Recommendations for Nice/St Paul/Eze?

[imatexan]

We are traveling to Monaco on October 2, 2012 via the Carnival Breeze.

 

I'd really like to go to Nice, St Paul de Vence and possibly Eze. We have all day in Monaco and my question is will we have time?

 

Further, can anyone local recommend a non touristy place to eat in Nice? I'd love to have some fois gras while actually in France :)

 

Lastly, those of you that have done this, do you have any great tips on tour companies? I know they are sticky about posting tour companies, but I am in need and asking. I think that's ok :)

 

We did this cruise last year on magic but Monaco was cancelled

 

Ciao

[bobalink]

 

I'd really like to go to Nice, St Paul de Vence and possibly Eze.

Lastly, those of you that have done this, do you have any great tips on tour companies? I know they are sticky about posting tour companies, but I am in need and asking. I think that's ok :)

 

We did this cruise last year on magic but Monaco was cancelled

 

Ciao

 

We used Revelation Tours while we were in port at Cannes. We met folks on our roll call to share the excursion with; there were 7 of us all together.

 

Our driver met us at the port and we went to Monte Carlo, Nice, Eze, and Saint Paul de Vence. We ate lunch at a nice cafe in Saint Paul.

 

The cafe was nice, we sat at a table outside, and our tour guide was our "interpreter". The waitress was not happy that we all wanted separate checks. Our tour guide worked that out for us. The lunch took much longer than I wanted, but that is the pace in Europe.

 

It was a perfect day, and our driver/guide was punctual, professional and knowledgeable. I would recommend them to anyone. They know their way around, and when we hit traffic, our driver took side streets and maneuvered the van down the winding streets to get us back to the ship in plenty of time.

 

Our day in Saint Paul and Eze was one of my favorites! The little villages are just like what you see in paintings of the Mediterranean. Crooked cobblestone streets, bouganvilla growing on the walls, lanterns, cafes, pottery shops, bakeries. I would go back in a heart beat!

 

Here is a link to their website:

http://www.revelation-tours.com/cruise-passengers/

 

Have a wonderful time!

[Hlitner]

There are two ways to achieve your goals. You can get yourself a private car/driver or tour that goes to those places. If its just the 2 of you you can expect to pay about 500 - 600 Euros for such a tour. The other way is to simply rent a car in Monte Carlo and drive yourself. A rental car, booked in advance, should cost you about 70 - 100 Euros for the day. You can drive immedately to St Paul de Vence (your furthest point) and enjoy this wonderful village (our favorite place in this region). You can then go down to the coastal road and make your way back along the coast to Nice. And finally, you can drive the Middle Corniche from Nice towards Monte Carlo and stop in Eze Village. This might sound complicated but its actually very doable (we have driven these roads many times) and is made easier if you rent a GPS with your rental car and do a little pre-trip homework.

 

There is a third way which is to use public transportation (train and bus) but given the 3 places you want to visit and the time restrictions related to a port day this is not very practical. The problem is that the bus to Eze Village has a very limited schedule and it takes a pretty long time to get to Nice and then St Paul de Vence (and back) via public transit.

 

Hank

Edited February 18, 2012 by Hlitner

[elaine5]

If you skip St. Paul de Vence, you can easily do this excursion for 3 euros each. 1st, walk out of the port and up the stairs to a bus stop and get the #2 bus to the Creamery (sp?) Place with the Green awning (5 minute ride) and then catch the #100 bus to Eze (30 minutes or so). Then Catch the bus later to Nice and then either train or take the bus back to Monaco--the bus ride is spectacular. If you surf this site and google, you will find door to door directions (even with pictures of the bus stops). It was very easy and a great day for 3 euros each bus fare.

[Hlitner]

The #100 bus does not go to Eze Village.

 

Hank

[elaine5]

hmm, got the # wrong. It's the #112--in any event, it goes to Eze village and then continues to Nice, so you can get a later one to continue to Nice. The #100 goes from Nice-Monaco. There are dozens of post of DIY on the bus to Eze. I followed this route in Aug. from Cc posts. It was one of our best (and cheapest) days.

