South of France

[patrick_mcmurray]

I am going on holiday tomorrow for 2 weeks with my girl.

We are flying into Grenoble, hiring a car, and flying out of Marseille.

The plan is to visit some nice towns, eat in good local restaurants, and sit in cafes in pleasant squares reading our books!

I have already been to Aix, Avignon, and Cassis. This is the sort of place that we are interested in. Maybe even smaller than these.

We are not really that interested in glitzy places like Nice, Monaco, Monte Carlo.

Anyone got any good recommendations for small / medium towns?

If you have, they would be much appreciated.

Cheers,
Patrick

[75s]

Dude, Nice and Monaco are great places to visit.

[KDawg]

I don't have any towns for you to go to, but, you should be able to get a ton of great rhone wine in that area

[niss]

Not sure if St. Jean Cap Ferrat is out because of its proximity to Nice ... but if not, go there, it's beautiful.

Also, go to Eze, and have a drink (outside) at the hotel.

Edited to say -- when my wife and I went a couple of years ago (for a wedding), I was dead set against going, having heard terrible stories about how the French are to Americans and others who speak English. At least in this part of the country, those stories could not have been more wrong. The people were wonderful to us.

[MrMon]

I have heard that Lyon is a hidden secret for great food. Nothing specific, just that Lyon compares very favorably to Paris, but you'll be treated much better for way less money.

[Chillee]

Everything is more expensive in Paris. It's true there a kind of restaurant in Lyon called 'bouchon' which are a good quality/price choice.

[diamonddawg]

If you change your mind & want info on Monaco, PM me.
No matter what, though, strong rec that you find out from your bank what ATM's to use or expect mad fees.

[Jay Riall]

Absolutely out-of-this-world medieval town called Carcassonne in the South of France near Perpignon if my memory serves me correctly. Definitely worth a look, though it may be a bit out of your way.