ryan

Need help on whether to rent a car or take the train from Paris to Monte Carlo in mid-August. Don't have much time in France, only 3 days in Paris and 3 days in French Rivera. What is the most reliable,fastest, economical way to get to Monte Carlo from Paris. Please help.

Daniel

With only a few days, I would guess it is probably better to take a night train between Paris (Gare de Lyon) and Monaco-Monte Carlo I don´t have the new time table from June 16, but maybe you can find it on www.sncf.fr.<BR>Same in opposite direction. <BR>

beth

why not fly to Nice and then take a train or bus to Monte Carlo. Flights to Nice on Air France and certain other airlines are quite inexpensive; flight is only about an hour.

ryan

Beth,<BR><BR>How long is the train ride from Nice to Monte Carlo?

y

well under 1 hour.

Craig

Fly down and take the train to MC. Cheap & fast.<BR>Forget about driving in August -- You will marvel at the lovely roadside in France for hours with horns blaring in your ears. Do what the rich do and avoid the traffic (they do this with yachts, though).<BR><BR>From the old version of the train timetables ('99)...<BR>Dep Nice-Ville: 12:19<BR>Arr Monaco-MC: 12:42<BR>You will arrive on Boulevard Rainier III.<BR><BR>There is bus service as well. Might be worthwhile as an experience to do one in and the other out.<BR><BR>If you are not staying in MC ($$$$$) I would suggest staying in Eze or even Nice. The thing is, if you aren't already booked for August it will most likely be Hobson's Choice.<BR>-Craig

Craig

One more thing.<BR>Take the bus from Nice airport to the station. A cab is an option and will cost between 10-20 euros.<BR>I think the bus terminal is up around Garibaldi, but I'm not sure.

amy

Ryan: Agree with flying. There are flights Paris/Nice on EasyJet, Air Liberte, and Air France. Ours was one of the "expensive" ones at $123 RT. So it's a good deal.<BR><BR>Take cab directly to Nice rail station if you're intent on going to Monte Carlo. This airport to station would be under 15 minutes without traffic, in traffic, around 1/2 hr.<BR><BR>Your ride to MC is about 1/2 hr, depending on which train--express, local, etc. Trains come frequently, so you don't have to be attached to any strict schedule.<BR><BR>For an economical alternative to staying in pricey Monte Carlo, you can stay in Nice, Villefranche, and Menton (on the other side of Monte Carlo). All offer easy rail access to MC without the $$$$$.

Susan

Just returned from a similar trip and had first planned to drive but changed our minds and took the train then rented a car for the south of France. We repeated remarked how we were glad we had changed our minds as we spent much less time traveling. We were going to take the overnite but changed and took the day on the fast train, about 2 hrs. and 50 min. and the scenery was fabulous. We were really glad we had not taken the night train as we would have missed the countryside vistas that the train provided. Ask for seats in first class in the upper level, I believe they call it the scenic seating or something like that. Have fun.

Rex

Checking the date Aug 15, just as an example, there is one flight at 20:20 from (Paris) Orly arriving at 21:50 for 29 euro (40.33 with all taxes and fees). Other times of the day are more expensive. See http://www.airlibexpress.com for more info.<BR><BR>Less than an hour to get from Nice airport to Monte Carlo.<BR><BR>The low cost of this flight makes any kind of land travel (for the long haul of it) seem like a pretty poor value to me!<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>