Nice and cote d azur...very busy end of may?

We%26#39;ll spend some days in Nice and on Cote d Azur end of May 2008.

We are very interested in sightseeing and taking photos. We want to hire a car and drive around.

Our period of stay is just the week before the Monaco grand prix is taking place. We are leaving Saturday before the race.

Additional the film- festival in cannes in taking place.

Is it going to be very busy on Cote d Azur during this wwek.

That means: Is it hard to get restaurant bookings? is drinving a problem? Are there very busy roads with lots of traffic jam on the coast road, packed up beaches and sightseeing points, even in the backland?

I%26#39;m holding a 4 nights reservation in Nice from 17-21st of May and from 21-24 May 3 nights in Valbonne.

Hard to get around then?

What do you think?

Toby

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Hotel bookings during Film Festival and Grand Prix week are rare as hens teeth - you have done well to have anything at that time!

Busy? Well dont expect to drive around Monaco during preparations for Race Week, or up the Croisette as the stars are hopping in and out of their limos. But then what would you be doing there with a car anyway, apart from spending the day looking for somewhere to park or queueing in traffic

The traffic between Nice and Cannes is already horrendous, never mind during the busy season. Last week the bus from Cannes back to Nice took two and a quarter hours, nose to tail. This is a twenty five minute journey by train, for around five euros.

A car is a liability and not the way to get around the Riviera. Public transport is cheap and fun, mostly.

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Nice has hundreds of restaurants. I never book and always have plenty of choice. Visitors to the grand prix tend to like driving, so traffic will be very heavy but they tend also to be people of limited imagination who prefer noise, fumes and booze to beautiful scenery, so the interior away from the coast will be empty and peaceful. Even places such as Cap Ferrat and Cap D%26#39;Antibes will not be overflowing with people. Certainly, while based in Nice, a car is a liability.

Nice will not be enormously affected by the grand prix until the day you leave. I think you will need a car when based in Valbonne.

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thanks for your help..really apprecaited

So I%26#39;m still looking forward to a relaxing week

Toby

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It looks like Grand Prix is held from May 22-25 and Cannes Festival is held May 14-25. If I drive to different places in Cote d Azur from May 16-20, will it be as bad as the last week of May? I don%26#39;t want to be stuck in traffic most of the day so I am trying to figure out if I should use public transportation during that time. Thanks.

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jenjen

If you are staying in Ste Maxime you will find that public transport is very limited so a car is needed.

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