Muratti

I'll arrive at Nice on a saturday the last week of September. I'd like to spend some time in Nice and get to know the city better but I'd also like to take day trips to nearby towns. I won't have a car, so I'll take the bus or train.

Any recommendations?

Thanks

PalenQ

St-Paul-du-Vence is a perpetual favorite day trip to a proverbial ancient hill town - easy to get to by bus.

Michael

If possible, combine St.-Paul-de-Vence with Vence and visit the Fondation Maeght and the Matisse chapel, respectively by each town.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...th/4805704490/

Cathinjoetown

The older I get, the more I like small-ish museums. Two excellent ones in Nice are the Musée Matisse, Av des Arènes de Cimiez, and nor far from it the Musée Marc Chagall, Av Docteur Ménard.

The Matisse Museum incorporates his house and is also adjacent to a large Roman excavation. If I remember, both on the same bus route.

Vieux Nice is great to poke around, I like it in the morning when the markets are lively.

St. Paul de Vence is great fun and the nearby Foundation Maeght is a good modern art museum in gorgeous grounds. Further up from St. Paul is Vence with the Matisse Chapel.

Cannes and Antibes are both easily and cheaply reached by bus or train.

Love the whole area, car not really needed. Last time we were there we never took it out of the car park, just used it to drive from where we live.

Underhill

Note that the Matisse Chapel is only open at specific times--be sure to check before planning to visit, as religous holidays can restrict visits.

gwan

If you're up at the Matisse Museum, you can walk through the archaeological museum (or actually visit it of course) and access the Roman ruins behind it - one of my favourite places in Nice and a bit overlooked by tourists I think (although I wasn't there in summer). This certainly used to be free, but they may now be charging a small admission fee (not sure - the Ministry of Culture site says there is a fee whereas the official city site says it's free). I suppose by now they may have finished restoration work on the arena in front of the museum (it was being worked on the whole time I was there, Oct 2009-May 2010).

In addition to the places mentioned, I enjoyed the Villas Kerylos and Ephrussi at Cap Ferrat, but one could go on and on with suggestions really. In Nice itself, it's nice to walk up the Colline du Chateau for views - there are stairs up at the end of the Promenade des Anglais or it can also be accessed via the Old Town.

Underhill

You can also go up to the château by way of a very large elevator. The park at the top is a nice place for a picnic.