adrienne - Not a lot of buses into or out of Tourettes but I will look. Will also look at van tour.

Hey, has anyone gambled in Nice?

Hi again, kenav,

DH and I went to the big Casino in Monte Carlo (we returned in the evening by train). Because we were not "dressed", we were restricted in where we could go. We had to show our passports, FYI and no photos if I recall correctly.

A big yawn? Possibly, but we didn't want to miss it as long as we were there. If you are going to do it up really big, go to the Café de la Paix on the other side of the square as well. The tour took us there, to the harbor and to the top for the changing of the guard. Touristy, yes. Still, I'm glad I went. Where else could JR have said "Bond, James Bond"?! LOL

OK. Called AAA - We can get there today and they give it you right away. Hopefully we got someone on the phone who knows what they're talking about!

OOPS> Wrong thread.

I have never found St Paul overrun with tourists, not even in summer. It's a very pretty village, worth visiting. Of course there will be other tourists; but I would never not visit St Paul, or Eze, for that reason. Last time at Fondation Maeght, in July, there was hardly anyone there.

3 years ago in June we stayed at Villefranche as our base. Loved how quaint and charming it was and how gorgeous the views were. One of my favorite memories was having dinner at the water's edge there.
We did not have any cruise ships in port when we were there so it wasn't over run at all. I checked on Cruisetimetables.com and ships are only in on September 5 and 12 so you should be clear.
My husband drove us around and we loved having the freedom to pop in and out of the many beautiful vista points and towns. We thought St. Jean Cap Ferrat was pretty, went to Monte Carlo for my husband to tour and had lunch, went to Eze and loved it! Again it was not crowded at all.
If you have a confident driver, a rental car is fantastic, but I believe the bus and train service is very extensive but more time consuming. As with anywhere, getting there early really helps!

I have never found St Paul overrun with tourists, not even in summer>

<elbow to elbow last time I was there in mid-August>

coral22 - Thanks so much for looking the cruise timetables up! Very sweet of you and gives us more information and will definitely count in our decision as to which towns to go to.

Just checked on Cruisetimetables and found two ships that will be in port for the day in VIllefranch(Nice) during our time. Sept 9, one ship and Sept 10th also 1 ship. I think what you saw were whether or not ships were departing from there.

Not a hill town, but the best one-day trip is train to Ventimiglia on a Friday (big market) then take the bus (you see more from the bus) through Bordighera (can be nice to stop there for a stroll) then down to the waterfront in San Remo, seeing the Russian church, walking past the casino into the town, visiting the terrific indoor food market, then up into the enchanting La Pigna old town. Train back to Nice. It's amazing how different the Italian Riviera is from the Cote d'Azur.

kenav, OOPS! I use that site all the time, but didn't scroll down to the ports this time! Have a great trip!

The train service from Nice to Grasse is up and running again after repairs to one tunnel last spring. Be sure to check the schedule, as not all trains from Cannes continue up to Grasse.

In Nice we stay at the Mercure Promenade des Anglais, which is right over the casino. It was fun to watch the cars arrive--not Ferraris, as in Monaco, but still some of interest.

<elbow to elbow last time I was there in mid-August>

Maybe early morning is better? I could easily park in the car park just on the edge of town, this was middle July.

We stayed in Tourette's sur loop and loved it. There is a bus from Vence to Tourette's but it runs less frequently.

The bus to Vence is easy from Nice. In a full day you could get off at St. Paul de Vence and also Cagnes.

I would go to Vence first and stop at the others on the return as time and energy permits.

Here is a trip report I did on a Nice trip last fall. I took a few day trips and all by bus ...

http://theworldinbetween.com/2012/12...d-nice-france/

Centraleurope I just read your trip report and I think it is perfect! Thank you.

no worries Micheline... I think the bus prices have gone up a bit since I wrote it - but it is still cheap (take 2 euro coins!)...

Thanks so much to all. We leave tonight and are again realizing there is so much to see, just in NIce, before we ever get to Corsica. Will have to see what the weather affords us.

Isobel, fabulous pics from so many angles. Merci...

> I think the bus prices have gone up a bit since I wrote it - but it is still cheap (take 2 euro coins!)...

From 03 May, 1 solo ticket is €1.50. However multi (10 ride) ticket is €10 ( €1 per ride ).

Other changes : €4.00 ticket was not only for from/to Airport but also a day ticket so I often used it for my morning arrival at Nice airport + a day trip from Nice ( Villefranche, Menton, etc). That was so cost effective. Unfortunately not anymore. Now Aiport bus costs €6.00 one way and that's only for that. A day ticket is now €5.00.

I haven't been there, but in looking at photos online, three hill towns that look absolutely stunning to me are Coaraze, Sainte-Agnes and Peillon. I would imagine you need a car to reach them?