Cannes to Monte Carlo and stops along way

[DRedmond]

Our group of 6 rented a car for our day in the French Riviera.  A couple of people want to go to the Jacques Cousteau Ocean Aquarium so we will be making that a stop. I am figuring those not interested will be close to other sites in Monte Carlo and we can do that while the others are in the Aquarium. Are there sites nearby?  Also, we were hoping to make a stop on the way in. What is best for views and maybe a quick lunch?  Also about how long of a drive is this and is there a scenic route we should take?  Thanks for your help

[marazul]

@DRedmond

Monaco is divided in three pats.  Old town Monaco, Montecarlo and La Condamine where the port is, in between.  The Oceanographic museum is in old town Monaco.  There is much to see there: the Prince's Palace, the Cathedral are within a short walking distance from the museum.  Montecarlo where the Casino and famous hotels are is a little distance away.  It is hard to get around Monaco.  I would suggest parking in one of the garages accessible at the port and go to the Museum.  There is a Petit-Train stop nearby.  monacotours.mc/en  This is a tourist train that will take around to all the sites.  You might want to look at youtube videos of the town to give you an idea.

 

The fast route between Cannes and Monaco is by the Autoroute (motorway) and it takes less than one hour.  The scenic route is driving along the shore to Nice and then taking the Moyenne Corniche road on to Monaco.  This takes about 1.5 hours.  The Moyenne Corniche is one of the most famous and scenic drives in the world.  As an added attraction, the village of Eze is half way along that road.  This is a beautiful medieval "perched" village with spectacular views and quite a few restaurants from 3-stars to  cafes.  It is a great place to stop.  

 

My choice would be driving to Monaco along the scenic route and returning by the autoroute.  The best views from the car are driving the Corniche in that direction.  Again, youtube can be your friend to give you an idea of what you will see.  Also, search this forum.  Several of us have posted extensively about driving in the Riviera.

  

[DRedmond]

6 hours ago, marazul said:

@DRedmond

Monaco is divided in three pats.  Old town Monaco, Montecarlo and La Condamine where the port is, in between.  The Oceanographic museum is in old town Monaco.  There is much to see there: the Prince's Palace, the Cathedral are within a short walking distance from the museum.  Montecarlo where the Casino and famous hotels are is a little distance away.  It is hard to get around Monaco.  I would suggest parking in one of the garages accessible at the port and go to the Museum.  There is a Petit-Train stop nearby.  monacotours.mc/en  This is a tourist train that will take around to all the sites.  You might want to look at youtube videos of the town to give you an idea.

 

The fast route between Cannes and Monaco is by the Autoroute (motorway) and it takes less than one hour.  The scenic route is driving along the shore to Nice and then taking the Moyenne Corniche road on to Monaco.  This takes about 1.5 hours.  The Moyenne Corniche is one of the most famous and scenic drives in the world.  As an added attraction, the village of Eze is half way along that road.  This is a beautiful medieval "perched" village with spectacular views and quite a few restaurants from 3-stars to  cafes.  It is a great place to stop.  

 

My choice would be driving to Monaco along the scenic route and returning by the autoroute.  The best views from the car are driving the Corniche in that direction.  Again, youtube can be your friend to give you an idea of what you will see.  Also, search this forum.  Several of us have posted extensively about driving in the Riviera.

  

Thank you so much for all the great advice.  It was extremely helpful!  

[GreenFamily]

On 1/11/2024 at 12:45 PM, DRedmond said:

Our group of 6 rented a car for our day in the French Riviera.  A couple of people want to go to the Jacques Cousteau Ocean Aquarium so we will be making that a stop. I am figuring those not interested will be close to other sites in Monte Carlo and we can do that while the others are in the Aquarium. Are there sites nearby?  Also, we were hoping to make a stop on the way in. What is best for views and maybe a quick lunch?  Also about how long of a drive is this and is there a scenic route we should take?  Thanks for your help

Parking des Pecheurs near the Oceanographic museum has elevators/escalators to the top level where you can access the palace, cathedral, and old town. The Oceanographic museum also has an elevator. 
 

There is rush hour traffic into Monaco before 9:00 and after 4:00. 
 

La Turbie is known for its great views of Monaco, but scary drive. Most cruise passengers flock to Eze for its amazing views, although I would only go if it’s before 10:00 am. 
 

It’s hard to find a good restaurant in these tourist areas. If you are driving from Cannes, maybe you can stop in Antibes on the way for lunch. 

[DRedmond]

11 hours ago, GreenFamily said:

Parking des Pecheurs near the Oceanographic museum has elevators/escalators to the top level where you can access the palace, cathedral, and old town. The Oceanographic museum also has an elevator. 
 

There is rush hour traffic into Monaco before 9:00 and after 4:00. 
 

La Turbie is known for its great views of Monaco, but scary drive. Most cruise passengers flock to Eze for its amazing views, although I would only go if it’s before 10:00 am. 
 

It’s hard to find a good restaurant in these tourist areas. If you are driving from Cannes, maybe you can stop in Antibes on the way for lunch. 

Thank you so much!  This is all so helpful!

[Hlitner]

If driving between Cannes and Monte Carlo, the scenic route along the coast will also give you a chance to stop in Antibes (they have a nice indoor market near the small harbor/marina).  Another option is to head somewhat inland to St Paul de Vence (a long time personal favorite) which is a medieval walled town full of shops and art galleries.  Not far from St Paul de Vence is the Maeght  Foundation, which is a fascinating art museum for those interested in contemporary art (think Miro).

