In October we are going to be staying for a week in Nice. I do have some ideas of what I will do (have been there on shorter visits before) but I'd also like YOUR suggestions in case there may be some things I have not thought of. Day trips by public transportation, probably by bus, are good suggestions. Also am considering a trip up to the mountains by train?

Has anyone been to a hamann in Nice - I see there are several.

Also restaurant suggestions are welcome - we are staying on the promenade past the Negresco (away from Old Nice). Maybe not the ideal place but our view will be fabulous! THANKS!

Yes public transit is great - my favorites:

St Paul-de-Vence and Vence -classic hilltowns by bus -nice stroll thru forests down to St Paul from Vence and you come into St Paul via the famous Maeght Foundation museum..

Grasse -few seem to go there but a lovely old regional town not overrun by tourists - real perfume factories-home of the industry here. Trains from Cannes.

Cannes - train - got to see it.

Antibes - neat old town - Picasso Museum in old fort on sea. Lively market many days.

And yes 'Ligne Digne' - Chemins de fer de Provence tiny train into hinterlands of Provence and a much slower pace - head to Annot for a sleepy regional town - walk between stations.

Great seaside walk Cap d'Ail train station to Monaco - pristine coast - few miles flat - awesome.

For lots on this area and trains check www.budgeteuropetravel.com (Ligne Digne write-up); www.ricksteves.com and www.seat61.com.

For my first visit to Nice see:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ern-france.cfm

One of my favorite cities!

I can make some suggestions based on what I did, but they aren't anything unusual that you would likely have never thought of nor known about.

Day trip to Antibes by train and to Grasse by bus.

My favourite day trip was to Villa Ephrussi de Rothchild on Cap Ferat. From memory I also had a lovely lunch there, then went for a long walk around the Cap. Easy transport by bus. There's also the Greek namesd villa (Kyrios?)

I spent a week there about four years ago, I went everywhere by bus or train... St Paul de Vence, Eze, Antibes, Ville Franche, all so easy to get to and all beautiful.

Go to Italy for lunch. Bordighera is simple & interesting. Pick a restaurant that is homey & traditional rather than fancy.

This part of the coast was the original glamorous "Riviera" that attracted an international elite, especially for winter. The Riviera film festival was here, and the San Remo casino was as famous as Montecarlo, Monet painted here -- but WW2 ended all that when the town was a military base for the Nazis, who took one of the grand hotels and turned into a detention center. Cannes got the film festival, the gliterati and artists tranferred to Nice, and Bordighera is now a quaint, quiet place known mainly to only Italians. Since Nice itself used to be Italian (Monaco too) visiting the Italian side is interesting to see.

Go to Italy for lunch. Bordighera is simple & interesting.>

Why not?

Coastal Cote d'Azur 'metro' takes you to Ventimgilia, border town that has a nice outdoor market some days - or hop trains a bit farther to San Remo - good suggestion from massimop!

Big seconding the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild and walking (partly along the water) to the Villa Kerylos. Fabulous.

Along with Villa Ephrussi...spend some time in Villefranche sur mer. Lovely little village.

We also went to Bordighera for lunch! I had never been in Italy, so it was a way to check it off my list {I have since been there twice, in more depth}.

We went around the same time of year and it was lovely in spots.

We went to Musee National Marc Chagall and really liked it.

Parc forestier du Mont-Boron has beautiful views
https://www.nice.fr/fr/parcs-et-jardins/le-mont-boron

We were in Provence last month. Loved lunch at Chateau Eza in Eze. Loved Antibe and St. Paul de Vence (be sure to see Fondation Maeght and the Matisse Chapel in Vence).