american playing with the idea of going to the Provence region of France. never been to france, know very little about it, and dont really have any strong opinions about it. ive heard that paris is a shithole and from what ive seen that seems to be true. does the same go for nice? are there any big cities in provence worth visiting? i wanted to mostly focus on tooling around the countryside and trying the food, maybe some wine, general loafing about. any good towns to recommend?
also, i know the obvious answer is 'yes, of course' but should i learn some french for this? all the french real ball breakers about using english? i know the stereotypes about french people but that can be true basically anywhere even though it never is.
Never been but I'd like to visit.
I haven't been to Nice since before the memeflu:
>does the same go for nice?
Nice has a suprising amount of public trash but the city is catered to rich boomer retirees and foreign tourists. Ever since the 2016 truck of peace, armed security squads roam the streets in much greater frequency than most comparable cities amd Nice airport is the most strict of any French airport I have ever been.
>big cities in provence
If you mean Marseilles, then no.
>tooling around the countryside and trying the food, maybe some wine, general loafing about. any good towns to recommend?
Why are you going to this area, exactly? For these specific wants, I'd reccomend the southwest region of Occitania over the southeast unless you are really into lavender fields. Or why not spend 1-2 nights in Nice to enjoy the Rivera and fly directly to Toulouse and the nearby countryside for everything else?
>learning French
Learning the basics (hello, thank you, good-bye, help me). Most of them will appreciate the effort and switch to English once they know you are struggling foreigner.
To clarify, service staff in touristy areas will switch to English. In other scenerios, they will speak slowly and in simple French emphasizing key words so you can hopefully understand.
I had to act as an interpreter multiple times on the Côte D'Azur, one time even while waiting at a McDonalds.
How you can get a customer-facing job at a McDonalds frequented by without basic English is beyond me.
People are just entitled pieces of shits all over the world, including in poor areas. That's why learning a language beyond, how much does that cost, is a waste of time. You're only going to learn, from this different perspective, that humans are garbage.
Se equivoca guey. Most Hispanics will go to great lengths to accomodate foreigners with difficulty speaking Spanish. To avoid the hassle on my part and theirs, I learned enough Spanish to say what I want to say.
>why are you going?
yeah i forgot to mention what i was thinking. this was more a low key exploratory trip. ive been digging cooking provencal recipes lately so i think id like to check out how they do it there.
i guess ideally id like to hang out in some smaller towns, soak in some sun, try some wine, some cuisine, have some chats with the locals. would be cool to meet some friends or women (not coomer shit, just being a normal human being) but not a high priority. i do want to see the lavendar fields
generally i like rural and nature more than cities but obviously cities have their virtues for short periods of time. im really physically active so anything involving bikes, kayaks, climbing, hiking, im into. do they have caves in that region? i know some parts of europe actually have some pretty cool limestone formations
im not really a clubber or a dancer but i do like music as long as its not gutter tier pop or rap.
>no marseilles
got it. if nice is alright then, yeah, doing 2 nights there sounds nice. as far as countryside towns, is it kind of like the us where some are basically just working towns and some have a more weekender bed and breakfast relaxed entertaining scene? im honestly in very early stages of planning and wanted to get some different perspectives before i dive into the whole internet scraper hive mind that is modern travel research
as an addition, yes i absolutely will get the basics down if i go. i think last year i went through central europe and i was absolutely fricked not knowing all the languages. crazy how europe packs so many into such a small amount of space. it would be like if nevada and colorado spoke different languages
Just curious, but has any of you actually been to Marseille? It's shat on each and every southern France thread, still it's full of foreign tourists these days.
I can get it's not for everyone but Nice isn't that better imo
Marseille has the problem that the first thing you see once you get off the train is the worst part of the city.
Nice nicely hides that on the other side of the track.
Definitely a mid 30s or 40s amerifat. France is fun if you're fit and in your 20s, or rich and in you're 50s.
im 31 and fit with a decent income. not sure what point youre trying to make unless you just really wanted to hear yourself talk.
Well here is my point: I am a euro, and I spent my teens travelling around western europe soaking up the sun. Basically, Americans are not welcome outside the standard tourist traps. This being said, visit the ardeche valley if you want to see natural beauty. Put on a British accent so you don't get rinsed for you cash.
ok, see? i can actually use this information. thank you. why they dont like americans? because they dont speak french? or is it just everyone that isnt french? in general, i have a hard time believing that. insular communities definitely have no outsiders attitudes but ive never found it to be universal or so specifically applied
I dont know why they don't like Americans, maybe they have all heard horror stories from Paris. In general, France is the most anal country about this. Small towns in Italy will welcome you with open arms if you're willing to drop some cash at their local stores, regardless of nationality.
Avoid Marseille at all cost, with a 100km radius around it. Don't go near it.
Stay mostly inland.
Before going, you should watch these 4 films, if you don't like them, it's not worth going:
-La Gloire de Mon Père, then its sequel Le Chateau de Ma Mère
-Jean de Florette, then its sequel Manon des Sources
And btw, AVOID MARSEILLE.
these are french movies right? not like adult disney american movies about france? ill check it out. so what is the deal with marseilles? everyone hates it lol is it like fresno?
>Marseille’s overall crime rate hovers at 64.55 and the city demonstrates high levels of crimes. From petty theft to armed robbery, vandalism to serious assault. Thing is, the place is relatively problem-free by day, when it has a safety index of 50.40, though tourists still need to be careful, as pickpockets and scammers operate everywhere in the city.
>Marseille’s safety at night dips to an index of 27.74. Street crime is common, especially in the northern districts, and solo travelers should avoid unlit streets and the metro after dark. The crime rates are more than five times higher in Marseille than in the rest of France, and the murder rate is especially high due to the criminal gangs that operate here. Marseille is also known for its trafficking of all kinds from – drugs, weapons, humans.
wow what the hell? and the french government is just cool with letting this sore fester?
The french regime right now is totally corrupt and fragile.
It wants to appear strong but a big parts of cities are just left to maghrebi drug dealers who can start or stop riots whenever they want (like a few weeks ago). The whole country feels like the last years of Nicolae Ceaucescu's Romania.
>these are french movies right
They are french classics about Provence (from Marcel Pagnol), it's pretty much what the place is about.
Frenchgay here.
>Nice, Monaco, Saint Tropez, Cannes
Avoid these places, nothing is authentic there and the inhabitants are either italian migrants or rich parisians.
>Marseille
Nuke that city. It's fun if you are local and understand where to go, but as a tourist you'll just get robbed
>Cassis, Bandol, La Ciotat, Saint cyr
THIS is where you want to head, any coastal city between Marseille and Toulon is perfect, good rocky beaches (try les calanques of Cassis) good food, not that expensive compared to Nice and others, super authentic.
>Valensole, Regusse, Verdon, Peyrassol, Pierrefeu
These are the perfect Provence villages / lanscapes. There's a nuance to the south of France, whatever city by the sea is considered "Cote d'azur" whereas whatever city in the back country is considered "Provence"
>Hyeres, Porqueroles, Ile du Levant
Porqueroles is a funny Island, Hyeres is a calm city with an airport, and Ile du levant is the place to go if you want to go nudist
BTW one thing about provence/cote d'azur is this: the best beaches are often tiny rocky creeks
based. this is great shit, anon. thank you. lot of stuff to check into. i like small covey beaches compared to sprawling sand spits but i come from pnw so its familiar to me. would be nice to have that but not balls freezing water.
Thank you. Great Stuff.
op giving a quick bump in case anyone has anyting else to add. gonna stop monitoring the thread some time tomorrow and start getting into the weeds figuring this stuff out. ty for everyone that contributed.