We were in Nice the latter part of last Sept. and it was lovely. I'm sure Oct. would be nice, too. We rented a car and visited many of the mountain villages listed on tour itineraries...Gourdon, Grasse, Tourettes-Sur-Loop, etc. in addition to others where the buses can't go. I think we stayed 3-4 days.

We were in Nice and Monaco in mid October and the weather was perfect for walking and sightseeing. Visit the Matisse and Chagall museums in Nice. A nice place for a day trip is the village of Eze, such a beautiful spot.

Trailblazer20, are you the Trailrunner we who did lots of biking?

bonnie_ann, I too wondered whether it was trailrunner!

Not really a separate day trip but you might enjoy a stop in Villefrance-sur-Mer on your way to Monaco, we found it to be charming. It is in-between Nice and Monaco on the rail line. Much less crazy than Monaco or Nice.

St. Paul de Vence is really lovely, about an hour from Nice. St. Tropez is fun too, not inland though.

Omg - Gooster, thank you so much for all the detail. And thanks to everyone. I’m traveling for work, so I’ll look more at this information during the weekend.

OT Dear Gooster, Thanks for your comprehensive mentions. I trust you are enjoying beautiful Nice and environs. As I had mentioned to you, Nice was our target for retirement but I got old, (I am considerably older than dh) and developed mobility issues) so decided to settle in sw USA. We are happy but you tug at my heartstrings (corny) at the mention of the unsurpassable beauty of the south of France. I loved Antibes and it's sister town, escapes my brain. Nah, I loved it all. So much natural beauty and man made beauty.

In Biot, a short train ride from Nice, is/was the Leger Musee, a large, modern, wonderful museum. We walked from the Biot train station to the museum. I do not know the distance but can recommend the excursion.

Vallauris, another charming hilltop town has/had pretty pottery. Yeah, I shlepped it home. I dont know the current offerings, if any.

St Paul de Vence and Vence were touristy and lovely. Fun to wander around. We took our then 3.5 yr old dd to the zoo at Cap Ferrat, doesnt compare to top US zoos but still nice for kids.

@1929Spanish -- no problem -- ask more questions if you need to later on.

@westsider -- I'm so sorry you were unable to return and settle down. It pains my heart. I wish I could tell it wasn't worth it, but I can't, at least yet. I'm going again next week. Antibes and Juan-Les-Pins are lovely, with that long stretch of beach. Is that the other town you were thinking about?.

Those are some good suggestions to add. I went to Biot in November and took the train + Uber to get to the town (and the bus back to the station). The glass workshop had some beautiful pieces and we had a delicious lunch (plat du jour) in town. I have not been to Vallauris yet, but I've heard it's quite nice, and is still known for pottery. It's always interesting that towns in France are known for working with glass, with ceramics, with copper, with perfume, etc, etc.

We were there at the end of a cruise in October 2016, and the weather was lovely. We did not have a car. I would not attempt to drive on those roads. We considered hiring a driver, but it was incredibly expensive.

In Monte Carlo we rode the hop on hop off bus and were able to see everything in less than a day. One day we rode the bus down to the Villa de Effrussi (Rothschild) and spent the day in that area. The rest of our time was spent in Nice. We flew home from there. Gooster has given you lots of good info. This is a blog I read before our trip. French Riviera Blog

We would love to go back another time and spend a few weeks! Enjoy.

We rented a car in Toulon and drove to Aix-en-Provence, which was a hilarious experience in retrospect. We do speak some French and apparently enough to get us off the hook when we were pulled over by the Police for going the wrong way in a parking lot! We have driven in many European cities without any problems.

Re: a driver. Texanjana look into onedaytrip.com. We found them to be excellent last summer when we were in Eastern Europe. They drove us from Krakow to Prague, from Prague to Vienna. Great service! We even had them take us to the countryside of Poland where we tracked down DH's cousins.

I think September will be nice. October could be a bit more hit-and-miss with rain.

When on the Côte d'Azur, I usually base in Antibes and I rent an apartment. I love the Old Town, especially the Marché de Provençal. It's an easy train trip from Nice, as are many villages along the coast.

If you like Picasso, there is a museum in Antibes where he once painted. The harbor is even better than Nice if you like to yacht-watch. There are also sandy beaches (Nice has pebble beaches), the modern beach has a nice beach-level, wide promenade with benches.

My late husband and I used to walk from Antibes out to Cap d'Antibes to eat at our favorite beach cafes and restaurants, then hike the rugged coastal path. From Nice, this would be much more involved, so if you want to go to the Cap, rent a car that day.

I've been there twice during the Cannes Film Festival and once during the Grand Prix.

Monaco is boring, IMHO. But, with an F1 fan, of course, you should take the train over for a day trip.

I highly recommend taking the train to Ville-France-sur-Mer. It's a quaint place, then walk around the water, then up to Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, past Nelle Côte, where the Rolling Stones wrote "Exile on Main Street" -- continue to Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild to see the villa and gardens, with views of the water. Then, you could walk downhill to the harbor on SJCF for a meal. There is a coastal path (paved) that you could stroll toward Beaulieu.

