DIY Nice, Monaco and Cap Ferrat - bus #100

[holiday07]

We will be in Villefrance port from 7am to 7pm.

We are thinking of taking the bus #100 to Nice from Villefranche, walk around the old Nice and Promenade de Anglais for 2 hours. Take the bus #100 to Cap Ferrat, see the Rothschild mansion for 1-2 hours and then continue on to the Monaco again taking the bus #100 to Menton. Return taking the bus #100 to Villefranche around 4PM.

 

We are still trying to figure out where we should get off in Nice. In Monaco, should we get off Place de Armes? Also what would the weather be like around October? We have been looking at some weather forecast in recent days and it seems like it has gone colder -- pretty much like the weather in San Francisco (although yesterday we had 80s).

 

Thank you.

[Baseball fan]

I think you might be trying to plan too much in a day....I've been to Nice and Monaco and each easily took a day as there is so much to see. Nice is very easy to walk around....Monaco is very hilly and it takes a while to walk everywhere.

 

We took the train to Monaco and from the other side of Nice it probably took about 45 min by train. And I assume a bus takes longer. I would probably do Monaco or Nice but not both.

 

JMHO

 

Enjoy whatever you choose as it is a beautiful area.

Dena

[Eileen G]

We took the bus from Villefrench to Nice a couple of years ago. You just get off at the end of the line at the bus terminal in Nice. You will be better off taking the #81 bus since it is a more local bus and will not be so crowded. When you get off the tender you need to make your way uphill to the main street and find the bus stop. There should be a route list and bus times at the bus stop. Here is what I wrote on my review:

 

In Villefrench we took the #81 bus to Nice. The bus lets you off right across the street from old town. The old town was real neat to wander around in. There were all kinds of stores. We found the market and looked at all the stalls. We then headed to the beach. The water is really beautiful although the beach is very rocky. There is a very long promenade. We climbed up to the old castle on the hill overlooking the beach. The views are beautiful. We walked down the other side to the harbor and caught the 100 bus back to Villefrench. Both the 100 and 81 bus run between Villefrench and Nice but the #81 bus is less crowded because it is more of a local bus. They are both 1 euro. After lunch we went to the beach in Villefrench. It’s a nice sandy beach an easy walk from the tender dock.

[crazygirl!]

Just a word of advice - be sure to leave yourself enough time, as the 100 bus can get filled up and you may have to wait until the next bus (up to 30 minutes). Otherwise, it is very convenient and easy to use.

[T.O.cruisers]

We just got off the Liberty of the Seas. We were supposed to dock at Villefranche but instead docked at Cannes. We rented a car from Mistrel, a Fiat Pronto that seats four comfortably, although we were only two people. It's a short walk from the pier and we were on our way within a few minutes of reaching the rental office. We drove along the middle cornische to Eze Village and walked around in the rain and looked in the shops. We had no problem finding a place to park. Then drove to Monaco and parked and walked through the area around the casino, walked to the marina to see the fancy yachts and then drove to Nice along the highway. We visited the Chagall Museum and drove to the Promenade and walked along the beach for awhile before heading back to Cannes to return the car and get back in time for the tender to the ship. I was hoping to get to St. Paul de Vence but it was just not possible. I great day for the price of a rental car - $66 Euro which includes insurance.

[holiday07]

Any reason given why you docked in Cannes not Villefranche? Was it raining in other ports as well? What other places did you visit?. Thanks.

[T.O.cruisers]

Any reason given why you docked in Cannes not Villefranche? Was it raining in other ports as well? What other places did you visit?. Thanks.

We were advised by RCCL that the port changed due to over crowding at Villefranche. We were on Liberty of the Seas and went to Toulon, Cannes, Livorno, Rome and Naples.

[nzdisneymom]

Quick question about the buses -- do you buy a ticket or just get on and pay your fare when you board? How does that work? And do you next exact fare or will they make change? We will be in Villefranche next summer and having been to Nice before, we thought we'd try for Monaco or Eze on our own. Just starting to research the logistics of it at this point - we are a party of four.