South of France - Antibes, Menton or ???

[Florabella]

I'm looking to fly to Nice next summer with the kids and then get a train from Nice to somewhere along the coast to stay. Antibes and Menton have come up as options for far, but wondering if people had any experience of them or any other recommendations. We want to have access to a beach and days out that we can do without having to hire a car. Need to do this as cheaply as possible (trying to get organised for when Easyjet release the flights for next summer). Thanks

Hi we stayed in Juan des pins last summer. Plenty of things to do, pretty hot! Stayed in a vrbo.

Trains go up and down the coast so visited lots of places, but we hired a car fir the second week so we could go inland and have more flexibility

Frejus, St Raphael, Port Grimaud, Antibes are all fab. Look at the Yello, Eurocamp or Canvas sites.

We tend to go to St Paul de Vence, Antibes or Monaco.

Such a lovely part of the world. We have stayed in Antibes which is a lovely town with nice bars and restaurants, we have then travelled by train to menton, Monaco, Cannes, Juan les pins for days/nights out. The trains are great.

Hi, sorry to hijack!! We've just booked 3 days monaco, then thinking we base ourselves in Nice with days out to Antibes, Menton, Villefranche sur me etc.

What is the vibe in these places and what is there to do?

When I Google/tripadvisor it comes up with day trips to Monaco!

if you don’t want to do Nice old town, Antibes, Villefranche or Cap Ferrat would be my picks.

I'd stay in Juan Les Pins - nice beaches and good transport links. Bus left for Nice, bus right for Cannes. Antibes is lovely. Monaco is worth a visit if you have never been. Port Grimaud is very pretty. I used to stay in Juan Le Pins with my grandparents as a child - it was a bit like the Riviera's Bournemouth in the 60s/70s.

The beach at Juan Les Pins is lovely - sandy and gently shelving. We've stayed there a few times. It is easy to get up and down the coast by public transport and the tickets are cheap. The train runs (mostly) along the coast between Ventimiglia and Grasse, and there are local buses. Antibes is lovely for a wander about and to see the enormous yachts. The Picasso museum is interesting. Nice has a gravel/pebbly beach but lots of museums and some roman stuff. The old town is very pretty. You can get the elevator to the top of Colline du Chateau for stunning views or do the mini train rides. Villefranche is also nice but very steep. The train station is near the beach/harbour.

You can do boat trips in the summer from JLP and Cannes to the Iles de Lerins.

We stayed in Menton last year, it was lovely. Easy to get the train to Monaco and Nice for days out.

We've stayed at both ends of the Cote d'Azur, once in Menton and another time at St Maxime which is just across the bay from St Tropez.

I really loved Menton, fabulous beach and great restaurants and was much closer to Villefranche, Monaco, Eze and the Grand Corniche which has the most stunning views!

Menton was also much better value for money than any of the resorts further down in the Antibes direction but that waa about 12 years ago.