Warm Vacation Destinations
Vacation Ideas

There is one (which is the best) in Northern part of the city and many semi-hotel/hostel types in front of Nice railway station.

Also, Nice provides good connectivity to the surrounding places like Monaco, Cannes, St. Raphael, etc. by bus and by train and it costs only 1euro to anywhere in Cote d'azur region by public transport (bus).

Moreover, the airport is within the Nice city and approachable easily during any odd timings.

There are bike vendors in the city who rent bikes or scooters on hourly basis and for within the city one may take the public cycles stationed on all main streets for a cost of just 1euro.

If one is a culture or art lover, there are many interesting things to discover in and around French Rivera. For example, post card museum in Antibes was a quiet interesting for me and there is Picasso museum in Antibes, perfume museum in Grasse among many others.

With older children, I knew I wanted a locale that had lots of cultural happenings, likely in an urban area.

My husband and I were looking for a more relaxed trip – anywhere that was warm and sunny. After hours of work, we finally chose San Francisco in the Bay Area in Northern California – and I’m so happy we did!

We stayed in the Westin Francis Drake across from Union Square, the primary fashion and shopping district in the city, close to amenities and filled with lots of attractions for our teens.

We made trips out to the Embarcadero daily, to sample delicious seafood and take in the beauty of the Bay. The tasty samples at the Boudin Bakery, the origin of San Francisco’s famed sourdough didn’t hurt either!

Along Fisherman’s Wharf, there was no shortage of merchants hawking their fresh crab and lobster starting bright and early at 9:00 am.

For fun, we would spend afternoons wandering along the streets just south of our hotel and Union Square, lined with galleries. My kids and I loved the Surrealist works at the SF Weinstein and the art of Dr. Seuss on display at the Dennis Rae Fine Art Gallery.

The transit system in San Francisco is extensive, and riding the various forms of transportation was easy and – dare I say it? – enjoyable!

The kids and I loved the streetcars and riding up and down the city’s many hills in the cable car.

Delicious dinners were had at the millions of nondescript but delightful Mexican restaurants throughout the city, and we loved our nightcap at the Cheesecake Factory less than a block away from the hotel.

And the shopping? Fantastic! A great mix of luxury and affordable. While San Francisco itself is a very affordable city, the retail establishments around Union Square took away a sizable portion of my life savings! So shopaholics like me, beware. San Francisco turned out to be an excellent choice of warm vacation destinations and the best of vacation ideas four our family.

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