Day trip from Nice - Monaco, Villefrance, Antibes?
 

Hi - In case anyone with good Cote d'Azure info sees this in the next few hours .... I'm in Nice right now (by the way it's sunny and high 60s!!!). Anyway, seems my pre-trip research fell a little short. Today I did Eze by bus and that worked out fine (Eze was deserted). Tomorrow I was planning on Villefranche but am now thinking I might have time to also go to Monaco. I didn't research it as I have no real interest but it's just so close, and Eze only took a few hours and I think Villefranche may also. So - questions - what's best to see in Monaco with only a few hours. Without a tremendous amount of walking (I've just come from Paris where I walked about 12 miles a day for several days and my feet feel like they are going to fall off). So I'd like to keep it to about 5 or 6 miles max for the next few days.

So - is train or bus best to get to Villefrance and to Monaco?

Can I easily go on from Villefrance to Monaco without going back to Nice?

And what to do if I do go to Monaco?

Also - Palenque - I saw your response (months ago) to some threads about Monaco where you suggest getting off the train and walking along the coast. You said a few miles - can you be more specific? In either miles or time it took?

Any other suggestions welcome.

We did the bus to Monaco - get off at the Rocher stop, and go up to the palace and a bit of the remaining old town. We walked in that area, and from there to the casino area, and took a nearby bus back to Nice. This was in late December a few years ago - you can see more in our phototravelogue at http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...g&x=0&y=-run25

You can easily take a train from Nice to Villefranche-sur-Mer, stop over in Villefranche for as long as you wish, and continue on to Monaco, all on one regional train ticket. Trains run 2-3 times/hour.

You can easily take a train from Nice to Antibes. The walled old town and its market are well worth exploring. If you are an art lover, don't miss the Picasso museum. It features Picasso's drawings on pottery as well as his paintings and the building itself is admirable.

Pity, Monaco was just a short bus ride down from Eze Village.

Monaco key places are the Palace (I took bus up, walked down), Condamine (the harbor), and Casino. I got off bus from Eze Village at Casino, took bus from Casino to the Palace, walked down to Condamine. If you are a Laduree macaron fan, there is Laduree store at Galerie du Métropole near the Casino. It is located in the middle of the three shopping arcade level -- same level as the entry from the park side when you come down the escalator from the Avenue de la Madone entry.

If I were to go to Villefranche-sur-Mer, I would go to Sanit-Jean-Cap-Ferrat instead and see Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild just a short bus hop to the other side of the bay from Villefranche.

The winter hours are short:
http://www.villa-ephrussi.com/en/ephrussi/225-access/

We took the train from Nice to/from Antibe and loved that little town. Gorgeous yachts in the harbor, lovely centre ville area.

In my previous post I forgot to comment on what to see in Monaco. My choice would be the Cousteau Oceanographic Museum and Aquarium.

ttt

IMO, don't miss the Palace in Monaco. It really is stunning.

Wow - great replies.Thanks. I guess I like traveling with a computer.

So it sounds like I should probably plan to go by bus. I am definitely going to villefranche and then if I have time I'll take the bus from there on to Monaco.

SemiMike, thanks for the link to your photologue, very helpful. Did you walk from the old town to monte carlo or take a local bus? About how long did you spend there?

greg, it sounds like you did it in the opposite order from mike. How long did you spend there?

I'll probably go to Antibes the following day, and sounds like the bus is the way to go.

I'll check in again tomorrow morning before I go out if anyone has any more tips I'd love to have them - especially about which bus stop to get off at in Monaco.

I recommend the train over the bus. The train is faster.

It's 6 minutes by train from Nice to Villefranche-sur-Mer and 16 minutes from there to Monaco. And as I said in a previous post, you can do that all on one ticket.

Depending upon how many stops a particular train makes, it's 19-24 minutes from Nice to Antibes.

Local bus lines 1 and 2 go from the Monaco train station to the oceanographic museum (end of the line).

Yes, take the train. And TimS guess it right on timing to/from Antibes/Nice. We were on one that was a commuter, and it was jammed with people. I suggest you avoid that time of day!

Did not use any local buses while in Monaco - walks were not too long, and we stopped for lunch at a small place between palace and casino. I'd call the whole trip a long half day, which we could have extended with the Oceanographic Institute, etc., but chose not too. Better Half was highly put off by ostentatious displays of wealth (e.g., oversize yachts in harbor) and could not wait to return to Nice.

ttt

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Not sure why two people just topped this thread but in case it's cause you are also seeking info on Monaco and the Cote d'Azure - I just realized I never finished the trip report I had written - and the part Monaco and Antibes in it. So I just did and it's at: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ote-dazure.cfm

So thanks again to those who gave me such good info on such short notice. I did indeed go to Monaco (by train from Villefranche sur mer) and the next day I went to Antibes, also by train. Had a great time. Photos of these places are at www.pbase.com/annforcier Cote d'Azure has it's own gallery.

Thanks again.

Isabel-
Thanks for posting your trip report. I've been researching a trip to Cote d'Azur for May--can't wait.

Elizabeth