Nothing raw, no unpastuerized cheese, etc.) We are definitely on a budget (not hostel level but not high end either!) We just want a couple of laid back days to absorb the culture, get over jetlag and be surrounded by cool sights. We are planning on renting a car when we need to. I hope that this gives people enough info to help us decide. Thanks.
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Nice is smaller and more relaxed than Marseille. Marseille is really a very big city. So if you don%26#39;t mind the drive from Nice to Avignon I would stay in Nice.
By the way, taking a toddler to France won%26#39;t be any problem at all - you%26#39;ll find that the French are very helpful towards people with small children.
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i%26#39;d pick Nice
Lots of interesting sites - go to Cimiez and see the Matisse museum and the archaeological site and museum , the Franciscan monastery and gardens and let your toddler play in the olive groves by the Roman amphitheatre [also great views ]
also go up the colline de château- plenty of space there and a play park and lovely views over the baie des Anges and Nice
there are lots of small parcs all over Nice with slides and activities for kids from a young age
also kids love to toddle around Albert premier gardens and have a ride on the old fashioned carousel.
Don%26#39;t forget throwing stones into the sea is good fun too.
If you can manage it, go to Parc Phoenix near the airport for a couple of hours- loads of plants animals birds ,fish etc , dancing musical fountains , huge kids play area and only 2 euros per adult to get in kids under 12 are free. Also museum of Asian art [free entry] next door
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I also think Nice is the better bet. It%26#39;s a lovely city and of manageable size.
It%26#39;s really a very easy drive to Avignon if you take the autoroute. Not the best way to see things but it does make for an easy trip.
We found rest stops along the autoroutes (%26quot;aires%26quot;) to be much more plentiful and much nicer than what we%26#39;re used to in Canada. If you use the autoroute make sure you have Euros on you as you%26#39;ll need to use the manned booths... our credit cards didn%26#39;t work.
We took a 2 year old to France in 1986. We had a great time and any hotel we stayed at was always happy put her milk in their fridge overnight.
You%26#39;ll have a great time I%26#39;m sure!
Rob
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Everyone thank you so much for your help and the wonderful activity suggestions. I took your advice and booked our tickets today flying into Nice. Now it%26#39;s just a matter of looking up hotels or chambre d%26#39;ote. It will be a long wait till May!
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Just a thought.....When we arrived at Nice airport,we took the local bus along Les Promenade des Anglais to within a block of our hotel.We walked or used buses to get around for 3 days and then had pre-arranged to pick our car up the morning we were leaving.The Europcar rental was one block from our hotel !! That worked out very well.....you won%26#39;t need it in Nice.
Enjoy...have fun.
Sharon
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