France Shore Excursions - HELP !!
 

We have 2 stops in France - one is Marseille - should we take the Marseilles City Tour, Cassis Tour, Aix-En Provence or Arles & Les Baux tour ? How about in Villefranche - the Nice & Monaco or Grande Corniche & Eze tour ? We will greatly appreciate your help !

In Villefranche, do it on your own. Take the train to Monaco and walk around and enjoy yourself. ((b))

Thanks Budman !

Sue, in Marseille, as I recall, the piers are a good distance from the downtown area. The cruise ship just might provide shuttle service. If not, a taxi shouldn't be too much.

I would take the train to Aix-En Provence, spend the day, walk around, have lunch, etc. It's a nice little town. I wouldn't mess with the cruise ship tour. It's very easy to do it on your own.

I'm not sure what your interests are, but there are several museums, shops, and restaurants. Go to the library and check out a book on the area.

I would do as the French do, have a 2-3 hour lunch, with wine of course, do a little shopping, and train back to Marseilles. ((b))

Thanks Budman - this sounds good to me !!

Skip Monaco and take the train to Nice--much more to see and do, and far less expensive than Monico (which IMO is boring).

My sister is going on that cruise. We have been on many Med. cruises and have found that those people who try to do it on their own, end up seeing less. They waste a lot of time trying to get transportation, and wandering around not really seeing anything.

If you are interested in REALLY
seeing and experiencing those cities in France,as opposed to having lunch and just being able to tell folks you've been there, you would be better off with a ship's tour. For a first timer, I would recommend at Marseille, either Aix or the Arles/Les Baux tour. In Villefranche, the Grande Corniche and Eze tour would be a great choice. Monaco is NOT boring. Nice isn't all that great. Hope you see this--just realized your post is 3 weeks old!

I was just on that cruise May 05. We arrived on Sunday in Marseilles. Everything was closed. We hired a taxi (4 of us) that took us to Notre Dame church and the Abbey and then to town to eat lunch. We hopped a taxi back to the ship since it was the same as waiting for the bus.
Nice/Monaco - we were told by the cruise personnel to take the train first to Monte Carlo. We then hopped a bus to Nice instead of hopping the train. It was too long for the next train. We got to Nice an hour later and had time to shop before hopping the bus back to Villefranche. We left the ship at 9 and caught the 10:30 train. Note we had to tender.

There is a little train in Marseilles that you can do.

I made a chart of the cities. If you would like I would be willing to share.
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