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ED to Nice (early Oct) - ideas?

2K views 21 replies 11 participants last post by  brainiac37 
#1 · (Edited)
My wife and I are picking up a Melbourne Red 328GT in early October and then heading down towards the coast. This will be my second ED but her first!

Here is our current itinerary. Hotel recommendations? Other points of interest that you'd recommend?

We like good scenery, good food, and cute towns. Comments/critique welcome.

10/04 Take delivery. Overnight in Freiburg
10/05 Black forest drive. Lunch in Baiersbronn (Schwarzwaldstube). Overnight in Freiburg
10/06 Explore Freiburg. Drive south. Visit Gruyere. Overnight in Chamonix
10/07 Hiking and Aiguille de Midi. Overnight in Chamonix
10/08 Explore the area. Overnight in Bonneval-sur-Arc
10/09 Drive down to the French Riviera. Stay near Eze? for the remainder of the trip
10/10 Monte Carlo
10/11 Drive/explore the Grande Cornish. Return car (Nice)
10/12 Explore the French Riviera without car. Ideas?
10/13 Return to the US

Thanks!
Jack
 
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#2 ·
My wife and I are picking up a Melbourne Red 328GT in early October and then heading down towards the coast. This will be my second ED but her first!

Here is our current itinerary. Hotel recommendations? Other points of interest that you'd recommend?

We like good scenery, good food, and cute towns. Comments/critique welcome.

10/04 Take delivery. Overnight in Freiburg
10/05 Black forest drive. Lunch in Baiersbronn (Schwarzwaldstube). Overnight in Freiburg
10/06 Explore Freiburg. Drive south. Visit Gruyere. Overnight in Chamonix
10/07 Hiking and Aiguille de Midi. Overnight in Chamonix
10/08 Explore the area. Overnight in Bonneval-sur-Arc
10/09 Drive down to the French Riviera. Stay near Eze? for the remainder of the trip
10/10 Monte Carlo
10/11 Drive/explore the Grande Cornish. Return car (Nice)
10/12 Explore the French Riviera without car. Ideas?
10/13 Return to the US

Thanks!
Jack
Just came from an ED in that area, dropped off in Nice. Since I had been to Monaco, Monte Carlo, Nice and Cannes before and did not think much of it, I stayed in Provence, which is much better than the overrated expensive coast IMO. If you do stay around Nice, St Paul de Vence is a town you must do a day trip to. Freiburg IMO has nothing to offer, was a waste of time for me, and since you are next to Alsace it is a no brainer to do Alsace instead and not waste time in Freiburg. When you head west you may want to stop at Meersburg, which is a phenomenal little town, for lunch and a walk. On the way south, if you do head to Chamonix, then when heading west Annecy could be a sensible overnight. And again, unless you are really into casino, looking at expensive cars, rubbing elbows with celebrities (or pseudo-celebrities), the real beauty of the south of France is inland in Provence and not in the coast.

Finally, the dropoff in Nice is right at the terminal, can't remember which, but after you pass the terminal bus stop you see a small rotary that takes you into two parking entrances, you take the one to the left, I think it is free for 30 mins, walk inside to the TT counter inside the terminal, get a code, and then go out and get the car out of the parking and into this TT parking with the code, where a guy met me and checked my car. It is not the address you will find in the internet (Rue de Grenoble) which is outside of the airport. I had a hard time finding it and got delayed because I entered that in the nav and had to scramble a bit. Good luck.
 
#3 ·
While Eze is nice and high-end, I would be bored spending several nights there. I'd rather stay in old town Nice (Vielle Ville) and enjoy the dozens (or hundreds) of food places, shops, open air markets in the mornings, and still be able to walk to the beach and Promenade des Anglais, etc. It obviously depends on what you like but it would be the anti-Eze, sometimes noisy and crowded, but a lot more vibrant.
Public transit (and parking lot) is convenient at the edge of old town, but keep in mind that if you're lugging around heavy bags old town is pedestrian only, though if you call a cab it can meet you in one of the streets or plazas that allow cars.
 
#4 ·
We dropped our 3 series sedan off in Nice on Oct 24, 2012 and flew out of Nice to Paris and then to the US the next day.

Nice was a vey pleasant surprise and a great way to spend our last day in Europe without our car. Old Town is very walkable with many excellent restaurants and shops. Very cool area.

