The south of France is full of beautiful beaches, great weather and glamour; it is the ideal place to visit if you want a touch of luxury and relaxation on your holiday and within this article I will give some tips on different ways of travelling around as well as some of the sites and the best places to visit.
First of all you need to decide on the type of trip you want to take, in terms of travelling across the south of France you have the option of whether to fly, drive or take the train. InterRail is a rail pass that allows you to travel anywhere across Europe or in this case just France (for a cheaper price) for a pre-paid amount.
If you want an 8 day rail pass which you have a month to use then it will cost you around £280. Alternatively you can fly to an airport, hire a car, drive across France and then drop the car off at the other airport before you fly home.
This is probably the best option and gives you the most freedom on your journey but does involve a considerable amount of driving. Finally, flying is also an option but it leaves you with a lack of freedom to be able to move about meaning you are relying on walking or getting taxi’s everywhere with your suitcases.
Bordeaux, France
For the sake of the route I will describe I will presume you will fly and then drive across France. The idea is to try and see as much of the south of France as possible without travelling too much at a time.
Cheap flights are available to Bordeaux making it the perfect place to start your journey; Bordeaux is home to the French wine festival in late June and is a great combination between a modern city with traditional architecture.
There are hire bikes and trams available to get around the city as well. From here Toulouse is the best place to head to and spend a night, it isn’t your typical holiday destination, it is more industrial than you would normally expect but a visit to the Airbus factory should definitely be tried to see where the A380 is built. After leaving Toulouse you could consider heading to Aix En Provence, it is a delightful small town which is the home of the best Rosé in France.
Marseille, France
After leaving Aix En Provence you are really about to start the real beach/glamour part of your trip, Marseille is one of the best places you will ever visit, it has a marina with numerous hotels surrounding it, great restaurants and beaches as well as the Nostradamus Cathedral on a hill overlooking the city.
After leaving Marseille you should head to Cannes. Cannes is the home of the film festival so you can take a look at the infamous cinema where the biggest celebs in the world are pictured every year.
Cannes has some great restaurants, bars and beaches and some of the biggest and most expensive yachts you will ever see. For this area you will want to make sure you are dressed to blend in so get some luxury womens beach outfits before you leave or you’ll stand out like a sore thumb if you are heading to the beach.
Nice is further along the coast but is more of a Spanish feeling holiday resort, there are some nice areas but this area is best just to be used as a base before heading to Monaco to finish your trip.
Monaco is only a 25 minute drive from Nice and is in a world of its own, it simply has to be experienced to be believed. Whilst you are there you should go to the Monte Carlo Casino at night, it costs around €15 euros to get in but has some breathtaking design and architecture as well as beautiful wooden roulette wheels.
The Buddha Lounge and the Cafe de Paris are two nice bars to go for some cocktails whilst admiring the surroundings (and the Ferrari’s).
After Monaco you can then head back to Nice where you can return your hire car and catch another relatively cheap flight home.
Related: Places to see in France