Cote d' Azure French Riviera - I need some avice about the area..

[Jzee]

Where to stay Nice / Menton with a 5 year old. Are any of the beaches better than others? Is air- conditioning a must during the month of August? Better to be near the beach or set back away from the crowds. Any tips and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

We stayed in Nice for 4 weeks last august with dd's 13 & 3 and ds 10. (and will be again this summer but only with ds and dd2, dd1 staying at her nan's).

Beaches - The beach in nice is pebbles, for sandy beaches catch the train/bus to Antibes or Villefrance.

Air conditioning - we didn't have any but a fan was provided which came in useful.

Our accommodation was in Vieux Nice, which was really nice. we all enjoyed walking from our accommodation to the promenade, never tired of the narrow streets even when they were busy.

We're staying in Vieux Nice again this year but different accommodation.

Places to visit - Marineland at Biot (nr Antibes), Aquarium at Monaco, Beach at Antibes, Museum of Modern & Contemporary Art in Nice (my dc's enjoyed it).

This year we're looking forward to trying out the trams, trip to Ventimiglia for the market, Aqualand at Frejus and everything we did last year.

Thanks for the info.. I am a bit undecided as to where to stay? We are looking at renting an apartment in Nice - we like to have restaurants and the beach within walking distance, but now I'm thinking that perhaps Nice beach is going to ideal for 4 year old to swim?

Nice beach is not suitable for children to swim in, it shelves quite steeply. Antibes is best for kids. Our apartment was max 10 minutes walk from beach, 2 minutes from bus station and supermarket. Loads of restaurants in the surrounding streets.

Have a look at this map Rue Neuve is where we stayed last year. Lots of restaurants marked, there are lots more cafe style. Supermarket on Place Garibaldi, Bus station on Boulevard Jean Jaures, all of it not far from the beach. Buses were 2 euro per person each way, regardless of whether you went down the road, or to Monaco or Antibes.

Click the link below for some pictures from last year.

Cote d'azur

The sandy beach in the pictures is Antibes, the pebbly one and the crashing waves is Nice.

rbj94703 - thanks so much for the info - the photos are really nice and gives me a better idea of what to expect. I am looking for properties on Holiday rentals and holiday lettings do you know of any others?

www.holidaylets.net

This year we've booked with Riviera Rentals, found on holiday lettings

We used Nice Studios last year, found on holiday lettings