January slow holiday destination

[Tina]

Looking for anecdotal information, or suggestions, about good holidays in January: thinking of a two week base in mainland Italy or South of France. We're in Málaga at the moment and like the fact it's a clean safe and beautiful city with long promenades for sunny days and loads of art galleries/museums/churches, many of which free, for bad weather days. Like hiking, just walking, buying fresh produce and cooking....We live in the Alps so want to escape the cold and the snow for a couple of weeks but are thinking of using our car, not flying this time. Any thoughts? Thanks!

 

[Pauline]

We spent 2 weeks in Antibes a couple of years ago in late October and I always thought that would be a good winter destination. You have to drive to hiking but there is a good hike around the cap from town. Town has a great market.

We rented a very nice house. I reviewed it.

 

[Tina]

We spent 2 weeks in Antibes a couple of years ago in late October and I always thought that would be a good winter destination. You have to drive to hiking but there is a good hike around the cap from town. Town has a great market.

We rented a very nice house. I reviewed it.

Thanks Pauline, I'll bear that in mind, I've read your trip report too, have also been reading about your stay in Israel, where we probably won't be going, but it's great to read your descriptions, I learn far more about the places than from any travel book....

 

[Cameron]

The earliest that I've been in Antibes/Côte d'Azur has been March. It was sunny and 60s/low 70s Fahrenheit. Antibes has a slower pace, fewer people than Nice. Nice is bigger, more vibrant.

While you don't need a car for staying in Antibes, it's great for visiting the surrounding hill towns, such as Mougins, Tourettes-sur-loup, Éze Village, St Paul-de-Vence, etc.

Along the coast, you can take the train and visit different villages...Cannes, Antibes, Biot, Nice, Villefrance-sur-mer, Monaco, Menton, etc.

As Pauline mentions, you can walk around the Cap from Old Town, and you can also walk out to Fort Carré, which has a very long gravel path around it.

I'm not sure of the restaurant openings/closings in January for the coastal cafés (such as on La Garoupe beach on the Cap).

You'll need a car if you want to drive the coastal highway from Cannes to St Tropez. There's one road into St Tropez from the east, and on weekends, it can be crowded. I've driven to St Tropez twice to hike the peninsula, and turned around once when the traffic was jammed. Along the way, you can stop in Frejus and/or St Raphael.

If you want to drive the Grand Corniche above Nice, you'll also need a car. Great views. Not sure of the road conditions in January.