Nice to Monaco by scooter

Thursday, November 8, 2007

One of the world's most famous and glamorous resort areas, the French Riviera, continues west from the Italian Riviera and Menton to Monaco, Nice, Antibes and Cannes along the Mediterranean coast.

The French Riviera became a most fashionable resort in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was particularly popular with the British upper class. Winston Churchill was a regular visitor and often stayed in Coco Chanel's villa where he wrote his memoirs. Once a winter resort because of its mild climate, it slowly became more popular as a summer resort.

Not the cheapest place on the planet to visit, Getaway decided to hop aboard a DriveAway scooter and take the road between Nice and Monaco on a budget.

Nice is France's fifth largest city. It is the cheapest place to stay on the Riviera with lots of mid-range and budget accommodation available. Its neighbouring cities, Cannes and Monaco, are really expensive and many people sleep on the beach — illegal but the local gendarmerie choose to turn a blind eye.

Beaches in Nice are of fine pebbles, so chairs are a good idea. Most hotels along the main promenade have private beaches. The palm-lined Promenade des Anglais was established by English expats in 1822 and at night the trees twinkle with fairy lights. It overlooks the Baie des Anges — Bay of Angels.

The Principality of Monaco covers just 1.95 square kilometres. It has been ruled by the Grimaldi family for most of the time since 1927. It is made up of four main areas — Monaco Ville, the old city on top of a 60 metre crag, Monte Carlo and its famous casino and grand prix motor race, La Condamine surrounding the harbour and Fontvielle, south-west of Monaco Ville. Citizens pay no taxes, making it a haven for the rich and famous.

The journey between these two places takes around 40 minutes, depending upon which of the three corniches you choose to take. The trio of roads hugs the cliffs, each higher up the hill than the last. The upper and lower continue to Menton, while the middle corniche ends in Monaco.

The lower road — Basse Corniche — skims the villa-lined waterfront. It follows the train line and passes through Villefrance-sur-Mer, St-Jean-Cap Ferrat, Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Eze sur-Mer, and Cap d'Ail. It is certainly the most scenic route.

Moyenne Corniche — middle road — clings to the hillside and travels through little perched villages. The twisting road can be hair-raising. In fact, it is the road on which Princess Grace of Monaco was killed in a car crash.

Grand Corniche — upper road — is the quickest way, but not as scenic as the other two.

Scooters are the easy and fun way to negotiate these roads. You can rent a Yamaha YP125 scooter from DriveAway before leaving home and get around the countryside just like the locals.

They are simple to manoeuvre through narrow laneways and small medieval villages along your travels. Parking is easy, and with the price of fuel in Europe, renting a scooter is an inexpensive alternative to driving a car.

DriveAway can also arm you with a GPS navigator, loaded with all the maps you will need for your holiday. They can be mounted in any vehicle, including scooters.

Best Western Premier Hotel West End is on the Promenade des Anglais, facing Baie des Anges. Built in 1842, it offers the ambience of a belle époque property. It has been continuously renovated and the 126 room property is one of quality and charm.

Its restaurant, Le Siécle, faces the Mediterranean and offers gourmet dining in an art deco setting.

In summer guests relax in La Palmeraie terrace bar which has a live band. In winter, the British-inspired Horse Guard Bar is the place for cosy moments.

Location

The south of France.

Cost

Best Western Premier Hotel West End has rooms starting at around $190 a double a night.

DriveAway Holidays has scooter hire from $100 a day. You must be at least 23 years old, and have held a full and valid driving licence for a minimum of two years. Helmet rental is included and they are mandatory in France. GPS rental is $9.90 a day.

Emirates has flights to Nice.

From	fare
Melbourne	$1864
Brisbane	$1873
Sydney	$1882
Darwin	$2797
Adelaide	$2446
Perth	$1505

Valid for travel between February 1 to October 31, 2008.
Prices quoted correct at Nov 8, 2007.

For more information

DriveAway Holidays
Scooter Rental Nice
Phone: 1300 363 500
Website: www.driveaway.com.au

Best Western Premier Hotel West End
31 Promenade Des Anglais,
Nice FR-06000 France
Ph: +33 4 92144400
Fax: +33 4 93888507

Best Western Australia
Reservations: 131 779
Website: www.bestwestern.com.au

French Tourist Bureau
Website: www.franceguide.com

Riviera Tourism
Website: www.guideriviera.com

Have you been here? Or have you got a question you think other readers could help with? Leave your comments below.

User comments

Nice to Monaco What a terrible shame to use such an unsophisticated presenter at such a location....they were badly mismatched. An embarrament to all of those Australians who are trying to lose that over confident,loud and mouthy image we have overseas. No class.

I think Jason presents himself particularly well - does an excellent job of it. He's a very likeable young bloke showing us how we (no matter what age) can also have a really good time. He's articulate, easily understood, stylish, looks great, is carefree and always happy. He always makes me feel good too when I watch him. Good on ya Jase you're doing a terrific job Pal, keep it up and please don't change your style or on-camera personality.

As an Aussie who has tried to give the French a good impression about Australians I was appalled at the behaviour of the presenter 'Jason'. He started the story saying it's not about money but style. He then insulted a restraunteur in Ville France by refusing to eat his food, then when the person ate his own food and declared it 'good' the presenter said youd say that 'cos its your food ... what an insullt. Again in Monaco's Casino he behaves like some Las Vegas redneck ... where's the style? If they were going to do a remake of 'Barry McKenzie' then he's your man, but otherwise keep him in Australia covering footy matches. We don't need the world to see Aussies behaving like that in other countrys. He is a terrible role model for Australias travelling youth and an embarassment to the rest of us. Ron

Please James DO NOT SPEAK WITH FOOD IN YOUR MOUTH! I have missed quite a few episodes but 2 I have seen James has put food in this mouth and then continued to interview. I don't want to see him speak like that and I'm sure the people he is interviewing must be appalled. Learn some manners!

i am a avid veiwer of getaway and for the past couple of weeks i have been disappointed with the way your latest presenter has conducted himself. particully tonight presenting Monte Carlo. In my opinion he carried on like a little child passing between the bike and the car doing high five . None of your other presenters carry on the way he does, they tend to present themselves in a orderly manner and present their topic in the way it should be presented, I think your show is a great boon for Australian television and we will go on watching it for as long as it is on t.v. Thanking you Tim.