Cannes / St. Paul de Vence / Antibes

[brianwood]

We will be in Cannes the second week of July and was wondering if it was possible to go to St. Paul de Vence and Antibes by public transportation in one day. My feeling is that we would be pushing the envelope - our travel mates think is doable. We will be arriving in Cannes at 7:00 am and leaving @ 6:00 pm. My thoughts would be to go to Monte Carlo / Monaco

 

Concerned :confused:

[cberge]

We will be in Cannes the second week of July and was wondering if it was possible to go to St. Paul de Vence and Antibes by public transportation in one day. My feeling is that we would be pushing the envelope - our travel mates think is doable. We will be arriving in Cannes at 7:00 am and leaving @ 6:00 pm. My thoughts would be to go to Monte Carlo / Monaco

 

Concerned :confused:

Please read down some pages on this board as there is a wealth of info just posted here about this area and how to get to St.P.If you still have a question then post.To be honest it is doable for both,but you will not have time to really enjoy both in the least.I would Google each and then pick one and go and enjoy time there. You can always return:D

[razal68]

The trip to St. Paul De Vence is about one hour train and bus (if connections are made). Monaco by train is about one to two hours by train. I would go to St. Paul De Vence in the morning and return by train to Antibes and then take the bus back to Cannes (bus ride about twenty minutes). Antibes has a Picasso museum and old section that is not to be missed.

 

David

[gam888]

We will be docking in Monaco in August for the whole day. Been searching for a private tour operator. Would like to visit St Paul De Vence and some other places that are hard to get to by bus. Some of them suggested Eze and Gourdon? We have been to Monte Carlo before so no need to see it again. Can anyone suggests a DIY tour that would cover St Paul De Vence plus one or two more towns? Or a tour operator they have used before? Thanks.

[Hlitner]

Since we are getting into the high season and some folks I wil answer the OPs question and save them the hassle of looking backwards in CC. If you want to go to both St Paul de Vence and Antibes via public transit it is possible...but connections might make you a bit rushed for time. From the tender pier in Cannes you can walk (about 25 min) or try to get a taxi (good luck) to the local train station. You then need a ticket to Cagnes su Mer. Make sure you validate your ticket (you stamp it in the validation machines located near the platform entrance (or on the platform in some stations). Once you get to Cagnes sur Mer (this is a few stops before Nice) you need to find the bus stop for the #400 bus (you can ask inside the station) which is close to the station entrance. You then take the next 400 bus (they run about every 45 min). You can pay the driver and the last time I rode the bus it was still 1 Euro. You want to get off at the St Paul de Vence stop and you can ask the driver to let you know (it actually is pretty obvous) when to get off the bus. The return trip is similar (the bus stop is across the street from where you arrived). The same train that takes you from Cagnes sur Mer back to Cannes (this is all on the same Marseille to Ventimiglia line) has a stop in Antibes so if you still have time you can take this opportunity to see Antibes. Hope this is pretty clear. Having said all this, for us its just easier to rent a car in Cannes and go where we want without all the waiting time involved with public transit.

 

Hank

[gam888]

Hank,

I know St Paul de Vence and St Paul are two different towns. St Paul de Vence is the one we would like to see. Some tour operator mentioned stopping by St Paul as well. What is in St Paul, is it worth stopping? They also suggest Eze, Antibes, Gourdon and some other towns. If we decide to pay for a 6 - 8 hour tour, visiting St Paul de Vence and have to pick 2 to 3 other towns, somewhere that is hard to get to by train or bus (otherwise we can do it ourselves), what would you pick. We are docking in Monaco for the whole day in August. Thanks.

We are interested in charming medieval towns, not into shopping or perfume factory. Been to Monaco so no need to spend time there. Figure Cannes or Nice we can take the train there ourselves another time. So would focus on small towns that are time consuming to get to on our own. Thanks.

[Hlitner]

Hank,

I know St Paul de Vence and St Paul are two different towns. St Paul de Vence is the one we would like to see. Some tour operator mentioned stopping by St Paul as well. What is in St Paul, is it worth stopping? They also suggest Eze, Antibes, Gourdon and some other towns. If we decide to pay for a 6 - 8 hour tour, visiting St Paul de Vence and have to pick 2 to 3 other towns, somewhere that is hard to get to by train or bus (otherwise we can do it ourselves), what would you pick. We are docking in Monaco for the whole day in August. Thanks.

We are interested in charming medieval towns, not into shopping or perfume factory. Been to Monaco so no need to spend time there. Figure Cannes or Nice we can take the train there ourselves another time. So would focus on small towns that are time consuming to get to on our own. Thanks.

