It was 5-day trip with 4 people in the autumn of 2021. It is worth to travel to Provence in autumn, because in this time there are not so many tourists, but the weather is excellent: the mornings are cool, but in the day it can be over 20°C. We traveled by air plain to Nice and we rented a car there. The accommodations were in La Lavandou (1 night), in Antibes (1 night) and in Nice (2 nights). On this trip we have seen a lot of modern architecture classics, tiny villages and the famous landscape by Roquebrune-Cap-Martin.
08.10.2021 – Le Thoronet, Hyéres
The trip starts at Zurich Airport early in the morning. It is 1 hour to reach Nice by air plane. Rent a car at the airport of Nice and go further to the famous Cistercian Abbey du Thoronet. Fernand Pouillon wrote his book “Pierre Sauvage” (in English “The Stones of the Abbey”) about the story of the building of du Thororet, how he had imagined it. The next stop is Hyères, a little town just next to the sea. Villa Noailles is waiting for you (photo). The villa was built in 1928 and it was design by Robert Mallet-Stevens. There is a wonderful view to the town from the garden of the villa. If you have time, you can discover the old town of Hyères and the sea coast next to the town. (Tip: Étang des Pesquiers and the Îles d`Hyères are realy worth to visit). Go to Le Lavandou for a night.
09.10.2021 – Beauvallon, Biot, Antibes
Enjoy the morning sun in Le Lavandou by the sea. The road to Saint-Tropez from Le Lavandou is beautiful. (Tip: there are some stops with view points to the sea.) If you have luck, you can drive in Saint-Tropez, but it is always full of tourist. Go to Port Grimaud, which is a planed lagoon town and it has a post-modern flair. The next stop is the holiday area of Beauvallon: you can visit the villa Seynave by Jean Prové (photo) and the golf club by Pierre Chareau. (There is also a villa by P. Chareau, but it is in bad condition.) Go to the town of Biot, which was built on a slope in the Alpes-provençales: the old hall was extended with a concrete building (designed by EGR architecture office). Biot has a nice stone architecture and there are many interesting details on the steets. In the evening you reach Antibes and here is the accommodation.
10.10.2021 – Antibes, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Éze, Nice
Discover a bit Antibes, a pulsating town with an excellent scale: colorful cultural life, nice bakeries and open air market are waiting for you. There is a museum not far from Antibes, which designed by famous swiss architects Gigon&Guyer in Mouans-Sartoux. (Tip: check the opening hours before the visit.) One of the highlights of the trip was the villa E-1027 by Eileen Gray, which was built in 1929 (photo). On a guided tour you can discover the eventful history of the villa. It is really worth to visit. You can also visit there the Cabanon and the accomodations by Le Corbusier. (Tip: all in one ticket.) The mountain town of Éze is not so far from the villa, so it is also worth to visit. On the top of the town there is a wonderful garden with many exotic plants and with a nice view to the sea. Go to Nice, here is your next accommodation.
11.10.2021 – Nice
In Nice there are a lot of things to do. We had rented bikes and we went along the sea to Le Lautin and from here we called a taxi and went to the Fondation Maeght (photo). The building complex was design by J. L. Sert and there are always interesting art exhibitions in the museum. In the garden there are sculptures by J. Miro.
12.10.2021 – Nice
The last day is just traveling. In the morning you can go back to Zurich by plane. We say goodbye to the Cote d`Azur with this photo: Îles d`Hyères.
And here is the map:
ADAM BALOG 