The Promenade runs for several miles along the sea and is an excellent place to walk or bike. It is very safe with police on bikes and Segues. We stayed at a hotel 100 yards from Old Town and 25 feet from the Promenade with an unbelievable view from our balcony of the sea and the Promenade. Hotel La Perouse (something like that ) is where we stayed. Over 350 Euros and worth it on our last night.
 
#5 ·
Thanks for all the input!

We may cut down on time in Freiburg then. I did a summer exchange program near there so it'll be fun to just drive through again.

As for Alsace and Provence, any suggestions on what towns to visit and/or where to stay?

In the Chamonix/Bonneval-sur-arc area, is there enough to do for 2-3 days? Any suggestions?

I like the idea of Vence and Old Town in Nice. Will add those to our itinerary.

+>>Jack
 
#7 ·
Thanks for all the input!

We may cut down on time in Freiburg then. I did a summer exchange program near there so it'll be fun to just drive through again.

As for Alsace and Provence, any suggestions on what towns to visit and/or where to stay?

In the Chamonix/Bonneval-sur-arc area, is there enough to do for 2-3 days? Any suggestions?

I like the idea of Vence and Old Town in Nice. Will add those to our itinerary.

+>>Jack
In Alsace I stayed in Colmar, great little town, you can drive to the few surrounding towns, you can probably do 2-3 in a day.

As for Provence, it is a very large area, you have to decide if you are going to be in the Luberon vs the western area around Arles, Avignon, etc. I stayed in St. Remy de Provence, very centric for day trips, but again it is a complex and large area, you have to study it (try Rick Steve's guide). And if you want to make the most of Provence, I would skip Chamonix and use those days to explore Provence instead.
 
#6 · (Edited)
If you like move "Ronin" - visit Villefranche-sur-Mer. Not sure about October, but in July it was pleasant and worse the visit...

One of the member of this forum write this to me, when I ask his advise about Nice:
The good stuff is north of Nice, around the Route Napoleon area, Balcon de la Mescla, Aix, Avignon, etc. Provence area. Otherwise, I didn't care for Nice all that much. Whatever. Nice but nothing to write home about.




 
#8 ·
Strasbourg

In Alsace I stayed in Colmar, great little town, you can drive to the few surrounding towns, you can probably do 2-3 in a day.

Help me understand about Colmar. We did a day trip from Strasbourg to Colmar via the wine trail and didn't see what all the fuss was about. Maybe we didn't see the right part of town or somehting.

However I would recommend a couple days in Strasbourg if you have the time, very nice town. We had a good time and ate some really good food.

Strasbourg:




 
#10 ·
In Alsace I stayed in Colmar, great little town, you can drive to the few surrounding towns, you can probably do 2-3 in a day.

Help me understand about Colmar. We did a day trip from Strasbourg to Colmar via the wine trail and didn't see what all the fuss was about. Maybe we didn't see the right part of town or somehting.

However I would recommend a couple days in Strasbourg if you have the time, very nice town. We had a good time and ate some really good food.
I suggest Colmar as it is a much better base to explore the small villages of Alsace, as it is better located and much smaller and easier to get in and out. Certainly if you are looking for a large city, then Strasbourg is a great option. But IMO the "fuss" about Alsace is neither in Strasbourg (which is more of a City, not a town) nor Colmar, but in the little towns. It depends what you want to do.
 
#9 ·
My wife and I are picking up a Melbourne Red 328GT in early October and then heading down towards the coast. This will be my second ED but her first!

Here is our current itinerary. Hotel recommendations? Other points of interest that you'd recommend?

We like good scenery, good food, and cute towns. Comments/critique welcome.

10/04 Take delivery. Overnight in Freiburg
10/05 Black forest drive. Lunch in Baiersbronn (Schwarzwaldstube). Overnight in Freiburg
10/06 Explore Freiburg. Drive south. Visit Gruyere. Overnight in Chamonix
10/07 Hiking and Aiguille de Midi. Overnight in Chamonix
10/08 Explore the area. Overnight in Bonneval-sur-Arc
10/09 Drive down to the French Riviera. Stay near Eze? for the remainder of the trip
10/10 Monte Carlo
10/11 Drive/explore the Grande Cornish. Return car (Nice)
10/12 Explore the French Riviera without car. Ideas?
10/13 Return to the US

Thanks!
Jack
Did an ED in early October through part of your trip. Gruyere is beautiful that time of year. Take time to do a cheese tour and enjoy the old city. Its very picturesque.
 
#12 ·
Brainiac,

We too are looking at the 328 GT for ED. Also the X1 and the Porsche Macan (probably overpriced). We want something with some room to haul things occasionally.