Edited February 19, 2012 by elaine5

[Hlitner]

The problem with the 112 bus (which must be picked-up in either Nice or Monte Carlo to get to Eze Village is that the 112 runs on a very infrequent schedule. For example, from the Nice end there are only buses at 9:00, 11:00, 14:00 and 16:10. It is not much better from the Monte Carlo end with buses leaving at 9:55, 11:55, and 15:10! And of course this also means a visiter needs to time their visit to catch a bus to take them away from Eze Village. Because of this schedule it means that a traveler has to plan their entire day around this bus. Of course there is also the bus that runs between Eze/Bord sur Mer and Eze Village which can be used to tie into the train or the #100 bus...but even this can be a royal pain. We have visited Eze Vilage more then half a dozen times, but only used the buses on one ocassion finding it much more convenient to visit the village when we have our own rental car. The irony of the region is that although St Paul de Vence is located much further from anything.....it is actually easier to reach by bus then is Eze Village.

 

Over the years as we have tried to assist lots of cruisers who want to do this region on their own we have come to realize that the most efficient way to tour the area, when you want to include Eze Village and/or St Paul de Vence is to rent a car. The next best alternative is to hire a private guide/car which can easily cost more then 500 Euros for the day. Of course there are always the cruise line excursions (perish the thought!) but having watched tour groups being led through the streets of St Paul de Vence (following a lady carrying a little sign) is what originally convinced me that many ship excursions are similar to cattle drives where all the cattle follow the lead cow (the one with the bell instead of a sign). :)

 

Hank

 

P.S. The irony of the difficulty in getting to Eze with public transportation is that its just the opposite with a car. If you just happen to be driving between Nice and Monte Carlo on the Middle Corniche (a very popular route) Eze Village just pops up along the road. With a parking lot right off the road (directly in front tof the main entrance) is so convenient to make a stop (we often stop there on the spur of the moment).

Edited February 19, 2012 by Hlitner

[swifs]

Hank, you have convinced us to rent a car in Monaco. It appears that we can rent from Hertz at around $65. One further question- do you think it would be too far to also include Grasse? Our ship is there overnight and doesn't sail until 11pm on the second day, so on the second day we can get the car and go to St Paul and if it looks like we would have enough time continue to Grasse and hit Eze on the way back. Or maybe proceed directly to Grasse? Unless you think that is venturing too far from base. Appreciate your thoughts as this is new territory for us.

 

Regards,

[Mexfolkart]

We did the exact same day as above with Revelation tours getting the flower market in Nice, St. Paul de Vence, where we had lunch, and then on to Eze and even time for a looksee in Monte Carlo..one of the best days of that whole trip..but have a tour set up so you can do it all..they know the roads and time from one place to another. Can't speak highly enough of Revelation Tours.

Sherry

[Hlitner]

Hank, you have convinced us to rent a car in Monaco. It appears that we can rent from Hertz at around $65. One further question- do you think it would be too far to also include Grasse? Our ship is there overnight and doesn't sail until 11pm on the second day, so on the second day we can get the car and go to St Paul and if it looks like we would have enough time continue to Grasse and hit Eze on the way back. Or maybe proceed directly to Grasse? Unless you think that is venturing too far from base. Appreciate your thoughts as this is new territory for us.

 

Regards,

 

That 11 pm departure does give you a lot of flexibility. We assume you are aware that Grasse is about 1 hour from Nice or St Paul de Vence and we would personally be very comfortable following your idea with one caveat. I have a philosophy of going to my furthest point (from the port) early in the day and working our way back towards the ship. But Grasse is only an hours drive from Monte Carlo if you use the "ugly" autoroute :). So sure, you can easily achieve your plan...although we personally would never cut our visit time to St Paul de Vence (one of our favorite French places) to go to Grasse (not one of our favorite places). If you get an early start on that 2nd day you can have a lot of fun with various routes. You could drive from St Paul de Vence to Grasse on the back roads. Then, if you still have lots of time you could drive from Grasse all the way to the coast and pick your way along the coastal road to Antibes which is certainly worth a quick visit (we like Antibes much more then Grasse). From Antibes you can then continue along the the slower coastal route to Nice and eventually to Eze.

 

It is very true that using the 2 lane "D" roads and the coastal route will take more time than heading for the high speed autoroute. But the autoroute is similar to driving on an Interstate and is good for making time...but awful for sightseeing. In your situation we would certainly want a GPS and also a decent map and you should know all of your route options before your trip. Then, as your day moves along you can make "on the spot" decisions as to what feels right at the time and fits your time contraints.

 

Hank

P.S. I read this post to my wife and her immedate reaction was "why do they want to go to Grasse? :) She still remembers how much her Mom hated that perfume we bought in that town.

