Nice & Marseille

Nice

Check out the usual booking sites such as www.booking.com or www.venere.com I have no particular recommendations from previous visits but I would suggest that being near to the old town and the port area is preferable to the station side of the city. It can seem quite a long way crossing the city from that side to the old part although the new tram helps.

I have heard good reports about the Hotel Villa La Tour, it is a simple hotel and in a great location just two minutes from the Bus Station and on the edge of the old town.

Marseille

Check out the usual booking sites such as www.booking.com or www.venere.com staying around the Quai de Belges gives you a great location and easy access for the train and airport and there is a much wider range of types of accommodation than when we first visited.

Nice

Vieux Nice

Le Safari, 1 Cours Saleya, is rated as the best of dozens in the street with terrace tables booked by locals so reserve or get there early The Cascade Nicoise as a shared starter is to be recommended and there is loads of choice.

Papayou, 35 Rue de la Prefectur, is a modern friendly restaurant with a different slant on Nicoise dishes, all very well cooked, there are other choices including some with a Moroccan influence.

Restaurant L’Escalinada , 22 Rue Pairoliere, try and get a table on the terrace, there are loads of local specialities and jugs of wine, but beware it is cash only. We received lots of free nibble to start but it is no longer as cheap as it was.

Lou Pilha Leva, Place Centrale, the thing here is to queue for your food and take it to one of the outdoor tables and then get drinks from the drinks part opposite, the local special is the “Socca” a chick pea pancake, there are also salads and hot dishes, it is pretty cheap.

Chez Palmyre, 3 Rue Droite, has a 4 course set menu, although one course is the vegetables for the main, it is a great old fashioned local place with very friendly owners and stick to the house wine and you will find it incredible value.

Central Nice off Avenue Jean Medicin

Vin Sur Vin, 18 Bis Rue Biscarra, is a wine bar and restaurant, we enjoyed fabulous food and the wine cave which you visit to choose your wine. The speciality is meat but everything from starters to cheese was excellent as was the service, definitely book in advance.

Wine Bar de la Tour, Rue de la Tour, is a pleasant place to sit out and soak up the atmosphere and sample some excellent wines.

Marseille

La Part Des Anges, Rue Sainte 33, just behind the Quai Rive Nueve, is close to the old port and is a wine bar and restaurant with great daily specials with the wine list on blackboards behind bar. They always have suggestions for daily specials and it was so good we went back twice.

Toinou, 3 Cours Saint Louis. off Le Canabiere, is a Marseille institution for seafood great platters of oysters, clams & langoustines plus moules & frites. It appears to now be self-service but most reports still say it is the place for seafood.

Place Aux Huiles has many recommended restaurants and bars and is a great place to sit out and watch the world go by.

Cours Julien is up the hill behind the port and has loads of places to eat, at lunch time it is a particularly pleasant for a meal.

Many bars offer free tapas in the early evening and some do 2 for 1 drinks, although in most cases it means you get two drinks per person and only pay for one.

Drink

Provence is one of France’s wine growing regions but this one is predominantly known for rose wine which accounts for more than half of the production. The area known as Cotes du Provence north of St Tropez produces around 80% of the rose of the region. Bandol near Marseille is unusual in that 70% of the production is red wine. A visit to this area is a great opportunity to sample local wines.

Pastis is another part of Provence life, particularly in Marseille, it is served with a jug of water in order that you can dilute it to suit your taste, in the UK we tend to think of Pernod but Pastis 51 is very common and there are numerous brands and people have their own favourite.

Nice

There are many museums and galleries, including ones relating to artists Matisse and Chagall although they are mainly in the suburbs and therefore a bus may be required.

Take the train along the coast and visit Monaco and Ville Franche which is a lovely place for lunch.

Marseille

Aix en Provence is a fabulous elegant Provence town with great markets and many very cheap lunchtime restaurants near the market in Le Carillon Rue Portalis. It is easily reached by train for a day trip.

Cassis is a beautiful sea side town with loads of places to eat and boat trips to visit the Calanques, the famous inlets that are only accessible from the sea.