Nice, Monte Carlo and Saint-Paul de Vence in One Day?

[dcinmb]

Our ship is docking in Villefranche on Thanksgiving from 7 am to 8 pm. I've been to Nice and Monte Carlo but my friends haven't so we're trying to put together an itinerary that would suit all of us. We'd love to be able to do Nice, Monte Carlo and Saint-Paul de Vence in one day but is this remotely feasible?

 

It sounds like we have two options to get to Saint-Paul de Vence:

 

- Train from Villefranche to Nice-->Bus #400 from Nice Gare Routiere to SPdV (Thanks, Hank!)

- Train from Villefranche to Cagnes sur Mer-->Bus to SPdV (I'm hoping the full-bus-sailing-by thing is less likely to happen in November when tourism is slower)

 

What if we were to spend a few hours in Nice, then SPdV, then Monte Carlo, then back to Villefranche? I know we can take the train from Monte Carlo to Villefranche and I assume we would be able to take the train from Cagnes sur Mer to Monte Carlo as well?

 

Or would we save ourselves a lot of hassle and uncertainty by just renting a car? I rented a car for a week about ten years ago, starting out in Paris and ending up in Nice; I didn't mind driving in Paris, Normandy, Provence, etc., but I didn't like driving in Nice. Seems like the most logical thing to do would be to pick up the car in Nice, drive to SPdV, drive back to Nice, drop off the car, and do the rest on the train. Shortest car rental ever. ;)

 

Is this remotely doable or is this just wishful thinking on my part?

 

Thank you!

 

Diana

[alexandra cruiser]

I think the rail,bus deals would work better between just 2 cities, since you want to see Nice, how about taking train then hop on hop off bus.We just did that 2 mos. ago and was great.Then train or bus to next city you choose, the car deal would be a mess since no parking in Nice or Monte Carlo, per se.Plus crowds,heavy traffic,etc. You would end up just seeing enough of a city to say you ve been there, that s all.Better to take more time and enjoy one or two,rather than just rush around and worry about getting back to ship in time. Just my opinion, of course.Good luck///;)

[Linny13]

This is such an absolutely beautiful port and there is so much to see that I would suggest taking a private tour.

 

We were there last week on the Carnival Dream and we saw, Nice (the flower market, the beach, the Riviera), Monaco (the palace, the cathedral, the city), Monte Carlo (the casino), Eze (a beautiful midieval town) and the best of all, St. Paul de Vence:) (an amazing medieval town with the best shops and art).

 

We used Dream tours and Jean Marc was our driver. THEY ARE FABULOUS!!!!!!!!! We were out all day from 8 am to 6 pm. It is definitely worth it! They will tell you all about Princess Grace and how she lived and died.

 

His website is: http://www.dream-tours.com or you can e-mail Alain at: infos@dream-tours.com

 

He will answer you very quickly. You tell him what you want to see and they make it happen. You will be so pleased, I promise!!:)

 

Have fun on your cruise!!

[Hlitner]

The OP raises excellent questions. As a general rule for independent travel (this is my personal rule) you should always go to your most distant point early in the day and than work your way back towards the ship as the day progresses. Using the bus to St Paul de Vence leaves you totally dependent on the bus running on schedule and there being no unexpected delays on the route (we are talking about a 2 lane country road from Cagnes sur Mer to St Paul de Vence and unpredictable traffic in along the busy coast road. Personally, we could probably do this itinerary by renting a car (assuming you can get a car delivered at the tender pier), but we are very familiar with the region and the traffic issues. We would probably drive directly to St Paul de Vence (keep in mind that many shops do not open before 9:30am), later stop in Nice, and, if there was time, we might consider going to Monte Carlo (the truth is that my wife and I do not even like MC). My own recommendation would be to go to St Paul de Vence, stop at Nice on your way back to the port (you can do this with a rental car or public transit) and just skip Monte Carlo. If you really want to see Monte Carlo than we would recommend combining that visit with a stop in Eze and Nice. Keep in mind that getting to and from St Paul de Vence does take a substantial amount of time and trying to go to too many places will force you to rush through places without enough time to truly enjoy the atmosphere.

 

Hank