 

We suspect their reference to "St Paul" is the same as "St Paul de Vence." In fact, if one looks on the detailed Michelin Motoring Atlas (we have this stuff from are many driving trips) it does show St Paul de Vence as simply St Paul. It is a quaint and charming (but now a bit touristy) walled town in a beautiful setting. Over the years it has become a popular place for decent art galleries which is a nice change from the usual trinket shops. The town is quite old and probably the closest you will find to a medieval town. I should add that Nice is actually a very "nice" city with a substantial old town section where they have their wonderful outdoor Flower Market. As to Cannes (we have spent a few nights in Cannes) it certainly has its share of upscale shops, restaurants and cafes. Cannes also is one of the few places in the area with a half-decent sandy beach (as opposed to the pebbly beaches found in many places such as Nice). IMHO if you want to focus on smaller charming towns we would give the most consideration to St Paul (de Vence) and Eze Village. Of those two, St Paul is the more substantial place (although we like both towns).

 

Given that you are docked in Monaco you might want to consider that Eze Village is a lot closer then St Paul de Vence. But getting to Eze Village is a bit of a hassle since the bus that runs between MC and Eze does not run very often. In other words, nothing is ever easy but it can be fun :)

 

Hank

Hank

[gam888]

Thanks again Hank for your reply.

 

If we were to pay $ for the tour operator for a full day tour, they charge at least 475 Euros for a full day for 5 people. Knowing that you could do St Paul on your own (you replied me on my other post last week), but it would take 2 hours each way by buses from Monaco, that would still leave time to see one more place DIY. But we figure going all the way to Europe and we won't be back any time soon due to budget, maybe just splurge and spend the money if we go on a tour and could see at least 3 places. That's why I would choose the hard to get to places on your own, since if we are paying big $ to be driven. So say from Monaco to St Paul de Vence, Eze and if we have time to pick one more charming place that is hard to DIY in the region, what would you pick? Antibe? Gourdon? or anywhere else?

[Hlitner]

When you figure the tour is about $100 pp for a full day it sure sounds like a great deal (assuming you get a decent driver/guide). Given your group size it does see to make sense to do the tour unless you really want to try and save some money. Your savings would probably not be much more then $50 - $60 per person after you have paid for trains, buses, etc. And for that money you will certainly be able to do much more since you will save lots of time not having to wait for the trains and buses. We have never been to Gourdon (not sure how we managed to miss this town) but do enjoy Antibe. But we also think a lot of Nice's old town. With your own driver/guide I would probably recommend that you start out as early as possible and first stop at the Flower Market in nice (its at the Cours Selaya) for a quick look around the market (I do not think they have the Flower Market on Mondays). Since the Flower Market opens early in the morning its the perfect place to go early whereas running to other places (before 9:30) might find that many places have not even opened.

 

Hank

[travelbugforever]

Since we are getting into the high season and some folks I wil answer the OPs question and save them the hassle of looking backwards in CC. If you want to go to both St Paul de Vence and Antibes via public transit it is possible...but connections might make you a bit rushed for time. From the tender pier in Cannes you can walk (about 25 min) or try to get a taxi (good luck) to the local train station. You then need a ticket to Cagnes su Mer. Make sure you validate your ticket (you stamp it in the validation machines located near the platform entrance (or on the platform in some stations). Once you get to Cagnes sur Mer (this is a few stops before Nice) you need to find the bus stop for the #400 bus (you can ask inside the station) which is close to the station entrance. You then take the next 400 bus (they run about every 45 min). You can pay the driver and the last time I rode the bus it was still 1 Euro. You want to get off at the St Paul de Vence stop and you can ask the driver to let you know (it actually is pretty obvous) when to get off the bus. The return trip is similar (the bus stop is across the street from where you arrived). The same train that takes you from Cagnes sur Mer back to Cannes (this is all on the same Marseille to Ventimiglia line) has a stop in Antibes so if you still have time you can take this opportunity to see Antibes. Hope this is pretty clear. Having said all this, for us its just easier to rent a car in Cannes and go where we want without all the waiting time involved with public transit.

 

Hank

Hi Hank,

Our ship arrives in Cannes at 10 a.m. in late June. How long do you think it takes to get off the ship, if we need to tender into Cannes? I booked a chauffer driven car to take us to St. Paul de Vence for 12:30pm. I figure

we can all meet at 11:00 am at a designated spot on the ship and tender into port together. Our car will take us on a 4 hour ride to St. Paul. Our ship leaves Cannes at 8:00pm. From what I have read, it takes close to an s hour to drive from Cannes to St. Paul. Then we will have two hours there to walk around and shop and another hour ride back to port. Do I need to be concerned about traffic during this time of the year? If the ship leaves at 8:00 pm, generally speaking, what time do you think the last tender to the ship will be? Thank you in advance for your help. :)

[gam888]

We are having some second thoughts about going to St Paul due to budget. It;s too time consuming to DIY, and it costs more than $100 pp for an 8 hour tour from Monaco. So 5 of us in the family it adds up.We are docked there from 9-8. So I am thinking, since it's easy to take the train from Monaco to Cannes, Cannes to Antibes, Antibes to Nice if there is time left, then back to Monaco. At least we will see 2 or 3 places for half the price of hiring a tour company. Next time when we go on a Med cruise, maybe it will dock in Nice, then we will try the DIY bus ride from Nice to St Paul De Vence.

