2010 – France: Sea, rocks and abbeys

4 days in France along the Cote d’Azur and the surroundings area and cities. It was a good trip with perfect weather.

Saturday April 10th, 2010

By car we reach Cannes in Cote d’Azur (France). We take a ferry to Ile Sainte-Marguerite, and here we walk around the island in a quiet wood of maritime pines. The weather is sunny and hot, but under the pines it’s nice to walk.

When we come back we visit a bit the city of Cannes, and then we go on by car. We drive along the coast over L’Esterel with its red rocks over the sea. In Port Frejus we stop to visit the city and the near Frejus (where we spend the night).

Sunday April 11th, 2010

We continue our trip stopping in Sainte-Maxime and Port Grimaud, where we spend some time walking around the two cities. After them there is Saint-Tropez, one of the most known cities in this part of France. We visit the city and we walk up to the Citadelle.

Here we can see the city and the sea from above. We have some difficulties to find the right way to reach the Cap Saint-Tropez even if it’s pretty near to the city. In Bormes-Les-Mimosas we explore the town with its narrow and charateristic streets. We continue to Hyeres (old town and Villa Noailles) and Giens. We go back to Hyeres for the night.

Monday April 12th, 2010

Again in Giens to finish to visit it, especially for the Tour Fondue. When we leave, we drive to Cassis to see the famous Calanques (narrow creeks whit white rocks on the sides). It’s a really beautiful place. We see it from above, but it’s possible to see it from boat too.

After the Calanques, we visit also Cassis. We go on to Marseille, starting from Notre Dame de la Garde that arises over the city. Then we go to the lower part, with Cathedrale de la Major, La Vieille Charité, Hotel Dieu, and Hotel de Ville. For the night we have booked an hotel in Aix-en-Provence, so we leave Marseille and go there. We visit it in the evening and then we have dinner.

Tuesday April 13th, 2010

It’s the last day of our trip, but we have planned to see some more places. It will take a bit to go back home by car. First stop of the day is Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume.

We spend most of the time here to visit the Cathedral St. Marie Madeleine. In Thoronet we stop just for the abbey. It takes a lot to visit it, but it is worth. On the way back home we stop in Antibes and Vence to take some breaks and relax a bit.