Hi everyone. Planning a trip in April 2012 to Nice and Italy. Wondering if anyone can tell me besides Eze, which towns are close enough by train or bus to visit for the 4 days we will be in Nice for day trips. Wondering about Aix or Grasse - are they close enough? Thank you!

Mostly - and a bunch of others as well-both up in the hills (Vence, Cagnes, StPaul) and along the coast (Cannes, Juan les Pins, Antibes, Cap d'Antibes). Grasse is only about 50 km -but Aix en Provence is really kind of far for a day trip.

Check out train (coast) and bus (hill town) schedules to get realistic timing.

First find the bus servicing the destinations of interest at http://www.lignesdazur.com/ftp/plans...d)bdef2011.pdf

Then find the time table at: http://www.lignesdazur.com/horaires/?rub_code=23

For train, use www.voyages-sncf.com to find the travel times.

thanks for the info. Will probably not do Aix but will do some of the others. Also will check out the buses and trains. Can you guys recommend a good hotel close to the beach and the promenade? I am from New York and am use to nice hotels. Though having been to Europe once before, I know enough to expect a little less from European hotels. I figure a 4 star would probably be comprable to our 3 star?

Other possible daytrips from Nice: Monaco, Villefrance and Cap Ferrat, the Train des Pignes back into the mountains north of Nice.

Antibes is near Nice..Make sure you spend time in Nice, lotsvto do andvsee.

The hotel star rating in Europe is a facilities and services indicator, not a quality indicator. Having elevators, ensuite bathrooms, 24hr front staff, etc increases the star rating regardless of the quality that offering.

Here are some articles on this subject:

http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/5-star-bummer

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/co...explained.html

I have stayed at lovely 2 star hotels as well as dreadful 3 star hotels.

A second on the Train des Pignes - the trip to Entrevaux makes a very pleasant day trip.

Interesting place I went to by train from Nice was "TENDE". Did a day trip return by rail which is considered to be one of the most scenic in the world.

http://www.tendemerveilles.com/

Other favourite places are Ventimille and San Remo in Italy.

The views on the train journey to Ventimille are fantastic.

I usually break my journey at Monte Carlo and visit Monaco for an hour or so before boarding the train for Menton or destinations in Italy.

Also went to Grasse by bus from Nice bus station but in my opinion there are better places to see that is of course unless you are interested in the making of perfume.

Cannes did'nt do it for me.

Am going to Nice in December for four nights and will visit the places I have already mentioned.

I did not care for either Cannes or Grasse and wouldn't spend time on Monaco although there is a nice boat tour from Cannes to Monaco which gives you the view of the entire coastline. Just check out boat tour to Monaco.

When you are in Nice, recommend you have a meal at La Cave De L'Origine. We thought it was the best in town and had three meals there.

And if you like antiques, check out Marie Christine. She has a wonderful shop and some real treasures. She's the one who recommended L'Origine to us.

Don't miss the Cours Salaya on Mondays when they have tons of antiques dealers. This is a lot of fun.

We've always stayed in apartments. If this is of interest, you can search ownersdirect.com and nicepebbles.com to see what's available and close to the beach.

Thanks everyone. Will follow all your advice and report back after our trip!

great info thanks.
Keeping for later,
schnauzer