Can anyone suggest a restaurant for lunch in the hill villages out of Nice. I remember in someone's post that there was a recommended restaurant for lunch on a days trip out of Nice. I tried La Colombe in St. Paul de Vence and they are booked that day for lunch. It would be nice not to be at the descrison of our driver. Eze will likely be on the way to Monte Carlo before boarding. Any suggestions for a restaurant and activities would be appreciated.

Jan

I'm afraid I have no recommendations for that portion of Provence, since we haven't gotten to visit those villages, but you shouldn't have any trouble finding some pretty wonderful food there! That certainly was the case for us in Provence around Aix. I bet others will have some good ideas for little cafes away from the tourist stops. Good luck, and enjoy!

I don't have any recommendations, and hope you find some nice place. It would be good to know for the next time we cruise through Nice or Monte Carlo--we didn't get a chance to go outside Nice last year.

Just FYI, this region is not strictly part of Provence but the Cote d'Azur, or French Riviera.

Jan - When we were in Provence several years ago, we ate lunch at Le Cagnard in Cagnes-sur-Mer. I know it is near St. Paul because we went there after lunch. We ate in a beautiful garden, and, if we recall correctly, the food was excellent.

Nini

Thanks so much for the suggestion. Our driver's company may havew gotten us the rservation at La Colombe, but will keep this name in case. I'' let you know our experiences-- jan

Ollie, was the restaurant, Le Cagnard, up a very steep winding road? I think that's where we had the most incredible dinner ever! Totally awesome! I remember, among other things, that the 'cheese board' was the size of my front door!

Hi Bonnie - From the best of our recollection, Le Cagnard was not up a steep winding road, because I sort of remember parking on the street in front of it. Sorry.

Nini

Well, maybe the road wasn't that steep cause I'm pretty sure that's the name of the restaurant. In any case, Jan won't go wrong with whatever is chosen....I just don't think you can have anything less than a spectacular meal in the South of France!!

Editing to add....I just found in my notes the name of the restaurant I was referring to...it's called Haut de Cagnes in Le Cagnard

Then that must be it - I agree that every meal is wonderful in the South of France (in all of France, for that matter).

Nini

Bonnie,

Actually the hotel/restaurant is called Le Cagnard and it's located in Haut de Cagnes. We stayed there 25 years ago and I have fond memories of the hotel and the restaurant. My memory is of a narrow winding or curving road up to the hotel entrance which became narrower and narrower as you approaced the hotel. Finally, at the hotel, the road passed through an archway with an inch or two clearance on each side of our mid-size car. Amazingly, after driving the road a couple of times we were zipping up and down the road like locals.

There was an amusing incident concerning the road when we checked out of the hotel. We were waiting for the hotel valet to bring up our car when a Frenchman drove up, started to drive through the archway, saw how narrow it was and stopped. He refused to drive forward. Traffic instantly backed up behind him so he couldn't back up. The people in the cars behind him were irate; including one woman who was late for an appointment. There was a lot of yelling and gesturing. I learned a lot of French swear words that day. :D Finally, someone from the hotel drove the man's car through the archway. It was one of those odd moments that make trips memorable.

Dave ~ Love your story of Le Cagnard...and yup, that's the one! Your perfect description brought back wonderful memories! We were there for dinner several years ago...it was devine. The ceiling opening up to the sky, and the narrow winding road were almost as memorable as the food!!

We stayed at Le Cagnard about 15 years ago - the road up there is very narrow and we actually scraped our little car, which was traumatic since it was one of our first trips to Europe.

We stayed in one of the rooms that are built into the ramparts which can best be described as the "Flinstones meet the Jetsons" in decor. It had the feel of a cave, but had a bunch of features that could be controlled by a remote - kind of like a bachelor pad - flick the remote and voila the drapes close, the lighting dims.

They were training a new dining room staff when we were there - in fact there could have been new owners. In any event, it was very strange, although the food as I recall was delicious. The staff kept dropping forks, misplacing the zillion changes of cutlery and were constantly glared at and reprimanded by Madame, who I presumed to be the owner.

When it was time to leave they could not locate our car so we cooled our heals for over an hour while they frantically looked for it. All the while Madame was on the phone carrying on about Americans, some of the other guests and all kind of things, 80% of which I could understand.

Sounds like others have had good experiences - it is definitely in a lovely setting and lunch on the terrace would probably be very good.

I can't believe that we both blocked out the narrow winding road (it was only 6 years ago), but I'm sure it was the same place and the food and locale were wonderful.

Nini