Edited March 8, 2012 by Hlitner

[Hlitner]

I will add a couple of additional thought about my previous post in order to iinform "swifs" about parking along their driving route. Parking at St Paul de Vence offers you two options. You can park along the main road (outside the walled town) for free if you find a close spot along that road (you will see other cars doing this). Otherwise, you drive past the main entrance to St Paul de Vence (you cannot drive into the town) and you will immedately see the blue 'P" sign for the large indoor parking garage just past the entrance (on your right after you pass the town entrance). It is a paid parking garage (not too expensive) so you take your parking ticket with you and pay upon your return (they have machines and an office) before you return to your parking spot.

 

As to Grasse (we shudder at the thought :) ), we never had any problem just parking on the street. Some of the perfume factories also have their own parking lots (free).

 

If you get to Antibes there is parking near the marina (just outside the town walls) which I think is paid. Its one of those typical European parking deals where you park and then have to find the universal meter where you buy a timed ticket and then put it on your dashboard (in clear view).

 

As to Eze Village, there is a very convenient parking lot right in front of the entrance (this used to be free..but not sure if that is still the case). Sometimes this lot can be full but we have never had to wait more then 5 min for somebody to leave.

 

Hank

[Twice-a-year]

Hello,

We are on the same cruise and date, would you like to team up with us. We are looking for someone to join us too. Please reply. Thank :)

We are traveling to Monaco on October 2, 2012 via the Carnival Breeze.

 

I'd really like to go to Nice, St Paul de Vence and possibly Eze. We have all day in Monaco and my question is will we have time?

 

Further, can anyone local recommend a non touristy place to eat in Nice? I'd love to have some fois gras while actually in France :)

 

Lastly, those of you that have done this, do you have any great tips on tour companies? I know they are sticky about posting tour companies, but I am in need and asking. I think that's ok :)

 

We did this cruise last year on magic but Monaco was cancelled

 

Ciao

[ny cruisequeen]

Dear Hlitner,

 

Please tell me your thoughts. On the following places for a day from the port of Nice (we have been Eze, St. Paul, Monico and monte Carlo )

 

Tourette's , Valbonne, CNne, Antibes, Gourdon, Les HauteDe Cagnes, Mougins, Roquebrune, Var, Vilefrance, Cages sur mer, St. Jean Cap Ferrat, Selliand, Fayence, and Montsuroux.

 

Different guides recommended them, and they are all just names to me. In one day, getting to and back to the ship, what do you think? We love small picturesque villages , art, small shops, and wish to skip churches. We are very confused, and value your expertise!

 

We are hiring a private guide for transportation.

Edited March 22, 2012 by ny cruisequeen

[sippican]

We are traveling to Monaco on October 2, 2012 via the Carnival Breeze.

 

I'd really like to go to Nice, St Paul de Vence and possibly Eze. We have all day in Monaco and my question is will we have time?

 

Further, can anyone local recommend a non touristy place to eat in Nice? I'd love to have some fois gras while actually in France :)

 

Lastly, those of you that have done this, do you have any great tips on tour companies? I know they are sticky about posting tour companies, but I am in need and asking. I think that's ok :)

 

We did this cruise last year on magic but Monaco was cancelled

 

Ciao

 

The very best private tour of our entire Med cruise last fall was provided by Michel of Exclusive Riviera.

http://frenchrivierasightseeing-tourguide.com/services.html

We visited Eze, St Paul de Vence and other scenic spots all in a half day private tour. His service was exceptional!

[Moo_Cruiser]

For those looking to do a tour from Monte Carlo, I also highly recommend Michel from Exclusive Riviera Tours.

 

I organised a tour with 2 buses of 8 with Michel through my cruise critic roll for Monte Carlo port in May 2014.

 

Michel was a joy to deal with right from the start. He helped me design an itinerary that included all the must see places of the region. He also went out of his way to find us a lovely little restaurant overlooking Eze for an authentic provincial lunch which was to die for!

 

We went to Nice and saw the fabulous flower market and had time to walk to the waterfront. We then drove through Antibes and stopped at St Paul De Vence to wander through the gorgeous little medieval village with cute winding streets and little shops. We ran out of time to see Eze unfortunately but did get some time in Monte Carlo. Due to popular demand, Michel took us for a lap around the Grand Prix track which was good fun!!

 

On reflection, if I did it again I’d go to Eze instead of Monte Carlo but we didn’t have time to do both as we had a longer lunch. There is not much to see in Monte Carlo, but you go to say you’ve been there, lol!

 

We had so much fun with Michel. He has a good sense of fun and likes talking to others and learning about other parts of the world. He is keen to learn new English words, so we had lots of fun with that, lol!

 

I can’t say enough good things about Michel and would use him again in a heartbeat!

 

 

Cheers

 

 

Amanda