bimmeroc

seven days with my wife...kids will stay back with my mom in LA.....

do we rent a car...nice places to stay.......thanks

Hormazd

Buy one and take delivery in Munich. Then Drive.
We did this last summer. Drove down to Rome in the 545i via Venice and Florence then back up the west coast of Italy to Pisa, Nice and Barcelona. Dropped the car back in Nice and flew home.

I found Monte Carlo over rated. Just my 2c.

TObmw

I have an apartment in the South of France and have been going there for fourteen years with my family. What time of the year will you be travelling? 7 days is a very short trip, try to extend it to at least 10 days. If you only want to go to the South, fly into Nice, rent a car and travel westwards. Monaco is only 20 minutes by car from Nice so you don't have to necessarily change hotels constantly. There are a number of villages close to Nice that you should definitely visit, such as St. Paul de Vences, Mougins and most certainly Cannes (these are east of Nice). Personally, I really like Monaco (this is the Principality where Monte Carlo is located). It has the highest number of Ferraris per capita in the world and the number of exotic cars that you will see is staggering. San Remo is quaint but a little boring ( 4-5 hours sufficient). Try to continue to Florence, which is only 5 hours away by car. The autostrada is outstanding with 150km/hr speed limit and the city itself is one of my favourites. Definitely stay in the old city, everything is accessible within 10 minutes by foot. Sienna and Pisa are very close and also worth the visit. I absolutely love Europe and adore the lifestyle, cuisine, architecture and history. I can give you the names of some hotels, but while in France, it makes more sense to stay in a centrally located hotel and make several day trips. Good luck and let me know if you need any more advice.

paulwbenn

The Riviera and the south of France are beautiful, I've been there a number of times. I suggest staying in Nice - it's in a central location, has lots of hotels and the airport. You can see quite a bit in seven days, especially if you have a car. Old town Nice is a fun place to walk around in and have dinner. Villefranche is a colorful village a few miles from Nice with restaurants right on the waterfront. My wife and I have a great memory of a lunch there. Cannes and Juan Les Pins are close by and have (relatively) nice beaches (its pretty cold now). St Paul de Vence is nice. If I was short on time, I'd probably skip San Remo and maybe Monte Carlo. Have a great time.

rduncan

Suggestion: Drive the coastal roads (the upper and lower Corniche) from Nice to Monte Carlo, as they are amazingly serpentine and challenging. The drive is lovely. One time I drove up the roads in a rented motorcycle with a friend and in the process fell in love with the amazing shades of blue and green off the coast. Of course, in your new car, you'll be concentrating on the scenery closer to the road.

If you like art, try the Picasso villa near Cannes (Antibes, I believe), or the Macht Gallery ...

Enjoy! Freude am Fahren!

Robert

DXXXi

Nice car Robert.

Actually, I am interested in the thread. Thinking of doing similar (but longer) trip next year. Monacco and Italy.

Hormazd

Nice car Robert.

Actually, I am interested in the thread. Thinking of doing similar (but longer) trip next year. Monacco and Italy.
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BMW paid for a month of road tax and insurance when I did ED in July. Now they only give you 14 days although I am sure you can buy more.

Our Holiday was 17 days including travel days to Europe.
Left Los Angeles Wednesday night

2 nights Munich (545 delivery on Friday)
2 nights Venice
2 nights Florence
2 nights Rome. (scheduled 3 nights but skipped town after dinner)
1 night somewhere along the coast.
1 night Pisa
2 nights Nice/Montecarlo (scheduled 3 nights but skipped town after dinner)
1 night AIX on our way to Barcelona
2 nights in Barcelona
1 night more in Nice (Drop off car in Nice)

Many said it would be hectic, but we were in each town for two days and nights and drove every other day for abot 3 or 4 hours. We had a wonderful time.

DXXXi

Nice car Robert.

Actually, I am interested in the thread. Thinking of doing similar (but longer) trip next year. Monacco and Italy.
[/quote]
BMW paid for a month of road tax and insurance when I did ED in July. Now they only give you 14 days although I am sure you can buy more.

Our Holiday was 17 days including travel days to Europe.
Left Los Angeles Wednesday night

2 nights Munich (545 delivery on Friday)
2 nights Venice
2 nights Florence
2 nights Rome. (scheduled 3 nights but skipped town after dinner)
1 night somewhere along the coast.
1 night Pisa
2 nights Nice/Montecarlo (scheduled 3 nights but skipped town after dinner)
1 night AIX on our way to Barcelona
2 nights in Barcelona
1 night more in Nice (Drop off car in Nice)

Many said it would be hectic, but we were in each town for two days and nights and drove every other day for abot 3 or 4 hours. We had a wonderful time.
[/quote]
Most respectable. How many miles did you put on the car? You must have been going a pretty good clip most of the time. No construction traffic jams I guess - they're brutal.

gdavis

There are some great places in southern france to see. Nice is actually a very big city and in many ways is not so attractive for me. I really like the smaller towns as mentioned above-
St. Paul de Vence- a cool 'perched village' with neat shops and restaurants. (west of Nice about 20-30 minutes) Just next to that town is an incredible contemporary art museum and grounds called Gallerie Maeght. You can find it on the web.
Juan les Pins and Plage La Garoupe also west of Nice. nice small beaches and cool 'club' restaurants, maybe better for summer.
Monte Carlo is very commercial and developed, not so tourist friendly unless you want to see the royal palace and exp. cars.

But for that itinerary, 7 days isn't much. You might want to shorten the distance or extend the time. We picked up our car in Munich, then drove it through France end ended up around Nice.

Also try www.viamichelin.com for driving info routes and timing for distances. It is great.

FJPM

I suggest that you buy the Michelin Green Guide on the Riviera.

Excellent trip advisor.