Need advice on Monaco!
 

Have car but am nervous about spending our precious time in traffic jams! Should we stay in Monaco or outskirts and use taxis? What other towns would be interesting to visit between Monaco & San Remo? Have 3 days in area! Want medium price hotels - preferably with a view. Thanks so much for your valued advice! I'm new to this and really appreciate <BR>all that I am learning from you!

Katy Monaco is very tiny and very easy to walk around. However a stunning drive is along the coast from Nice to Monaco. We took a cab it was so spectacular. We had a very centrally located hotel, trust me, IN Monaco, you will want to keep your car parked and stroll. We stayed at a hotel (the view outside of our window was spectacular) and our hotel was around $100.00 a night in 1999. I will have to double check the name, but I will do so if you are interested.

The community of Menton is very nice and worth a visit (although I have seen some posters disagree). It would be on your way to San Remo and is only a few minutes from the Italian border.

We stayed in Villefranche sur mer in July. You don't need a car. Great hotels in price range you mentioned are the Holtel Welcome and the Hotel Provencal. Both hotels are a couple hundred yards from train stops that will take you to Nice or Monaco in 5 or 10 minutes. The best advice I can give you is look out for pickpockets.

I can highly recommend the Hotel Columbus in Monaco - an extremely stylish hotel at a very affordable price, plus free parking. All rooms have terraces and great views - rooms at the front have seaviews, others overlook the Princess Grace Rose Garden and Monaco itself. We didn't find Monaco traffic too bad, and enjoyed being in the centre of things. Menton is lovely, well worth a visit.

One piece of good advice about driving in this area: Keep your doors locked in your car at all times. <BR> <BR>There are many motor scooters in the area. A friend of mine had a scooter with 2 guys on it pull up next to the passenger side of his car at a crowded stop in Nice. The non-driver of the scooter quickly opened the door and snatched my friend's wife's purse off her lap and raced away. There was no way to pursue. The purse contained passports, money and air tickets. So, keep your car doors locked. This type of thing is not uncommon.

When in the Riveria 2 years ago a friend and I stayed in Nice and took the train (20 mins) each way to Monaco and Cannes.

Hi Katy. I've driven in Monaco three times and have never gotten stuck in a traffic jam. <BR> <BR>Unless you <I>really</I> want to stay in Monaco, I'd recommend staying elsewhere, like Nice or Villefranche, and driving there to visit. I haven't driven the coast road, that Thyra mentions, but I have driven the upper two cornice roads and they both have spectacular views. The uppermost corniche road goes through the village of La Turbie which has the wonderful Roman Trophee des Alpes. From there you get a stunning view down to Monaco. <BR> <BR>I agree with what Bruce said about Menton. I've been there twice and love the pastel-colored old town, and the picturesque harbor. Villefranche also has beautiful pastel-colored buildings along its waterfront. <BR> <BR>I also liked the village of Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, especially its restored fortress, which was built (I think) by the Genoans. <BR> <BR>Hope you have a great time!