BidOnTravel.com
Home > Hotel Savings Strategies > French Riviera Hotel Locations
Travel Guide: French Riviera
Picking the best French Riviera hotel location: Cannes, Marseilles, Nice, Monte Carlo
So you want to vacation on the French Riviera, but you want to book a great hotel at a cheap rate.
This page helps you find the best location –a convenient area where you have the best chance of saving -- either getting a big discount on a first class or luxury hotel or finding a good budget hotel.
You'll learn the pros and cons of Cannes, Nice, the Nice Airport area, and Marseilles (the places offered by Priceline Hotels), plus Monte Carlo.
See Hotels.com for detailed hotel descriptions. Hotels.com offers the most extensive collection of Riviera discounts.
Cannes,
Nice,
Nice Airport area
Marseilles
Monte Carlo
Nice
Cannes definitely has a nicer beach than Nice, but Nice is considerably more interesting to visit. Part of Italy until the latter part of the 19th Century, Nice has an ambiance unique in Europe that you see reflected in its people, architecture, and food.Nestled on a rather narrow strip between the mountains and Mediterranean Sea, most of the main attractions of Nice are easy to reach on rather flat streets. Walking is fun in Nice.
Be sure to visit the park on the bluff overlooking the inner harbor and city center as well as the gorgeous Albert the First Gardens (Jardin Albert 1er) toward the eastern end of the main beach. Adjacent to the latter are winding streets that are fun to explore.
A major advantage of Nice is its proximity to Monte Carlo and other interesting towns along the eastern end of the French Riviera.
You may wish to visit some of the places featured in the enormously funny "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" featuring Michael Caine, Barbara Harris, Glenne Headly, Steve Martin (in one of his best roles), and Anton Rogers.
Besides Nice, the film used Villefranche (for the railway station and other scenes), Beaulieau Sur Mer (the casino, etc.), and the Grand Hotel Cap Ferret (one of the most luxurious in France), all just to the east of Nice. Michael Caine's splendid estate was on the Cap d'Antibes between Cannes and Nice.
From Nice, French Rail follows the coastline to Italy and allows you to explore this beautiful area with ease. You can even take an easy train trip to Portofino and other towns along the nearby Italian Riviera.
Unlike Cannes and Monte Carlo, Nice is a major commercial center, so you experience a more wide-ranging selection of neighborhoods and people.
This also means you find more hotel variety, including a greater number of budget hotels and more potential for discounts at first class and deluxe hotels.
Nice Airport
The Nice Airport is very close to Nice itself, but its neighborhood is remarkably different in character.Although along the coast, the area is quite commercial and in many ways not appealing.
However, if you cannot find discounted accommodation in Nice, this location puts you reasonably close to the city center.
Marseilles
Although not a resort city, many travelers nevertheless enjoy Marseilles as it is fascinating to visit and much less crowded with tourists than other cities and towns in the French Riviera area.A major port, Marseilles has long ties to North Africa and the world. The city's multicultural composition reflects this heritage.
For first time visitors to the French Riviera, Marseilles is not the best hotel location. However, for veteran travelers who want to add to their French experiences, Marseilles works fine.
Monte Carlo
You may have heard the architectural horror stories about Monte Carlo -- how the principality became so overbuilt with high condominiums and other buildings and how the Grand Hotel Monte Carlo (formally the Loews Monte Carlo) was allowed to block a significant view of the harbor.
These are true, but Monte Carlo retains much of its beautiful setting and remains worthwhile to visit. This is a major playground of the rich and famous.
Be sure to walk in the area around the old casino and Hotel de Paris and old town and to go up the hill to the desert garden, which not only contains a fascinating collection of arid plants, but also offers one of the best views in the city.
Monte Carlo is just 12 miles from Nice by train.
In most cases, you will have much better luck finding discounted or budget hotels in Nice or elsewhere.
Cannes
Cannes has a fine beach and offers more of a seaside resort feeling than the other choices. You fully expect to see film stars at any moment.
This is a truly upscale resort town, but not every hotel is deluxe. Moreover, you may get substantial discounts especially if you travel outside of peak periods.
August is especially busy here, as most people in France take their vacations at this time.
Compared to Nice, Cannes does not seem as interesting to explore and its immediate area is not as picturesque as you find in Monte Carlo and Nice and the area to the east of Nice. However, Cannes is reasonably close to these places and, as mentioned, has an outstanding beach.
See Hotels.com for descriptions (and photos) of individual hotels in all these cities.
Hotel.com features hotels in Cannes such as the Hotel Majestic, which is a "celebrity hotel" epitomizing the Cannes Film Festival. Another hotel featured by Hotels.com is the Carlton, described accurately as in "a privileged location in La Croisette in the heart of Cannes" with an international clientele.
