I just came back to the Airbus after 6 years of flying the 757. I would amuse the F/Os by hand flying the short PHX to SAN and PHX to LAS legs (all below RVSM airspace due to ATC restrictions). 45 minute or so sectors and it helped to keep the skills sharp. I always hand fly approaches unless it is CAT II or worse, I live for cloudy days!
The Airbus is better to fly off the automation when you are doing short approaches or anytime you are asked to push the limit a little by ATC. The Airbus was designed to be flown in steady, stable patterns, something that does not always happen in real life.
Most of the F/Os I fly with turn on the autopilot at 500 feet and turn it off at 500 feet. They never get a feel for the aircraft and when it comes time to go into the sim they fly like sh#t. The Boeing guys were better at doing more hand flying, mainly I think because the 75 is such a great plane to fly. The Airbus guys are brainwashed into believing that the automation has to be on all the time. When I turn the autothrottles off and fly it like a real airplane it gives them the confidence to see that it is, after all, just another jet.