Tours from Nice? Activities?

Being in Nice for just 4 days at the end of July, I would hate to miss the lavender in Provence at that time. Is there a good day tour you would recommend to see a bit of Provence? Would love to see Aix, but that might be too far. We%26#39;d like to avoid renting a car.

I found something a tour on Viator: St. Paul de Vence, Gourdon, Grasse %26amp; Cannes. No Aix, but it sounds okay. Worth spending a day doing this?

I think we can visit Antibes or Monaco on our own by train on another day.

Also, we%26#39;re good at wandering, touring, museums, picnics, etc., but I would love to find an authentic activity to experience, like a cooking class or I think a read something about horseback riding on a beach? Any resources on something like this?

Many thanks.

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Aix is approximately 120 miles from Nice which makes it difficult for a 1-day trip. If you do not want to rent a car, this Viator tour of St. Paul, Gourdon, Grasse sounds ok (Gourdon is a lovely perched village that offers great views of the coast) however, despite what the description says, you won%26#39;t see lavender fields in the area and won%26#39;t get a true feel of Provence as the departement of the Maritime Alps is the least provençal of the 6 departements that form the PACA region (Provence Alpes Côte d%26#39;Azur) :

www.provenceweb.fr/e/alpmarit.htm

Lavender fields are to be found in these areas :

provenceweb.fr/e/…zones.htm

As for horseback riding, I think that the only place in Provence where you could ride on the beach is Camargue (185 miles from Nice).

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For cooking classes, I found this website :

www.petitsfarcis.com

I%26#39;ve never heard of this lady and/or course, but then I%26#39;ve never contemplated taking a niçois cooking class myself as I got all my recipes from my grandma :-D

But maybe somebody else on this forum has...

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tours can be useful for seeing a variety of places but they are often focussed on depositing people at the gift shops and shopping outlets [where the tour organisers might get a percentage of sales] rather than giving people time to see the sights

you can see wild lavender at Plateau de la Justice above the Col d%26#39;Eze -it needs a certain altitude -not sure what it will be like at end of july though- its just coming in to bloom just now -plus its not fields and fields of unrelenting purple sausages

there is also the option of taking the chemin de fer de provence train to Dignes , which is in the heart of lavender country - this would be a much more interesting and less touristy but long day out

cooking

various types of cooking course

the market plus

cooking one is just 80 euros but there are various others and prices- even a

quick lunchtime one. The market is the Liberation market btw

http://www.cuisinesurcours.com/

restaurant chef =nicois cooking

i think the guy does market plus cooking on demand as well as stand alone classes

http://www.lufrancalin.com/courscuisine.htm

Class Goumande

French conversation plus cooking

more information at classegourmande@gmail.com

http://www.classegourmande.com/