Day trips from Nice into Italy
 

We will be visiting friends in the Nice area in June and would like to do day trips (or maybe overnight?) into Italy. Any suggestions, including driving time, would be greatly appreciated. <BR>Thanks. <BR>Nina

you could do San Remo about 50 km from the border. There isn't much else of interest on the Italian side of the riviera unless you want to visit cinqueterre about 300 km from the border. <BR>There's plenty to see around Nice on the French Riviera to keep you busy for at least 6-7 days. <BR>Bon Voyage!

I agree with John, Nina. Across the Italian border from Nice is not spectacular, consisting mainly of family type beach resorts, which frankly,are looking somewhat old and tired. <BR>On the other hand there are are some lovely trips inland from Nice, into the foothills of the mountains - the best way to check these out are from your friends in Nice or the local tourist bureaux. <BR>If you wanted an overnight trip then I would suggest the Santa-Margarethe, Portofino, area or the Cinque Terre a little further South. These are about a 4 to 5 hour train ride, or there is a freeway.

Dear Tony & John, <BR> <BR>Thanks for your replies. We were in the S. of France two years ago and did alot of Provence at the time (Aix, Arles, St. Remy) which is why I was thinking to try a bit of Italy this time. You know, the other direction. I've heard Cinqueterre and Portofino are great but it seems like we'd need two days to do it right and still have time to get back to Nice. Hmmm. I notice on the map that there's a boat route to San Remo. Does anyone know anything about that? Might be a fun adventure to go there by boat. <BR>Otherwise we might do other day trips from Nice within France. We already did Vence and St. Paul du Vence and Monaco. I'd welcome any other suggestions you may care to share. <BR>Thanks again. <BR>Nina

San Remo is a major cut flower growing area (you see the greenhouses all up the mountain side). We got up very early one morning and went to the market where the flowers are auctioned - it was a sea of beautiful flowers and the auction process was very interesting to watch. As I recall we were there between 5am and 6am so if you drive from Nice you'll certainly have an early start that day! <BR> <BR>

Nina: <BR>Check out the Beyond the French Riviera <BR>website - it has wonderful information <BR>on all the hilltowns behind Nice. <BR>

Hi, Nina, <BR>Unfortunately I agree that most of the Italian places close enough to the French border lack the same attractiveness as the French towns; some, IMO, are rather grubby, truth be told. <BR> <BR>We do like Menton, right on the border, for a lower-key town with some nice features, and there is a lot to see and do in the hills above the coast. <BR> <BR>But my advice would be to go west, over to the Camargue, to Stes. Maries and Aigues-Mortes. It's a longish day trip via the freeway or an easy overnight one. The Rhone marshes and the coastal towns are very interesting, historic, and still a little off the beaten path. Flamingos, black bulls, and white horses, gypsy settlements and the ghosts of the Crusaders. Man, is this the Mediterranean. Give it a shot.

Fodors <BR> <BR>Two useful morning trains are these <BR>Nice 075, Genoa 1122, Milan 1345 <BR>Nice 0755, Ventimiglia 0836 to 0850, San Remo 0905 <BR>Nice 2035, Rome 0648 <BR>Nice 2101, Venice 0640. <BR>Nice to Milan single is 34 US dollars. <BR>Nice to Rome single is 60 dollars, and to that you add 18 dollars for a couchette berth and 60 dollars for a berth in a 3-berth sleeping compartment. Venice will be very similar. You may be able to save on Italian fares by using a kilometric tcket, but I'm afraid I don't know the rules for those. <BR> <BR>Please write if I can help further <BR> <BR>Ben Haines, London <BR> <BR>