Advice for St Paul de Vence and Antibes DIY from Cannes

[jchristi]

Hi, We are on the the NCL Epic and will port in Cannes on September 1st. The port hours are 8-6. Having done several guided tours earlier in the cruise, we would like to enjoy this port on our own. What is the best way to see the St Paul de Vence and Antibes? Thinking we should go to Saint Paul first as it is the farthest away then work our way back through Antibes. Any advice is appreciated.

 

Thank you!

[4cats4me]

We used So Nice Tours for our transport They picked the four of us up promptly at 9:00 and drove us directly to Nice before the flower market closed and then to Vence, followed by Antibes. We looked into trying to get to Vence ourselves and too much time would have been wasted on waiting for the bus. Our driver was so flexible and we chose exactly what we wanted to do

Make sure to tender as early as you can as not to lose valuable time. We LOVED Vence!

 

 

 

 

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[Hlitner]

Funny thing....but we have often gone to both St Paul de Vence and Antibes on the same port day....from Cannes and Monte Carlo. How? With our rental car :). It takes about 45 min to get to St Paul de Vence from Cannes (if you use the Autostrade). From St Paul de Vence to Antibes is a relatively easy drive...and then back to Cannes. By the way, if you do have a car...you might consider adding the Maeght Fondation to your St Paul de Vence visit. A must stop for art lovers.

 

Hank

[jchristi]

Funny thing....but we have often gone to both St Paul de Vence and Antibes on the same port day....from Cannes and Monte Carlo. How? With our rental car :). It takes about 45 min to get to St Paul de Vence from Cannes (if you use the Autostrade). From St Paul de Vence to Antibes is a relatively easy drive...and then back to Cannes. By the way, if you do have a car...you might consider adding the Maeght Fondation to your St Paul de Vence visit. A must stop for art lovers.

 

Hank

 

 

Can you recommend a rental company?

[lamchops]

If you want to see both I would do as Hank and rent a car. I would not use public transit for St. Paul de Vence as it takes almost a hour from Nice.

If you don't want to rent a car, I would substitute SPV with Nice. A return train ticket from Cannes to Nice will allow a stop in Antibes. I think it cost just over $8eu each if I remember correctly.

[Hlitner]

Can you recommend a rental company?

 

There have been posts (from others) about a local rental car company with an office relatively close to the tender port. We do not recall the name...and would not recommend an agency with whom we have had no personal dealings...but perhaps others will jump in with that info and advice.

 

DW and I will rent from one of the majors (Avis, Hertz, Budget, Sixt, Europcar)....all whom are located at some distance (about a 20-25 min walk) from the tender pier. We normally get an early tender (we have priority on most cruise lines) and simply walk (we both love to walk). Others will try to get a taxi...but this is difficult in the morning...since the few taxis that show-up will want a longer haul. I have no loyalty to rental car companies and simply choose based on price, location, and hours of operation (always check hours and days open.....in Europe).

 

Just a "heads up" about renting a car. Make sure you plan on getting back to Cannes a bit early (we like at least 1 1/2 hours prior to the last tender) to give yourself a good margin of error...and some time to stroll through Cannes on your way back to the tender pier (or the rental car agency can call you a taxi). Afternoon traffic can be nasty in and around Cannes so this is why we like to allow an extra margin of time. If you are driving directly to St Paul de Vence, keep in mind that many shops do not even open until around 10am. So we like to be on our way (in our car) by around 9:30. Once knew a cruiser who managed to get a car at 8am....and found that nothing was open (except a few cafes).

 

Hank

[marazul]

We used So Nice Tours for our transport They picked the four of us up promptly at 9:00 and drove us directly to Nice before the flower market closed and then to Vence, followed by Antibes. We looked into trying to get to Vence ourselves and too much time would have been wasted on waiting for the bus. Our driver was so flexible and we chose exactly what we wanted to do

Make sure to tender as early as you can as not to lose valuable time. We LOVED Vence!

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Did you mean St Paul-de-Vence or Vence? Many tourists overlook Vence which is about 15 minutes up the hill from St Paul. Vence still has the medieval city complete with chateau and intact ramparts. It also has the Matisse Chapel (Rosary Chapel) which is a modern art masterpiece.

http://www.vence-tourisme.com/en

 

If you are driving, you should also consider visiting Tourrettes-sur-Loup, 10 minutes West of Vence. It is another beautiful medieval village.

http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/alpmarit/tourtlou/tourtlou.htm

 

There are many wonderful places in the area besides the obvious, like St Paul and Antibes.