Hidden gems for a family to do in South of France

Hi

Heading to South of France in May with my wife & 18 mth old, my mother and my brother and sister in law along with my 1 year old nephew.

So anybody got any recommendations? We are going to be based near Cannes.

So far on the agenda:

My brother & I intend to ride up Mount Ventoux one of the days
We would all (kids cant talk but I am sure they will want to!) like to head to Monaco for a wander
Looking to do some child friendly picnic / boating/canoe activity
Want to head to a nice food market.
Other than looking at what to do in Cannes and Nice I’d welcome some experiences that folk can recommend?
Thanks all

Slow down, live a day or two at Mediterranean pace. Relax, enjoy the view.

Take the little train from Nice up into the mountains.
http://www.beyond.fr/travel/railpignes.html

Go to the Gorges de Verdon.

Verdon Gorge is worth a gander. There are watersports on the lake at the south end. I’m sure you could book a guide and do a bit of easy climbing off the rim. That would be a memorable experience.

EDIT: snap!

Long lunches with lots of Pastis

The beach at Juan les Pins is quite nice

If you go to Monaco, trudge up to the palace for great views and make your way on foot from there to the Oceanographic institute for the kids.

here

A trip inland to St Paul de Vence is good too, but go early to ensure best place for lunch.

Antibes Market

not sure if will quite work with ages but we got recommended by friends with kids this canoe based out of Carpentras and they are good

http://www.kayakvert.com/

Gorges du Verdon – take a little electric boat and bimble along the lake and into the gorge
Friday is market day in Valbonne – it’s super busy (mainly with the well-to-do from Surrey), but good atmosphere. Non market days are nice in Valbonne – look at the boutiques and lunch in the square
Visit Marineland in Antibes – maybe pricey with so many people, but recently improved and the dolphin and orca shows are fun
Lunch and beach at Theoule sur Mer – a nice drive east of Cannes
Take the boat from Cannes out to the Islands (Sainte Margeurite) – take a picnic, have a walk and sit under the trees
Hang out on the public beaches in Cannes (I prefer the harbour end, even though it’s smaller)
Les Bois de Lutins (aka “Pixie Land” in our family), though the children will be a bit young I suspect.
Lunch and enjoy the view in Cabris (it’s above Grasse)
Fragonard and Gallimard factory/museum visits
Villa Rotschild on St Jean Cap Ferrat – both house and gardens are beautiful
From Cannes, jump on your bikes and ride up to Gourdon via the Gorges du Loup (poss combine with a return via Valbonne)
Drive out to the Var – Aups is a lovely little village (near Salernes). Market day is Weds or Sat (IIRC) and its famous for its truffles. Market is under the trees, so cooler for young-uns in prams and not nearly so busy as Valbonne
Cannes market – under cover and the produce is amazing!

Things not to do:
Gawp with mouths open wide at the rich strutting up and down the Croisette
Go to Monaco. Ever. (But if you must go there, do drive back along the Grande Corniche and try not to think of Grace Kelly)

+1 for Gorges du Verdon. Start at the lake in the picture posted above and drive the road to Castellane. Stunning views, allow plenty of time for stops to take photos and paddle in the (slower parts of) the river.
Castellane is a nice place for a spot of lunch too, markets twice a week, although probably not big enough to make the drive just for that. Climb up to the church on the cliff top overlooking the town if you fancy the challenge – doable with small children but will be slow going.

I found Cannes and Nice very busy and a nightmare to park (make sure you remove any roofboxes / bars etc if you’ve got a big car as most car parks are <2m in height).
Much preferred Saint Tropez (could spend all day looking at the boats), and Villefranche-sur-mer is a beautiful little place between Nice and Monaco.

Monaco is great for a day trip – walk the circuit, check out the cars (and general chaos) in casino square etc.

Have fun!

porquerolles.

Verdon Gorge is worth a gander. There are watersports on the lake at the south end. I’m sure you could book a guide and do a bit of easy climbing off the rim. That would be a memorable experience.

Not a huge amount of easy climbing on the rim and it’s pretty committed – I can’t imagine there’s many guides that would propose that as a fun family day…

Oh and you see that path on the left of the photo running up the very edge of the cliff? That’s where the local youths gather and see how high they dare to jump off… As a youngster I went off the highest bit that’s easily accessible and burst all the blood vessels in the backs of my legs when I hit the water wrong. I got a massive cheer though.

P.s. With google maps and a vague knowledge of where the nature reserves are along the coast you can find some lovely quiet beaches if you’re prepared to walk for 20 mins.

When travelling along the coast use the train, don’t drive. Parking and traffic is a nightmare. You can buy a Carte Isabelle which gives unlimited train travel between Monaco and Theoule-sur-Mer for 12 euros a day, although I think this is only during summer months.

For markets – Antibes is great for the ambiance and to have a nose around, but if you want to buy anything get it from Cannes. The difference is Cannes is for locals whereas Antibes caters for tourists and can be very expensive. Both have lovely little cafes all around them.

A night in the Absinthe bar is great in Antibes. There’s also a small museum which is quirky and fun.

Also while in Antibes go to the international quay and look at the boats. They are obscenely big!

St Paul de Vence is beautiful to walk around. Also, try to cycle up to Gourdon. I know some nice routes if you’re interested.

Not a huge amount of easy climbing on the rim and it’s pretty committed – I can’t imagine there’s many guides that would propose that as a fun family day…

My thought too. Unless you’re a pretty good climber, peering over the top from the belvedere will require a change of undies. There is however splendid walk through the gorge – it’s quite long though and if you fancy a dip to cool off, the water is freezing.

Blimey thanks for all the great info you have shared chaps!
Going to work my way through it all now.

Excellent! Looking fwd to May big time now 🙂

Not a huge amount of easy climbing on the rim and it’s pretty committed – I can’t imagine there’s many guides that would propose that as a fun family day…

Was said mainly in jest, even though there are a few pitches of easy f5 a fit adult could toprope. Probably not one for the whole family! The committing feeling of a couple of abseils off the rim is quite something, particularly as you pass ground you’re not sure you can reclimb!

Just going up there for a look at those who are doing it is worthwhile, though.

There are a few via ferrata spots around too. We did one at Puget Thenier and it was awesome. You can find more info on the web if you’re interested.

Ditch the ooast and spend all of your time exploring the Verdon Gorge. Truly stunning place.

Aix en Provence is worth a visit.

Avignon is (now) a shithole.

Loads of pretty villages around, St Paul de Vence, Biot, Plan de la Tour, Grimaud, Ramatuelle,

Gorges du Verdon is spectacular

There are nice little beaches if you look around, away from the crowds

Oh, and whatever else you do, don’t go to St Raphael. It’s been hugely overdeveloped around there over the last 20 years. Not the place it was.