Without a car in the Cote d'Azur
 

hello fellow travelers!

i am traveling from Nice to the Cinque Terre. We have 2 or 3 days to get there - without a rental car because they are so hideously expensive! I know there are trains into Italy that run frequently and intercity buses in the french riviera.

Can you help me plan where to stay and which towns are the must sees and are possible using bus/train as we make our way eastward?

the places i'm looking at include Monaco, Eze, Menton, but unsure if we should stay in Nice and do day trips or do a day in Nice followed a night (or two) elsewhere on our way.

Thanks in advance!

the places i'm looking at include Monaco, Eze, Menton, but unsure if we should stay in Nice and do day trips or do a day in Nice followed a night (or two) elsewhere on our way>

Well it is at least 8.5 hours by train from Nice to the Cinque Terre - a long long day so break it up (buses not much of an option - only trains or flying Nice to Pisa or Florence) - a natural stop is Genoa because you have to go thru there on trains and it is about half way and a wonderful old-worldish city with one of the most amazing warren of medieval lanes anywhere (a maze really where in a car once, when allowed in, I could never seem to find my way out!) - Genoa has lots of other stuff too. Then just go onto another 4 hours to the Cinque Terre.

For lots of great info on Italian trains I always spotlight these IMO fine fine sources - www.ricksteves.com; www.seat61.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com - chekc www.trenitalia.com for fares and schedules - trains involved are mainly IC trains and regional trains - fastest link is all on IC trains on which you can book and reserve a seat on trenitalia.com.

I love San Remo. The old town is dramatic, the market is great, and the center is full of visual detail and bustle that is completely different from the Cote d'Azur just an hour away by train. From there Albenga is a nice morning or evening trip (it's too dead in the mid-afternoon), Bordighera is worth a stroll, and Ventimiglia has a fun market day.

Genoa is a great recommendation from PalenQ, and south of there Camogli has charm and color for a beach town, and Sta. Margherita Ligure is both relaxing, pretty, and alive.

as for the Nice area, which is very nice, I would base in one city and not relocated just a few miles down the road or railway - trains go to all the cities you want to visit from Nice in a few minutes - indeed I could argue that Menton, Monaco and Eze could well be done in one day trip from Nice as there is not that much to see in either Monaco or Eze (save for the views) - Menton is more interesting but all can be done in one day - buses go to Eze - trains to Monaco and Menton.

Take a bus to Eze - see the view and perfume boutiques and move on by bus to Monaco - train to Menton and back to Nice.

Relocating inevitably takes a big chunk of day so just base in one city.

Train schedules here:

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en?

Put in Nice to Monaco, see intermediate stops.

Pal - how are you getting 8.5 hours for Nice to CT? I'm going from Nice to Rapallo next month and have found the following schedules: From Nice to Ventimiglia is 48 minutes (at least two trains per hour), then from Ventimiglia to Genoa is 2 hr and 8 min (and if you schedule it right you can do it with a change of only a few minutes). Then from Genoa to Rapallo is about a half hour (some trains slower, some faster, lots of them). That's 3 1/2 hours of actual train time plus time to change (but that can be kept to a minimum). Monterossa is about another half hour. But no way do I come up with anything close to 8 or more hours.

So - am I missing something? I've been pretty careful with downloading train schedules. But you seem generally very knowledgeable about European trains so wondering where you got that time.

Oops! I was mixing this up with another thread talking about Nice to Rome 8.5 hours so thanks for pointing out my mistake -= no you are correct.

As long as you want to hug the coast, there is no problem at all taking the train. The train line is spectacular and often runs closer to the water than the road for cars.

The only difficulties arise if you want to visit the "back country" (arrière pays), which is delightful and different from the repetitive seaside resorts.

but that's not too difficult from Nice for instance. departmental bus services cover many delightful hilltop villages, departing from Nice and/or St Laurent.

I've hiked a lot in the Alpes Maritimes, and one of the delights always has been that within an hour you can be at the beach, by bus. Imo, Cagnes is the better location as a base for Cannes, Nice, Juan les Pins, but also for St Paul and Vence and for the villages in the foot hills. Trains are wonderful along the coast.

Fantastique! so much good information, helping me to make some decisions. i always prefer to have a base if possible, and to use available, local transportation. i was just worried about breaking up the travel time to CT. i now see the error of my ways, lol! so...i will search for a base in nice, look into cagnes, and plan some day trips, perhaps into the hillside.

any recommendations for reasonable hotels or apartments in nice?

nothing like planning at the last minute! thanks so very much.

I tend to avoid Nice, but Cagnes has

Le Colombier

http://www.campinglecolombier.com

Go to Reservations and scroll down to Locations to see the apartments they have. It's a lovely spot. I wonder if they have anything available at short notice though.

We stayed in Nice and thought it was a good base. Took the local one euro bus to Monaco,,spent the morning there, then on way back stopped at Eze sur Mer , spent afternoon there... lovely. . and grand total spent of three euros.

We stayed at Hotel Solara, had a nice balcony room. Not a fancy hotel , but simple, good a/c , super nice staff .

I also stayed at Hotel Solara a few years ago. Definitely not fancy but was a good base. I did day trips by bus to Eze (hilltop town) and Villefranche and Monaco - all by bus. Also daytriped to Antibes (I think I took the train that day but don't clearly remember).

We liked the Hotel le Grimaldi a lot, in Nice. It is a very charming boutique hotel, well-located and a good value. Great breakfast offered, too.

From Nice, we took the train to Antibes, which made a great day trip. It has a nice sea wall walk and usually some elegant yachts.

Another day we took a city bus to the Rothschild estate and gardens, then walked down the little hill to St Jean Cap Ferrat. We hopped on the city bus and returned to Nice.

There are great restaurants in old Nice's winding cobbled streets.