Antibes or Aix-en-Provence - South of France

We are hoping to go to South of France in May/June this
year for a week or so. Have never been to South of France
before! We are not planning to hire a car but from what I
hear the train service is quite good and quite frequent in
the South of France, we most likely will hire bicycles as
well.
I basically would like your views on which of the two towns
are the best to go to. We want to explore different towns
but have our base in a nice relaxing town which is not too
commercialised and busy but has easy access to other towns
or villages. (Don’t ask a lot do we!!)
Would like to experience the French culture and way of life
and go to nice restaurants etc. Are either of these two
towns good choices or would anyone have any other ideas.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in
advance!

Two very different towns. (only have limited experience of Aix). Antibes is on the coast, touristy and more of a riveria resort. Note that it will start to get busy, with the Cannes film festival running 16th to 27th May 2007 and the Monaco GP May 24-27.

Hello there,

we went to Aix-en-Provence last summer for a week. Aix is a nice sized town, small enough to walk around but big enough that you won't be bored. One thing I will say is that a lot of cars, vans run through the incredibly small streets, so you would have to get used to jumping out of the way. A lot of people traffic too. That said, the town is lovely, typical french town. Lots of cafes, restaurants, quirky little shops. Some markets on every day or two. Plenty going on. I'd go back. There's a lovely hiking area too, if you want a day out of Aix. the town pays for a bus to take people there and back.

Restaurants tend to close between lunch and evening time, so if you're looking for a bite to eat, go at regular hours. Plenty of variety. I think it's worth a visit. Marseille is worth a look, a bus ride away and another lovely town with a Pope's place (plenty of history) is Avignon. Well worth a look. Bigger town than Aix. But Aix is much nicer as a base. Ask me anything else if you like.

mica

Aix? Totally charming, but I suspect you'll want to get out and cycle on your bike to enjoy a bit of the country. If you are flying to Marseilles, there is a regular bus service to Aix.

Thanks for your replies. We have decided to go to Antibes for a week in September - hope its the right decision!

Thanks

Villefranche-Sur-Mer is really lovely. It's about 20 mins from Nice airport. Small harbour town with great restaurants and a very laid back feel. There is a train station in the town where you can get trains all along the coast. I was there last year and would go back tomorrow. Check it out as it sounds like it could be the place for you.