Review of JULY 2,2023 trip - a Week in the French Riviera, Provence and Paris
My husband and I, together with our three young adult children went on the tour covering Nice, Provence and Paris. The hotels were splendid and our tour director, Gina, was outstanding.
We arrived in Nice a day early and checked into our hotel, with ocean view rooms and steps away from the Promenade des Anglais. Ate at the Hard Rock Cafe the first night and watched the moon reflect on the ocean from our balconies. We had three rooms, one for my daughter and I, one for my two sons and one for my husband. The hotel was very clean, rooms were spacious and the staff was very accommodating. I felt very welcomed and we all loved Nice.
Every morning we had a hot breakfast with the best orange juice I have ever tasted. We had a local guide who took us on a walk through the old town- this excursion was an add on. It was hot, but we had a lovely walk. Overall, Nice was fantastic and I would go back in a heartbeat.
The next full day we headed down to Monaco. Our bus driver, Francois, was very impressive and my family all agreed that he was extremely skilled. We ate at a rooftop restaurant- the buffet was plentiful and offered numerous options, including plenty of vegetarian options as some in the group pointed out. Again, we were very satisfied with the food and the view. Afterwards, we had free time to walk around Monaco, see the palace and so forth. My sons were thrilled to see all of the exotic cars outside the casino and my husband, who is a big James Bond fan, bought a chip from the casino store. Another hot day but we all enjoyed ourselves.
On July 4th, we left Nice and headed to Provence. My favorite part of the day was seeing St Paul de Vence, a walled town with scenic pathways and great little shops. I wish we had more time there but we needed to move on to Aix-en-Provence. Be aware that this is a long day with a ton of walking. After our local guide showed us around, we arrived quite late in the day to our hotel, an estate really- Auberge de Cassagne- where the owner warmly welcomed us and gave us a cold drink. The service was impeccable, and the rooms very comfortable. Again, our rooms were all in a row, very thoughtful. While there, the chef created a very fancy meal for us- a bit of a disappointment that there was a very limited selection on the menu, with raw fish as a starter. Honestly, we all felt a bit let down because the meal was very pretentious. A small
thing, certainly, and the rest of the time at this hotel was wonderful.
We went to Avignon and saw the town on July 5th, as well as the sanitarium where Van Gogh painted some of his masterpieces. If you take this tour- go to the Sanitarium- it is worthwhile and only a short walk. In Avignon, we were treated to an excellent dinner of pheasant (yes- it tastes like chicken) and we all enjoyed it.
On July 6th, we headed to the Pont du Gard, and ancient Roman aqueduct and we actually were allowed to walk through the aqueduct to the other side of the river. Only downside- the boxed lunch - which was inedible. One fatty slice of ham - no one in the group found the sandwiches to be any good. I suggest buying lunch from the little restaurant on the far side of the Aqueduct- my son bought a sandwich there and it was excellent.
Took the TGV to Paris, not too eventful, and checked into Le Scribe hotel- right in the middle of everything. Paris is gearing up for the Olympics so lots of scaffolding everywhere. We spent a lot of time walking around Paris, we saw zero demonstrations and absolutely no disruptions anywhere. We spent a lot of
time worrying for no reason.
The next day, we had a lunch cruise on the Seine, more raw fish and odd food, another pretentious meal. The last day we went to the Louvre for a couple of hours and then to a great restaurant right across from the Eiffel Tower. After dinner, my family and I stayed to watch the Eiffel Tower twinkle for 5 minutes starting at 11:00 pm. Walked back to the hotel afterwards.
We stayed two more days after the tour ended - went to Disneyland Paris on 7/10- great time and they have a bus that picks up and drops off right down the street in front of the Opera. No issues with the transfers to and from the airports.
I recommend this tour- just be aware that there are a couple of meals you may not like. I was also a bit puzzled why going up the Eiffel Tower was not included. Luckily we have been to Paris before, but it not something to be missed. I would have also added a Versailles option, so if you can stay an extra day or two - well worth it!
Happy travels!!
Comments
Cheryl, headed for this tour very soon. How was the dress code? (I’m 50)
Any other advice????