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Juan-les-Pins in August

Seanm said:
We were in Paris for this and loved it! Although my wife did get heatstroke, and our neighbour was hospitalised. We used to sit around in parks in the midday sun, drinking. No sense at all.
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Well, if your coping strategy is to get pissed all day and heatstroke is just one of those things, crack on! You'll be fine. Just take some advice from gintonic of this parish about the best way to pace your 8 pints before dinner, and you'll be fine.
 
mjw said:
How old are the kids, Sean? The younger they are, the more of a PITA they’ll be. Ice creams, crepes and soft drinks will be top price and the kids’ll be constantly whining about the heat (is my experience). Also, most of Paris (it feels like) relocates to that coast in August.
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11 and 9: probably won’t be a better age for it, which is why we’ve decided to go for it this year, first sun holiday since the oldest was a baby. They’re used to Irish holidays so who knows how they’ll deal with the heat. Good travellers to be fair.
 
You know what your gonna get in Filey, used to love climbing down the cliffs and trying to dodge the sewage overflow pipes. Get down to the brig get a few tonne of winkles in carrier bags and bring emm all back to the caravan. 3 berther that slept15 all covered in winkle eyes.
 
Seanm said:
11 and 9: probably won’t be a better age for it, which is why we’ve decided to go for it this year, first sun holiday since the oldest was a baby. They’re used to Irish holidays so who knows how they’ll deal with the heat. Good travellers to be fair.
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I suggest you wait 10years and go without them. You will enjoy it. And so will they.
Or go somewhere else. Less hot. Less crowded. Less expensive.
 
Lovely part of the world. But as above......personally, I'd go slightly 'out of season' and avoid the crowds. Early or late you are of course needing to be lucky with weather, but July/August is going to be very busy and very hot.
 
Seanm said:
11 and 9: probably won’t be a better age for it, which is why we’ve decided to go for it this year, first sun holiday since the oldest was a baby. They’re used to Irish holidays so who knows how they’ll deal with the heat. Good travellers to be fair.
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Hibernia. The Romans didn’t call it the land of constant winter for nothing though it’s fair to say they might have had higher rates of desertion over here.
 
Seanm said:
We were planning to wait them out but I want some sunshine.
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What do you want from the holiday? Beach? Activities? Culture? Food & drink, presumably. If you’re not that bothered about the beach, how about Italy, Cinque Terre is great, and probably not priced to attract the beautiful people. We fishies might feel more at home if not surrounded by wealth and beauty.
 
Our favourite spot was to the north east of Avignon, in the foothills around Mont Ventoux. Slightly cooler than down on the plain, plenty of good food & drink, and Provençal markets, which are good fun. No beaches obviously, but if you can get a gite with a pool……
 
In a different part of France, we have been to Ile-de-Ré many times, and it’s hard to beat for a family holiday. Not too hot due to the Atlantic coast but very sunny, you cycle everywhere and it’s very safe (paths are almost all off the road). Food is good, amazing beaches, pretty villages to visit and loads of great campsites. You can fly into La Rochelle and bus/taxi to your campsite and hire bikes from there. Our kids have always loved the cycling through the forests at night with their bike lights!

Also, it’s still quite French in nature as it’s a popular place for holidays for locals too - which for me is a great thing - but ymmv.
 
suzywong said:
Our favourite spot was to the north east of Avignon, in the foothills around Mont Ventoux. Slightly cooler than down on the plain, plenty of good food & drink, and Provençal markets, which are good fun. No beaches obviously, but if you can get a gite with a pool……
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I love this area. I've cycled around the area, over Ventoux, and climbed extensively in the Oisans (Dauphiné) to the north.
 
wiresandmore said:
In a different part of France, we have been to Ile-de-Ré many times, and it’s hard to beat for a family holiday. Not too hot due to the Atlantic coast but very sunny, you cycle everywhere and it’s very safe (paths are almost all off the road). Food is good, amazing beaches, pretty villages to visit and loads of great campsites. You can fly into La Rochelle and bus/taxi to your campsite and hire bikes from there. Our kids have always loved the cycling through the forests at night with their bike lights!

Also, it’s still quite French in nature as it’s a popular place for holidays for locals too - which for me is a great thing - but ymmv.
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Hmm. I've been to this area, I know it's well loved and very very popular in summer, but it's not for me.
 
stevec67 said:
Hmm. I've been to this area, I know it's well loved and very very popular in summer, but it's not for me.
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Like I said, ymmv. I’ve lived in France and visited practically all of it over the last 30 years, and it’s definitely our favourite of many, many locations for a family summer break.
 
suzywong said:
Our favourite spot was to the north east of Avignon, in the foothills around Mont Ventoux. Slightly cooler than down on the plain, plenty of good food & drink, and Provençal markets, which are good fun. No beaches obviously, but if you can get a gite with a pool……
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It's my favourite place. We usually stay just south of Ventoux. The markets are lovely. But it gets hot. We've had 40°C and regularly 36/37°C. I love the sounds and smells.
We'd get to a point just south of Lyon on the autoroute and suddenly the light is different. You are heading towards the Mediterranean.
For many, a pool is a must.
 
k90tour said:
It's my favourite place. We usually stay just south of Ventoux. The markets are lovely. But it gets hot. We've had 40°C and regularly 36/37°C. I love the sounds and smells.
We'd get to a point just south of Lyon on the autoroute and suddenly the light is different. You are heading towards the Mediterranean.
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That point really is quite definite - very near Valence. One minute you're in the Lyonnais. The next, you're in Provence.
(Confirmed by the locals: "Au nord de Valence, c'est tous des Escandinaves".)
 
suzywong said:
Our favourite spot was to the north east of Avignon, in the foothills around Mont Ventoux. Slightly cooler than down on the plain, plenty of good food & drink, and Provençal markets, which are good fun. No beaches obviously, but if you can get a gite with a pool……
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Same for us too, we stayed near Bédoin a few times, some lovey hilltop villages to visit and there's Avignon, Nimes, Pont du Gard, etc. There are kiddie friendly activities too such as kayaking on the Ardeche and from Fontaine-de-Vaucluse. Good food & vineyards to sample, 30+degs in the day time, but crucially it drops to 20degs overnight so you get a decent sleep. Although it's obviously pretty touristy - the prices at the village markets are pretty steep, it does seem a bit more 'real' than the south coast.

We occasionally headed down to the south coast for beaches when the kids were young and it all seemed a bit unpleasant! Antibes was rammed and frankly horrid. Preferred to head towards the Camargue region if you want sand.

For us it worked so well with the kids that we ended up returning year after year.

HTH
Phil
 
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