mclaurie

No one has yet mentioned the exquisite Villa Ephrussi in Cap Ferrat. This is a home & magnificent gardens built by the Rothchild family and now a museum. I would suggest for your 2 days:

1) a train ride from Nice to Monaco (stunning views because the train tracks run close to the cliffs). Spend as much or as little time as you choose touring Monaco, depending upon what you've already seen. Then return with a stop in Cap Ferrat. Lunch on the water in St Jean & then go on to Villa Ephrussi in the afternoon.

2)Biot (don't know about transport) visit the glass factory, the Leger museum & the old town and then continue on to Antibes & Cap D'Antibes.

I'm not suggesting St Paul since you say you will have already visited there.

Boots

If you decide to eat at Colombe d'or, do reserve. I tried once without reservations, and that didn't work. If you go to Saint-Paul-de-Vence, the Fondation Maeght is a bit far, but within walking distance. Vence is just up the road a bit and has the wonderful Matisse Chapel. The bus goes there also. Boots

nankar

When we were wandering around Monte Carlo, we ventured into the aquarium which turned out to be the best I have encountered to date anywhere. There were creatures there which I had never seen before or since.

Boots

I agree with Nankar. The aquarium is, in my opinion, the thing one should not miss in Monte Carlo.

Byrd

Several years ago we spent a really delightful day, taking the train from Nice into Italy to have lunch in Bordighera. We ate at La Reserve, on a terrace overlooking the sea. After lunch we walked around a bit, then took the train back to Monaco for the rest of the afteroon. The views of the sea from the train were wonderful, and it was a day we remember as magical - no real sightseeing, no impressive cathedrals, no museums, just a relaxing happy time.. Incidentally, we had to change trains in Ventimiglia both ways. There was a little flea market in progress, and we had time to look around there a bit and change some francs for lira for the day.

chicgeek

Nankar,

I'm so happy that you mentioned the aquarium. We weren't going to go, because we had heard some people say it was disappointing. But we had a little extra time on the day we were leaving Monaco, so we decided to go. It was fantastic! I agree with you that we were amazed to see so many fish that we have never seen anywhere else. (Loved the "Grace Kelly" fish---white with black polka dots, or vice versa------so stylish!)

capo

My favorite daytrip from Nice would be driving up the scenic Roya river valley, through Briel-sur-Roya, to Saorge, an Italianate village that appears to be hanging from a mountainside.

Via public transport, my favorite daytrip would probably be east of Nice, to Villefranche, Eze Village and Menton.

artlover

Happy2Travel...IMO Antibe and Villefrance would be much easier to reach by bus than Musee Maeght. While I enjoyed Musee Maeght, if I had to pick between Antibe, Villefrance, and Musee Maeght, I'd eliminate Musee Maeght. I enjoyed the sculpture garden and view outside, and the Chagall was fabulous, but overall, it was not as great as I had anticipated.

IMO the Chagall Museum in Nice and Picasso Museum in Antibes are absolute musts and another attraction (if you're a big Picasso fan) that doesn't seem to get metioned very often (which is probably a good thing) is Musee Picasso in Ville de Valuris which has an entire chapel painted by Picasso with his War and Peace theme.