Help with Monaco-Monte carlo

[midlandcruiser]

This will be our first cruise so we haven't done any excursions etc before. It will be our first port of call as well. Would it be possible for any of you that have done this on your own rather than the ship excursion to give me any do's and don'ts. Thanks

[moldgirl]

This will be our first cruise so we haven't done any excursions etc before. It will be our first port of call as well. Would it be possible for any of you that have done this on your own rather than the ship excursion to give me any do's and don'ts. Thanks

 

Wish we had got the train/bus to monaco, the organised tour did not give us much free time in monaco or monte carlo. It depends whether you need/want to follow a guide round all day too! We would go on our own next time. Hope you enjoy your visit.

Shirley

[Old Cruiser2]

Assuming your ship docks at Villefranche, you will transfer by ship's tender. Once at the dockside, turn right as you exit the small port terminal building. Walk along the seafront for about 500 metres. There will be some steps up to the railway station, where you can buy a return ticket to Monte Carlo for €10 per person. At Monte Carlo train station you can visit the tourist information office where they will give you a local map. Exit the train station via the subway and you'll be heading towards the harbour were you can see all the floating gin palaces! Ticket prices above are current - we did it last week.

[lynneh]

If your port is Villefranche then it's easy! Walk along the seafront with the sea on you right until you get to the station. It's not very far about a 10 min walk if that!

Up the stairs to the platform and then it's a short train ride to Monaco. We walked the grand prix circuit along to the casino and went up to the palace but I WISH we had taken a ride on the little train that does a tour. Next time we will!

[gosport11]

The thing that suprised me about Monte Carlo was how steep it is,and all the lifts and escalators to get around,the tourism board has a good site,one thing if its near grand prix time acesess is very limited around the harbour,we have been twice and still not been to casino,well next time maybe,

Monaco is very easy to walk around,but can be very expensive if your looking for some thing to eat/drink

,Also the local busses are very cheap and frequent,there is also one policeman to every 3 residents so very safe place to vist and clean :):) i might be wrong here but im not sure if you need photo id to vist casino during the day,people say its worth the vist to use the loos lol :):)

[midlandcruiser]

Thanks everyone:) We'll be going from Villefranche in July.

Unfortunately we won't be going in the Casino as we have teenagers with us.

Do they speak English in the tourist information?

Also how frequent are the trains to and from Villefranche, do they seem reliable?

[Old Cruiser2]

Thanks everyone:) We'll be going from Villefranche in July.

Unfortunately we won't be going in the Casino as we have teenagers with us.

Do they speak English in the tourist information?

Also how frequent are the trains to and from Villefranche, do they seem reliable?

 

 

Hi Midlandcruiser,

Yes, the lady in the tourist information office at Monte Carlo train station spoke very good english.

You can pick up a local train timetable from the information desk at Villefranche port terminal, where they also spoke good english.

According to the timetable I picked up last week, trains run from Villefranche to Monte Carlo at 09:30, 10:01, 11:01, 12:31 and 13:00.

And from Monte Carlo to Villefranche at 13:13, 13:43, 14:13, 15:13, 15:51, 16:13, 16:43, 17:13. Obviously best to check these times when you get there as they may change in the meantime. The journey time is only 17 minutes. There are other earlier and later trains, but the above are likely to be the times you will be travelling.

As for reliability, all I can say is the two trains we caught were on time to the minute. They were blue SNCF double decker trains - very swish. If you go upstairs you get great views as the train runs along the coastline. Hope this helps. :)

[midlandcruiser]

It does help, thanks a lot!:)