Ten days in Europe next summer - help me pick what to do!

[MyHealthyMission]

I have ten days booked off next summer - 29th August to 8th september.

I am kind of settled on my travel plans. I plan to send 29th - 2nd in the south of France, with a day trip to Monaco and potentially another town pencilled in.

I will travel from Nice to Milan by train on the 2nd.

I will then go to the f1 on the Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. But that leaves me with a couple of dilemmas:

I’ve reserved a hotel that I know is good for access to the f1. I’m travelling by myself for the first time, so it feels like a safe option - but I don’t know whether I’m being too timid by doing that and whether I should push my boundaries entirely and go somewhere entirely new.

I plan on getting an Airbnb from Wednesday - Friday, mainly to have access to washing facilities. I don’t know whether to do this in lake como or Milan. I’m leaning towards lake como for a change of scenery, but I also don’t want to waste the potential for time in Milan.

What do I do????? Go somewhere new for the f1, or stay in the same place I know? Stay in como or Milan?

Anybody?

What do you like doing? Where are you flying to/from? Are you a foodie? Have you been to the area before?

fwiw I know the south of France quite well. I’ve had a couple of hours in Monaco and would not want to re revisit. I much prefer characterful towns and lower key places. Marseille is fab but gritty. I’ve been there on my own a lot but you may prefer to avoid as it has a certain reputation. Aix or Avignon ? Nice - not a city I know well but obviously v popular.

And as for Italy… if you’re a city person prob stay in Milan and do a day in Como. Personally I’d prob have a night, max 2 in Milan and have longer in Como. It’s likely to be v hot in Milan and cooler or at least fresher in Como.

Stay in same place for F1 and go to lake como.

Nice could be good for a day trip for the first part of your holiday.

@Radiatorvalvesim pretty easy to be honest. I’m just wanting to spend some time on the beach (south of France) with gorgeous settings and some good food. I’ve not been to the south of France before. I’d quite like to a Monaco - menton day trip, but not 100% sure.

I’ll be flying into Nice airport and flying out of Milan Malpensa.

What are you interested in? I'm a complete nerd and love South and SW France ... particularly Roman stuff ... and wine 🍷

I love art - I was originally going to do a super quick stop over in Paris to visit the Louvre and other museums but it just wouldn’t be feasible within my budget. I am tempted to visit museums etc in Milan, but not sure how much time I’ll have

An airbnb in Nice old town would for a couple of nights would be lovely. It's very pretty and the beach is a few steps away. It's a pebble beach, so bring water shoes to get to the water! I actually really like the pebbles - the water makes a lovely swishy sound. If you really wanted sand, you could go to Villefranche-sur-Mer by train, but I'd recommend staying in Nice.

There are some great art galleries in Nice too. As well as the MOMA, you can see lots of Raoul Dufy in the Musee des Beaux Arts, and if you take the number 5 bus up the hill, you can easily get to the awesome Chagall museum and then a few more stops to the Matisse museum in Cimiez.

(At Nice Airport, you can get a pass with 10 bus tickets from a machine outside, then take the tram into town. Transport is really easy there).

Oh, and if you do that, check closer to the time what's happening at the Jardin des Arènes de Cimiez - where the Matisse museum is. They're lovely gardens and often have events with music and traditional dancing in the summer (usually at weekends). Would be worth timing your museum visit so you could have a wander around before/after.

Try Arles - Van Gogh connections, cute little place, roman stuff, nice to wander around.