Hello,

Does anyone know what the best way for two single 40ish women to go to Nice from Rome? We are taking a Cosmos tour of Italy and would like to add a couple days on in the French Riviera. We were thinking about going to Nice, Monaco, Monte Carlo & Cannes. Can anyone give us advice as to cheaper hotels and the possible ways we might get there from Rome. We only have 3 days for this exetension. Is this a possiblity? We really appreciate your help.

Checking rail schedules it looks as if even with taking the fastest connections (Italian Eurostar for part of the journey) the minimum time by train would be nine hours. You might want to consider flying.

With only 3 days, I'd definitely say you need to fly both ways. As for where to stay, there are lots of good recommendations people have made on this site. Good luck.

Virgin Express flies this route. Price will depend upon day of week & time of year. Check their website or skyscanner.com for prices.

Suggest the Marriott in Cap D'Ail (just outside Monaco) or try the Flore Hotel (has a pool) or the Welcome Hotel (no pool) in Villefranche. For more hotel info look at Rants & Raves here or do a text search above (type hotels AND riviera)

I am not sure about getting to Nice, we drove a rental last month and it was a nice easy ride, about 7 hours with stops. Maybe others has better ideas. However, I can advise you about hotels. There is very inexpensive hotel chain called Etap and they have 2 location in Nice, the airport location is better in my view and we spent only 44 Euro per night for a very small but clean and comfortable room with a small bathroom with shower. You can also try Menton, about 4 km distance, really pretty place, they have a Etap too but is really hard to find rooms.

Nic517,

While this would be a doable trip, Virgin Express makes no sense as you would have to connect through Brussels!

Alitalia (codeshare with Air France) and Air Littoral (codeshare with Air One) fly the route, although the flights don't seem to be bookable on the Air One website.

www.airfrance.com
www.alitalia.com
www.airlittoral.com
www.air-one.it

I would recommend renting a car at Nice airport. Another hotel option is Les Terrasses d'Eze - no "Old Europe" charm, but beautiful views and great location.
http://www.terrasses-eze.com/

That said, if you're travelling in high summer, I would just rent a car in Rome and drive to this place for some much needed R&R:
http://www.pellicanohotel.com/
Expensive, but at least you'll save the air fare.

Hope this helps,
Andre

I agree with the posters on this board -difficult in three days without flying; Also the rail link just outside of the French Italian border is down as we speak and you must bus for about an hour to Nice.

While in Nice I highly - and I mean highly recommend the Hotel Le Grimaldi.
A three star hotel running about 150. US for two. An outstanding hotel with large renovated rooms decorated in French Provencial with free internet access, small fridges in each room, excellent bathrooms (a rarity in Europe) and outstanding service - this hotel is in the "old section" near the beach, near the flea market, and close to the shopping prominades. Anyone having any questions - email me at [email protected] and I will send you some pictures.

Why not take the bus into Nice from, the airport for about 2.00 and then take the train from Nice to Monaco. Suburban trains run about once an hour up to 8:30 in the evening and costs 9.30 round trip for two people. The train in Monte Carlo lets you off close to all of the hotels and you can take a bus from the train station to just about any hotel in Monte Carlo for about 1.50.