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WeeCountyMan
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WeeCountyMan

WeeCountyMan

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Hello there, based on your extensive travel experiences -can you enlighten us on any of the following POCs.... Marseille, Calvi, Villefranche and Livorno.

 

Ref. Livorno, we've been to Florence and Pisa, just wondered if there was anything else to do from there ?

 

Is there anything in Villefranche other than a port for access to Monaco and Nice ?

 

I suspect a HoHo bus might be the best option for Marseille as it is such a big city.

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jimb98

jimb98

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Apologies for jumping in here. With regard to Villefranche there are plenty of options; Eze, St. Paul de Vence, Villa Ephrusssi and if you want to pretend you are in a old pop song you can always go to Juan Le Pins.

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CRUISIN LINDA

CRUISIN LINDA

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Hi WCM,

 

Kruzseeka is at present cruising the Atlantic on the Oriana. She won't be back until the 11th May!

 

Villefranche is a pretty little place. We have been there twice and been to Monte Carlo and Nice and Eze, so looking forward to having a mooch round the port in September from the Discovery

 

We went to Livorno last year and having previously "done" Pisa we went into the town. We found the town square very nice, after hearing some bad things about the town.

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jimb98

jimb98

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Been to both a few times, both totally different.

Nice has a lovely, long prom and has the tram to get around. There's a great bus service and an excellent train service between the two. Monaco has got the history, casino F1 tunnel etc, not forgetting the people watching and their flash cars.

In terms of expensive I guess it depends on what you want to do. If you want to lie on the beach at Nice and have lunch there then I suggest you rob a bank first. If you want to just site-see and use public transport then just buy a sandwich and drink and sit on a park bench for a picnic. That's what we did at Monaco and had a great time.

The public transport is really cheap.

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Whitechapel girl

Whitechapel girl

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I've done a trip to Lucca from

Livorno which I thoroughly recommend - train from Pisa which is about half an hour. It's lovely walled city and easy to do on your own. Antibes is lovely as well in the south of France, again a train along the coast. Depends how far you want to go and how long you have in port.

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CRUISIN LINDA

CRUISIN LINDA

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Thanks Linda.

 

Of the two, which is nicer in your opinion, Nice or Monte Carlo - or is it possible to visit both during one day in port ?

 

I assume both are expensive places for tourists ?

I would choose Monte Carlo. We went there on our first visit, then Nice and Eze on the second. Eze is a very pretty village, don't remember Nice being that spectacular.

 

Not sure if you can do both, although I seem to remember going past Nice on the way back from Monte Carlo.

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kate52

kate52

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Hi, on our last (of several) stops at Livorno we took a bus to Montenero. There is a very old solar powered funicular which takes you up from Montenero to Montenero Alto, a little village with great views of surrounding area, a couple of bars/cafes and shops, some grotto caves and the sanctuary.

We didn't go into the sanctuary as there was a wedding taking place, just enjoyed the views and watching the guests and wedding couple!

It's only about 5 miles from Livorno, and was a cheap and restful alternative to the town itself which we have explored before. There are boat rides around the town's canals if you prefer that, and a large street market on some days, but I can't remember which days!

 

Sorry- just seen campolady's posted already about the boat trips!

Edited by kate52
missed previous post
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joeholiday2

joeholiday2

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Kruzseeka recommended us to go to Villa Ephrussi some years ago, it did not disappoint. We bought the combined ticket and did the Greek villa nearby as well.

It's quite a walk, but a pleasant one along the seafront for most of the way.

 

Have a look at toms port guides for these ports, I am sure he mentions a few different places than the usual ones most seem to head for. With good directions as usual.

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WeeCountyMan

WeeCountyMan

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Thanks all.

 

Will come back with some specifics later, been really busy - 4 family/close friend birthdays all within a few days of each other, plus extra babysitting duties for grandchildren.

Edited by WeeCountyMan
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kruzseeka

kruzseeka

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Hi from New Orleans! Had WiFi issues all trip but will try to post this - and keep it brief.

 

Calvi - beautiful place no need to go further imo. Great beach and good to get in the water, Citadel(?) area interesting and just pleasant relaxing stop.

Can definitely recommend Cassis too though I think we did that from Toulon.

Villa Ephrussi gets my vote at Villefranche unless you specially want to go elsewhere. I'll post details when I'm back if you're interested. Villefranche is pretty - there's also a Noddy train which takes you to Beauville (?) the opp side of Cap Ferrat.

Livorno - not done it but on our next visit having done Florence and DiY on the train to Pisa, intend to go independently to Lucca by train as it's supposed to be well worth a visit.

 

Must go - a jazz club calls! Hope this will 'go' - thought our WiFi probs would be resolved once we got to the States!

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WeeCountyMan

WeeCountyMan

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Hey Kruzseeka - enjoy New Orleans, maybe someday we'll also manage there someday, although Nashville is top of my bucket list as I'm just a good ol' country (music) boy, still grieving for the late great Merle Haggard.

 

Now for some specifics about our ports of call - all guidance, suggestions and cautionary warnings gratefully received.

 

Villefranche - Mrs. WCM is keen on seeing the sights of Monte Carlo and Monaco, so it'll be the ship's tour I reckon.

 

Calvi - going by above advice I think we'll DIY around the town.

 

Marseille - a big industrial port city, doesn't sound too exciting, the HoHo bus is probably our best option. Does anybody know if there is a stop near where the ship berths ? The routes are invariably tailored to accommodate cruise ships, but it pays to ask.

 

Livorno - this is a sticky one. Been to Pisa and Florence so local self organised is on the agenda.

 

Does the ship dock near the town for easy access ? The canals sounds good, can they be done DIY ?

 

Mrs.WCM mentioned Lucca - a (longtime ago) former lady friend's family came from there - I think they'll have forgotten/forgiven me by now though !!! :D

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happy v

happy v

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Please do happy v, appreciated - and thanks Linda, that's really helfpul stuff.

 

From the tender walk to your right for approx. 10 minutes to the train station it is sign posted and also on the map from the ship. The trains are very frequent and reliable. I think it took about 30 mins.

When you arrive in Monaco look for signs for where you want to go. We started at the Marina, there was an escalator which went all the way down. We then used public buses to get to the Palace for the changing of the guards, we also did a tour inside. The buses go to all the tourist places. You can get information from the tourist desk in the station.

One good point because the town is very steep there are escalators at various intervals to take you up or down. We only noticed this at the end of the day when we wondered why everyone was going into a doorway. Still it saved us a tiring walk or wait for a bus as it went all the way back up to the station.

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  • 2 weeks later...
WeeCountyMan

WeeCountyMan

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Thanks all for guidance etc.

 

Marseille was disappointing - the worst HoHo bus trip we've done.

 

Not wholly the coach line to blame, the city just does not lend itself to this type of tour with few real attractions - driving between high residential buildings and offices for quite a bit of the route.

 

Compounded by a drama, the shuttle bus delivered us to the wrong drop off point and was nowhere to be seen when we returned there. :mad: Fortunately some reps from another cruise line (where were Thomsons staff ?) directed us to the correct location about 1.5 miles back in the city from whence we had just come.

 

Had to trek all the way back after having been near the proper collection point without knowing it !!!

 

A rather terse written complaint to the excursion manager brought about a full refund - but that didn't answer any of the obvious questions I raised.

 

What if anybody gone for the last bus and been stranded through no fault of their own ?

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