We will be touring the coast(cannes monte carlo st tropez etc)for 4days.Is it easier to get around by bus or would a car work better?I hear parking is very difficult.Please advise

It depends on your programme, if you mainly want to walk about these cities and stay one or two days in each than perhaps you could do it by train (I think easier than bus)all are quite close to each other. For smaller villages also at the outside of these places it would of course be better to have a car, there are big parkings but rather expensive. Parking in the street much more difficult although it depends on the time of the day.

I agree w/Ivee

The car parks are expensive, you can spend 15-30 E easy(these add up). Or you can plan for space hunting around 2:30-3. Anyways, the small towns are worth it. I found cars cheaper if you are traveling with a family, even with gas and parking.

What else is in the ETC list??.

You can get to all the cities you mentioned (except St Tropez), by train - which is what I would do.

You could take buses to some of the other more popular spots - but with only 4 days, planning your itinerary around bus schedules would waste a lot of time that you don't have. Get a car to visit St Paul, Eze, Vence, Tourettes, Gourdon, drive into the Alps, Gorbio, Peille, Peillon, & Roquebrune. I don't recall paying to park in any of these villages - except perhaps Eze (it's been a while since I visited Eze).

St Tropez is about 1 1/2 hrs away from Nice by car & if your timing is wrong and you're visiting anytime between mid-June & mid Sept - add 45 mins to the travel time. If you do St Tropez as a day trip, also visit Ramatuelle, Gassin, & perhaps Grimaud. Actually, with only 4 days, I would not venture as far as St Tropez.

Stu Dudley

Hi Louie 129. How was your trip last year to the Cote d'Azur? We are planning to do the same trip this September. Plesae advise if you decided to tour around by car, bus or train.

Many thanks.

Parking is very tricky on the French Riviera and traffic in high season means going even a few miles is time consuming. However there arent really any ways round it. I think possibly in 4 days you should reduce the amount of places you try to see so you dont spend all the time travelling whatever you choose. I personally would try to use the train.
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Gemini - busses are best for Nice, Busses run every 15 mins to Monaco or St paul etc. Every trip is only one euro, as far as Menton or Cannes in other direction. Go for one yard or one mile or 10miles - still one euro.
Train is best for Nice to Cannes as bus can be slow.
Bus from Nice to Monaco follows the coast with brilliant scenery - fantastic tour for one euro (the xpress bus, also one euro, follows a different, not scenic, route).
The bus stn and train stn are linked by street tram (also one euro).