If you want to go directly from Nice to the Villa Ephrussi, there are regular buses from Nice that are quite modern and quick.

From Cannes, if the ferries are running and you like nature, you could pack a picnic from the Marché and go to Île Saint-Marguerite for trails and explore the old prison (Man in the Iron Mask).

You could train to Menton and stroll the Old Town, and there are also gardens in the town (make a stop at the Tourist Information Office for a map and directions).

Rather than rent a car for the entire stay, you could rent one on the days you want to drive the Grand Corniche and see the hill towns. This can be arranged through your hotel, or at one of the rental car offices at the train station.

I've also been to Mougins, Tourettes-sur-Loup, Gordes, Gourdon, Eze Village (up, not down), Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Grasse. These require a car.

Saint Tropez is a long drive, but doable. It's really over-rated (food isn't so good and prices are high in the shops) and there is only one highway leading into the village. But, if you want to see it, see it. We used to drive there because we hiked the peninsula trails (you have to arrange for transport back if you don't want to walk the distance back).

In Nice, take advantage of the marché. The foods are fresh, the flowers are lovely. There is usually a Socca vendor, baking a socca onsite in an oven. It's a chickpea flatbread and you choose either sweet or savory toppings. There's usually a socca vendor in the Antibes Marché, too. It may not be to your taste, but it's worth a try.

There is a strong Italian influence along the coast, so sometimes you'll think you have more Italian food options than French.

Be vigilant with your personal belongings in Nice. Pickpockets are everywhere, and they can look like very upscale, nice people. I usually carry a "dummy wallet" in my purse that has only enough Euros for the day, and no credit cards. My "real" wallet is zipped up in the inside pocket of my purse. That way, if they somehow reach into your purse, they get a small amount of cash, not your credit cards.

Also, be very careful when getting Euros out of the ATM. It is better to go inside a bank to access an ATM, than to use one on the street -- this is true for Paris as well. You'll often find there is a button to push to make the doors open, then they close behind you while you use the ATM.

I could go on and on about the area!

I forgot to add, this link has a very good selection, all summarized, although a few choices on lodging I suspect are influenced by the author's ability to get referral money: BestOfNiceBlog

Yes Gooster, it was Juan Les Pins. Thanks. There was another small town near Juan on rhe beach with a castle? Great beach we day tripped for some beach time! And daydreaming.

Re security, I wore a tummy wallet inside the waistband of my jeans for my passport and serious stuff. Hubs wore a security wallet inside his shirt. Makes it easy to enjoy.

@westsider -- Were you thinking Antibes itself? It's on the water with ramparts that look very castle-like. Cagnes-Sur-Mer has a beach, but up on the hill in Haut de Cagnes is a big castle like building.

My understanding is that much of the petty tourist crime has been on the decline, but in any place in Europe on public transport it's best to keep one's possessions/purse close at hand, especially in a crowd, and to keep copies of everything in another location.

General security stuff -- I photograph my passport and driver's license, which are synchronized and available on my Apple devices (passcode protected), but my son has copies, too.

When I travel, I inform my credit card companies, and my bank of the dates and locations. If someone tries to access my accounts with an incorrect password (including my own typos), I get a text message telling me, so I'll know.

Same with Facebook and Twitter. Even with my correct password on those two accounts, I get a text with a security code.

For any financial accounts, I don't save passwords on my computers. My credit union (where I have my ATM cards) has a new feature where I can get a text message if a certain amount of cash is withdrawn from an ATM.

I use different emails -- the one I use to access all my important financial stuff isn't the one that I use for social media, online shopping, etc.

Pickpockets are so good at what they do, especially in crowded places.

Another thing that I do, is I inform the State Department of my foreign travel location, address, and dates. If there's a terrorist situation, weather issue (floods, etc.), or other major event, they immediately notify me.

When I was in Paris last June, the American Embassy sent me emails for street and metro closings due to a parade! A few of my expat friends got stuck in the crowds because they didn't have that information, but I took a different route to our dinner location.

A policeman was attacked on the Champs while I was there, and I received an email from the American Embassy in Paris before it was on the news.

I just wanted to follow up and say thanks to everyone who responded. While we decided on Italy for this year, I've saved this information for future ideas.

I so appreciate all the experience and perspectives that come with this group.

Have you been to Italy? Where are you going? You certainly can't go wrong with Italy, so much to see and do. Enjoy!

This will be my third trip to Italy. We're super busy this year and want to find time to relax and not have to do too much planning.

We're spending five days at the JW Marriott resort on an island off Venice, five days in Florence, a night in Orvieto and a couple in Rome. In Venice, we plan to spend some quality time at the pool/resort and we'll be taking a couple day trips to Lucca and Siena from Florence. We use Marriott points, which give you a fifth night free, hence the longer stays in Venice and Florence.

I'll send out another recommendation request closer to when we leave.

Oh enjoy your trip! Italy should be wonderful, I've taken the route from Florence to Rome (via Orvieto) as well. (Currently in Nice, which is unseasonably chilly).