Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
sylvie@gmail.com
)
.
Sofia Villavicencio
is a pleasant guide who makes the Rivi-
era's art come alive (€145/half-day, €200/day, mobile 06 68 51 55 52,
sofia.villavicencio@laposte.net
)
.
Boba Vukadinovic
enjoys sharing her passion for
her adoptive home. Her good tours of Nice and the Riviera are tailored to the sights
and topics that appeal to you (€250/half-day, from €350/day, mobile 06 27 45 68 39,
Cooking Tour and Classes:
CharmingCanadianFrancophileRosaJackson,afoodjourn-
alist,CordonBleu-trainedcook,andlongtimeresidentofFrance,runs
Les Petits Far-
cis,
which offers three-hour “Taste of Nice” food tours for €90. She also teaches pop-
ular cooking classes in Vieux Nice, which include a morning trip to the open-air mar-
ket on Cours Saleya to pick up ingredients, and an afternoon session spent creating
an authentic Niçois meal from your purchases (€195/person, mobile 06 81 67 41 22,
Minivan Tours:
The TI and most hotels have information on minivan excursions from
Nice (roughly €50-70/half-day, €80-110/day).
Revelation Tours
takes pride in its
guides(mobile0627056777,
www.revelation-tours.com
)
.
Med-Tour
isoneofmany
(tel. 04 93 82 92 58, mobile 06 73 82 04 10,
www.med-tour.com
)
;
Tour Azur
is an-
other (tel. 04 93 44 88 77,
www.tourazur.com
). All also offer private tours by the day
or half-day (check with them for their outrageous prices, about €100/hour).
Longer-Stay Rentals:
Renting an apartment, house, or villa can be a cost-effective way
to explore the Côte d'Azur. Rentals are typically by the week, giving you time
to take advantage of day-trip possibilities.
Riviera Pebbles
offers a wide range of
rental apartments throughout the Riviera and gets good reviews from happy clients
(
www.rivierapebbles.com
)
. VRBO, an international network of vacation rentals
(houses,apartments, and
gîtes
),cutsoutthemiddleman andputsyoudirectly intouch
with the owner (
www.vrbo.com
)
.
Cruise-Ship Sightseeing:
The French Riviera is a popular cruise destination. Arriving
ships are divided about evenly between three ports: Nice, Villefranche-sur-Mer, and
Monaco. I've provided arrival instructions in the “Connections” section for these
ports. If your cruise includes destinations beyond the French Riviera, consider my
guidebook,
Rick Steves' Mediterranean Cruise Ports.
Updates to this Topic:
For news about changes to this topic's coverage since it was pub-
lished, see
www.ricksteves.com/update
.
