Took a 1 week vacation in the region South of France which more or less completes our French experience here. We chose to drive down south as it gives us more flexibility to venture out to smaller neighbouring towns around Nice and Marseille (both of which are considered more touristic). Nonetheless due to the expensive road tolls (150€ in total) and petrol consumption(~250€), it
might be cheaper by train, although I'll still advise renting a car while you're there. Visited a total of 7 places and they include Lyon, Monaco, Nice, Cannes, Aix-en-Provence, Cassis and Marseille. Hence I'll have to split this travel log into several posts.
As you can see from the Google map, the drive was no easy feat - no doubt the longest drive of my life. Distance from point A to point B (Paris to Nice) is 930km! Estimated time on the road is 9 hours. Insane. However, S was rather ill that day so we had to change plans halfway and stopped over for a night in Lyon.
Beautiful day, beautiful city. No chance to fully explore the place but at least we walked along 1 of 2 main rivers (Rhône and Saône) that dominate Lyon. The riverside bars/restaurants were packed. People were lying around on the grass, cycling, strolling etc.. Such is the goodness of the sun for them! During our walk Tasha got hijacked by this man who started playing with her and kept suggesting we could keep her with him. Haha. It just shows how irresistibly adorable she is :)
By the way, DO NOT stay in the urban centre of
Part-Dieu as it's boring and far away from the rivers (where most activities are centered around). To make things worse, the Hotel Ibis Part Dieu Les Halles was so old and dirty it totally dampened our moods. So it's really important that you choose the right location for your accommodation. Since Lyon is famed for its food as well (quoted from wiki as "
the French capital of gastronomy"), we decided to try one of the many Michelin-starred restaurants. Not easy to get reservations as it was a last-minute booking but we managed to get one at this place that has just acquired its 1st Michelin star. Japanese chef and the cuisine is supposed to be more fusion but it wasn't too obvious to me. Apart from the pan-fried foie gras starter, the rest of the food was not bad. A pity S couldn't really taste that day. Reasonably priced for dinner so I wouldn't mind going back. Reviews online are mixed though.
Name: Takao Takano
Location: 14 rue Grolée F - 69002 Lyon
Expenditure: 120€ (incl. 1/2 bot of wine)
The next day, we quickly continued our journey to Nice, checked in to the hotel, then drove out to Monte-Carlo from there (approx 30mins). Didn't know the Rolex Masters was on that week. Spotted a crowd which we assumed was waiting for the tennis stars. Great to see somewhere bustling with activities on a Sunday. Lunched at Café de Paris - expensive and food so-so but one of the very few restaurants still opened at 3pm. We really like it there as it's clean, lively, colourful and rich, especially with all the fancy cars zipping around. We also found it interesting the way the elderly dress in an OTT manner!
Had dinner at tripadvisor's #1 restaurant in Monte-Carlo. Italian cuisine. Didn't like the beef carpaccio but the ham, squid ink pasta and clams spaghetti were good. Reservations needed, opens till late.
Name: Mozza
Location: 11 rue du Portier, Monte-Carlo 98000 , Monaco
Expenditure: 95€