Were you able to personally drive and see the GT prior to ordering one? My salesman is pretty good about notifying me when one comes in and I want to see and drive the GT the first day it comes in to the dealership in Ohio.

Thanks
 
#16 ·
We looked at the X1 as well. My wife doesn't like SUV's, and the X1 also had "downgraded" tech (from the same era as my E90). We really wanted something lower, so the 3GT should be a great fit for us.

Nope, I have not driven it. None available to test drive at this point. I did get the dynamic suspension so both my wife and I can enjoy it! :drive:
 
#13 ·
our itinerary 2 weeks prior to your trip

My wife and I are picking up a Melbourne Red 328GT in early October and then heading down towards the coast. This will be my second ED but her first!

Here is our current itinerary. Hotel recommendations? Other points of interest that you'd recommend?

We like good scenery, good food, and cute towns. Comments/critique welcome.

10/04 Take delivery. Overnight in Freiburg
10/05 Black forest drive. Lunch in Baiersbronn (Schwarzwaldstube). Overnight in Freiburg
10/06 Explore Freiburg. Drive south. Visit Gruyere. Overnight in Chamonix
10/07 Hiking and Aiguille de Midi. Overnight in Chamonix
10/08 Explore the area. Overnight in Bonneval-sur-Arc
10/09 Drive down to the French Riviera. Stay near Eze? for the remainder of the trip
10/10 Monte Carlo
10/11 Drive/explore the Grande Cornish. Return car (Nice)
10/12 Explore the French Riviera without car. Ideas?
10/13 Return to the US

Thanks!
Jack
Yours sounds great, here is mine.

Arrive morning of 9/18, take delivery that afternoon.
9/18 Munich (one night)
9/19 Drive to St Moritz, Swiss by way of The Stelvio Pass
9/20 Drive to Bellagio, Lake Como (2 nights)
9/22 Drive to Nice, FR (2 nights) might change this to Cannes
Home on 9/24
 
#15 ·
Definitely go to Juan les Pins. Very cool French resort. Look for the hotel with pool. We liked it a lot.
 
#19 ·
I agree juan Les Pins is a great little spot, but I am not sure what it is like in October. It might be pretty quiet, and semi-closed, as will be the case with some other areas on the riviera. I have been to the riviera in September, and I like it very much as the craziness of the summer is subsiding, but I understand October can be pretty quiet in some of these places mentioned, but I am not personally aware of the extent of this.

In fact, I am starting to plan a March ED, and thinking about heading in this direction, but I am concerned about it being too quiet and too off-seasony.
 
#17 · (Edited)
Cool. So we are adding Annecy and Gruyere to the itinerary and not passing through Chamonix or Bonneval-sur-Arc.

Any must-see's in Annecy or Gruyere? My wife LOVES cheeses so this hopefully will be a treat for her.

Any hotel recommendations in Annecy?
 
#20 ·
Cool. So we are adding Annecy and Gruyere to the itinerary and not passing through Chamonix or Bonneval-sur-Arc.

Any must-see's in Annecy or Gruyere? My wife LOVES cheeses so this hopefully will be a treat for her.

Any hotel recommendations in Annecy?
Annecy was a pleasant surprise to me; the old town is very charming, the lake is beautiful, and it is a good choice for one or two nights. Also, the food is excellent in Annecy; if you guys appreciate good food, as I assume you do judging by your going to Schwarzwaldstube, Annecy has a lot of options from casual Alpine hearty food to more refined Michelin choices. Annecy is also the home to Marc Veyrat, well known Michelin 3-star chef, who also has a hotel I believe.

I stayed in a hotel in a great location right in the old town, Palais de L'isle, but I would not consider it a particularly great hotel (though I am fairly demanding with hotels), but it was pretty good; I chose it for the location, and it happens to be value-priced in the range of 150-200 euros per night. There are no cars allowed in the old town, but there is municipal parking garage just a short walk away. There is a very nice classic grand hotel (and casino?) on the water called the Imperial palace I think.

Good luck.
 
#18 ·
Annecy-Splendid Hotel
 
#22 ·
Has anyone been to Martinskapelle? I didn't find anything when doing a search. According to Lonely Planet, the spring in the back of Höhengasthaus Kolmenhof in Martinskapelle is the source for the Danube river. Also, supposedly there is a 4km hike that can be done to another little town with good view of the black forest.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/germany/martinskapelle
 
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