[Captain Jack]

Hi everyone,

I'm going away for a week in the South of France with my partner at the end of August (whoop!) Flying into Nice and then planning to drive about inland a bit and on the coast, flying out from Toulouse.

If you've been to that area, do you have any tips for things to do, places to visit or places to stay? We like a mix of national parks, sights and city adventures! (not asking for much I know... )

Thanks for any tips or advice.

Jack

[barnetlad]

Go to Vence and visit the Chapelle de la Rosaire (designed by Matisse) would be top of my list near Nice, and also the Chagall Museum in Nice itself.

[emilie18]

I used to live in the South of France, one really good place to visit would be Carcassonne, it's an ancient walled city and it's just beautiful. Lovely views, amazing architecture, lots of history, it's a really gorgeous place to spend the day

[roh]

Saint-Guilham-le--Desert in Herault worth a visit if you've got time. Montpellier's pretty nice, particularly Les Estivales. Avignon and Palais des Papes, though I suspect you already you knew about that one.

[Pkysam]

Are you camping? Do you have places booked to stay? Bit hard to advise without a bit more info BUT you're near my favourite part of france. Don't miss the Cevennes national park, not only is the scenery amazing but there's loads and loads to do.

Canoeing, canyoning, via ferata, climbing, caving, swimming in rivers, mountain biking. Have a look at somewhere like Florac as a reasonable spot in the centre, but to be honest there are lots of options all over the national park. Some nice photos here http://www.sport-nature-lozere.com/ or perhaps hmmm http://www.cevennes-tourisme.fr/uk/ has some info in English. Last time I was in Florac (which was a few years ago) these guys http://www.cevennes-evasion.com/ were incredibly helpful and reasonably priced, and could organise pretty much anything (cycling, including dropping you off up high and picking you up hours later once you'd ridden all the way down!), canoeing, canyoning, etc. etc.

If you fancy something less adrenaline fueled (really?), in 1878 Robert Louis Stevenson spent 12 days walking 120 miles through the Cevennes with a donkey named Modestine bought for 65 francs and a glass of brandy, until after 12 days he completed his walk, sold his ass - and wept. He wrote one of the earliest examples of travel literature called "Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travels..._C%C3%A9vennes (free kindle version here http://www.amazon.co.uk/Travels-Donk...4071638&sr=8-1 ). You can still walk the Stevenson trail, and even hire a Donkey to carry your bags! Lots of info here : http://www.chemin-stevenson.org/en/o...ey-rental.html

I also wouldn't miss the Pont-du-Gard, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pont_du_Gard an impressive roman aquaduct, you can swim underneath the arches at the bottom for the best view! Awesome day trip as you pass through.

- let me know if you're camping and I'll recommend some places to stay!

[Nice.Guy]

Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild (i think that's what it's called - it's got seven gardens, pretty cool to see)

If you're driving, you may as well visit Cannes and Monte-Carlo - seeing as you're so close.

Castle Hill as well, in Nice - gives you an amazing view of the bay,

Old part of Nice if you want - and visit the market

And there's this place called Eze, can't remember much myself but it's apparently really nice

Enjoy!

[Captain Jack]

(Original post by barnetlad)
Go to Vence and visit the Chapelle de la Rosaire (designed by Matisse) would be top of my list near Nice, and also the Chagall Museum in Nice itself.

(Original post by emilie18)
I used to live in the South of France, one really good place to visit would be Carcassonne, it's an ancient walled city and it's just beautiful. Lovely views, amazing architecture, lots of history, it's a really gorgeous place to spend the day

(Original post by roh)
Saint-Guilham-le--Desert in Herault worth a visit if you've got time. Montpellier's pretty nice, particularly Les Estivales. Avignon and Palais des Papes, though I suspect you already you knew about that one.

(Original post by Pkysam)
Are you camping? Do you have places booked to stay? Bit hard to advise without a bit more info BUT you're near my favourite part of france. Don't miss the Cevennes national park, not only is the scenery amazing but there's loads and loads to do.

Canoeing, canyoning, via ferata, climbing, caving, swimming in rivers, mountain biking. Have a look at somewhere like Florac as a reasonable spot in the centre, but to be honest there are lots of options all over the national park. Some nice photos here http://www.sport-nature-lozere.com/ or perhaps hmmm http://www.cevennes-tourisme.fr/uk/ has some info in English. Last time I was in Florac (which was a few years ago) these guys http://www.cevennes-evasion.com/ were incredibly helpful and reasonably priced, and could organise pretty much anything (cycling, including dropping you off up high and picking you up hours later once you'd ridden all the way down!), canoeing, canyoning, etc. etc.

If you fancy something less adrenaline fueled (really?), in 1878 Robert Louis Stevenson spent 12 days walking 120 miles through the Cevennes with a donkey named Modestine bought for 65 francs and a glass of brandy, until after 12 days he completed his walk, sold his ass - and wept. He wrote one of the earliest examples of travel literature called "Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travels..._C%C3%A9vennes (free kindle version here http://www.amazon.co.uk/Travels-Donk...4071638&sr=8-1 ). You can still walk the Stevenson trail, and even hire a Donkey to carry your bags! Lots of info here : http://www.chemin-stevenson.org/en/o...ey-rental.html

I also wouldn't miss the Pont-du-Gard, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pont_du_Gard an impressive roman aquaduct, you can swim underneath the arches at the bottom for the best view! Awesome day trip as you pass through.

- let me know if you're camping and I'll recommend some places to stay!

Thank you everyone, this is absolutely brilliant! Exactly the kind of advice I was really hoping for and then some

We haven't booked anything yet but we'll likely be staying in cheap hotels or B&Bs rather than camping. Thank you for offering though.

I'll spend some time looking at all of these recommendations and then I'll share our final itinerary for others to benefit from at the end.

I'm really excited now thanks to this

[jamesfly]

Saint-Guilham-le--Desert in Herault value a check out if you have got time. Montpellier's fairly awesome, particularly Les Estivales. Avignon and Palais des Papes, though I suppose you already you realized about that one.

[Awesome-o]

Champagne on yachts. Nothing else needs to be done.

[FDR]

If you can, visit Monaco - don't bother spending a night there as the prices will be ridiculous, but there's a lot to do in a day such as the famous Monte Carlo Casino (featured in a couple of Bond movies, but surprisingly not Casino Royale, despite being the casino in the novel) as well as the palace.

Cannes is also worth a visit, however it is usually jam packed in the summer.

[Alix23]

Toulouse itself lovely if you have a day to spend walking round.
I go to the Toulouse area every year and there's nothing else particularly memorable :/