 

Anyone has any suggestions about this route? (Monaco to Cannes with stop overs before returning back to Monaco.

 

Hank, any ideas?

[Hlitner]

Hi Hank,

Our ship arrives in Cannes at 10 a.m. in late June. How long do you think it takes to get off the ship, if we need to tender into Cannes? I booked a chauffer driven car to take us to St. Paul de Vence for 12:30pm. I figure

we can all meet at 11:00 am at a designated spot on the ship and tender into port together. Our car will take us on a 4 hour ride to St. Paul. Our ship leaves Cannes at 8:00pm. From what I have read, it takes close to an s hour to drive from Cannes to St. Paul. Then we will have two hours there to walk around and shop and another hour ride back to port. Do I need to be concerned about traffic during this time of the year? If the ship leaves at 8:00 pm, generally speaking, what time do you think the last tender to the ship will be? Thank you in advance for your help. :)

 

Frequent cruisers have generally learned to never try and predict tender operations. And yes, the only way to get into Cannes is by tender (there is no dock for large ships). Its hard to imagine you would not be ashore before 12:30. We have driven from Cannes to St Paul de Vence in about 45 min...but the key is the traffic getting out of Cannes. Once out of downtown Cannes much of the ride is on the fast A8 autostrade (4 lane superhighway) where traffic is not an issue. You exit that road in Cagnes sur Mer from where its a few miles via a 2 lane road...but traffic is not normally an issue on this road once you get clear of Cagnes sur Mer. So you should certainly get your 2 hours in St Paul de Vence. Almost all cruise ships schedule their last tender to leave 30 minutes prior to the scheduled departure time.

 

Hank

[Hlitner]

We are having some second thoughts about going to St Paul due to budget. It;s too time consuming to DIY, and it costs more than $100 pp for an 8 hour tour from Monaco. So 5 of us in the family it adds up.We are docked there from 9-8. So I am thinking, since it's easy to take the train from Monaco to Cannes, Cannes to Antibes, Antibes to Nice if there is time left, then back to Monaco. At least we will see 2 or 3 places for half the price of hiring a tour company. Next time when we go on a Med cruise, maybe it will dock in Nice, then we will try the DIY bus ride from Nice to St Paul De Vence.

 

Anyone has any suggestions about this route? (Monaco to Cannes with stop overs before returning back to Monaco.

 

Hank, any ideas?

 

I must admit to being mildly amused that folks that dock in Monte Carlo want to go to Cannes and folks that tender into Cannes often want to go to Monte Carlo. Funny how many folks think that the best place to go is not their cruise port :) Personally, we would probably skip going all the way to Cannes and take the train to Antibes. From there you can work your way back to Nice. We like Nice more then either Antibes or Monte Carlo. Nice is actually a very nice tourist city with several decent museums, the famous Promanade d'Anglais and its really nice Old Town neighborhood (my favorite part of Nice). The last time we docked in Nice (last year) DW and I jumped right on the #100 bus and went to Nice to spend some time at the Flower Market and later have a nice lunch in the old town. If you really have your heart set on going to Cannes..you certainly want to do it early in the day since its more then 1 hour from Monte Carlo.

 

Hank

[travelbugforever]

Frequent cruisers have generally learned to never try and predict tender operations. And yes, the only way to get into Cannes is by tender (there is no dock for large ships). Its hard to imagine you would not be ashore before 12:30. We have driven from Cannes to St Paul de Vence in about 45 min...but the key is the traffic getting out of Cannes. Once out of downtown Cannes much of the ride is on the fast A8 autostrade (4 lane superhighway) where traffic is not an issue. You exit that road in Cagnes sur Mer from where its a few miles via a 2 lane road...but traffic is not normally an issue on this road once you get clear of Cagnes sur Mer. So you should certainly get your 2 hours in St Paul de Vence. Almost all cruise ships schedule their last tender to leave 30 minutes prior to the scheduled departure time.

 

Hank

 

Hi Hank,

Thank you for your help! I have read so many postings about how pretty

St. Paul is. So glad I am finally going to be able to spend some time there

and not rush around.