 

Hank

[marazul]

@DRedmond

A few comments on @GreenFamily  post.

Good advice on parking in Monaco. You will not be there before 9 and you will be out of there before 4. 

La Turbie refers to the squiggly road down the cliffs that you see in movies. (It is also a small town with an ancient Roman monument.) It connects the Upper Corniche and Autoroute's La Turbie exit to Monaco.  If you go over by the Middle Corniche, you do not get on it. 

 

For the return, there is a new autoroute connector (A500) that you can take from (or to) Monaco and bypasses that road.  

 

Antibes is one of my favorite towns (we used to live just outside).  However, whether you visit it before or after Monaco, you are likely to miss lunch.

 

Here is a route map from cannes to Monaco staying on the shore road past Antibes. You can choose to go to Vieil Antibes and park in Port Vauban to see the mega yachts and the old town. From there follow the "Bord de Mer" signs to keep you on the shore road through Nice.  At the end of the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, follow the signs for the Moyenne Corniche.  Eze is on the road:  https://shorturl.at/lADHY

 

For your return trip, you have three options. The Basse (Lower) Corniche along the shore to Beaulieu, Villefranche and Nice, the Haute Corniche (Upper Corniche) or the A8 Autoroute.

Edited January 15 by marazul

[DRedmond]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

If driving between Cannes and Monte Carlo, the scenic route along the coast will also give you a chance to stop in Antibes (they have a nice indoor market near the small harbor/marina).  Another option is to head somewhat inland to St Paul de Vence (a long time personal favorite) which is a medieval walled town full of shops and art galleries.  Not far from St Paul de Vence is the Maeght  Foundation, which is a fascinating art museum for those interested in contemporary art (think Miro).

 

Hank

Thanks for the options!  Its appreciated.

[DRedmond]

28 minutes ago, marazul said:

@DRedmond

A few comments on @GreenFamily  post.

Good advice on parking in Monaco. You will not be there before 9 and you will be out of there before 4. 

La Turbie refers to the squiggly road down the cliffs that you see in movies. (It is also a small town with an ancient Roman monument.) It connects the Upper Corniche and Autoroute's La Turbie exit to Monaco.  If you go over by the Middle Corniche, you do not get on it. 

 

For the return, there is a new autoroute connector (A500) that you can take from (or to) Monaco and bypasses that road.  

 

Antibes is one of my favorite towns (we used to live just outside).  However, whether you visit it before or after Monaco, you are likely to miss lunch.

 

Here is a route map from cannes to Monaco staying on the shore road past Antibes. You can choose to go to Vieil Antibes and park in Port Vauban to see the mega yachts and the old town. From there follow the "Bord de Mer" signs to keep you on the shore road through Nice.  At the end of the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, follow the signs for the Moyenne Corniche.  Eze is on the road:  https://shorturl.at/lADHY

 

For your return trip, you have three options. The Basse (Lower) Corniche along the shore to Beaulieu, Villefranche and Nice, the Haute Corniche (Upper Corniche) or the A8 Autoroute.

Thanks so much for the detailed info. It is extremely helpful!

[Hlitner]

7 hours ago, DRedmond said:

Thanks for the options!  Its appreciated.

I should emphasize that when you use the more interesting local roads, along and near the coast, the experience is more interesting, but the traffic can be horrendous.  So it is a tradeoff between time and fun.  If one decides to drive back to Cannes along the coastal roads, it is important to build in lots of extra time in case of traffic jams/stoppages.  

 

Also keep in mind that there is a decent regional train line (TER) that spans the coast from Cannes to Monte Carlo with stops in places like Cannes and Nice.  For those of us who do our own thing, it is a popular option.  There is also a pretty decent bus line that spans the coast (there are also local buses).  One could make a case to take the train from Cannes to Monte Carlo, spend some time in that city, than take the bus over to Nice, and later take the train from Nice back to Cannes (one could stop in Antibes if there was enough time).  I am more of a rental car guy, but the trains/buses can work with some planning.

 

Hank

[GreenFamily]

Another note: The elevators and escalators might be hard to find. If you get confused, ask for help. 

[D&N]

I usually just stick to the Cunard boards, but thought I'd have a quick look here.

I have to say that I find most of you incredibly adventurous and optimistic!

 

We live halfway between Cannes and Nice. We visited Monaco in January. Including a 20 minute walk to the station (similar to port to station in Cannes), and the train running 12 minutes late, it took 1h30 to get to Monaco. We visited a men's outfitters to see if they had dress shirts I'd bought before in their sale. My wife tried on a pair of shoes to check she could walk in them in another shop. We went for a coffee and pastry. 1h40 later we were back at the station. By the time we waited for a train it took 37 minutes to get to Nice. Checked another branch of the men's outfitter leaving empty handed again, visited a few other stores to look at leather handbags in sales and headed for tram after about an hour. Took a tram to outskirts of Nice and transferred to bus, as that drops us nearer house than the train. Got home just over an hour later. So 6 shops and a coffee in 2 cities took over 6 hours. And we didn't buy anything other than the coffee/pastries. The coffee/hot chocolate and pastries were lovely.

 

Some things to note:

Trains can be disrupted for all sorts of things. People fall on tracks, illegal immigrants try to travel on roof from Italy and get grilled to top of train, rock falls, lineside fires, and various other things under control of the train operators.

 

Until a bit over 4 years ago you could get a bus from Cannes to Nice and then change to another from Nice to Monaco and Menton. Once the trams were fully operational they stopped allowing regional buses into Nice. You need to get a bus to an interchange west of Nice, then a tram, then find the bus stop for the bus heading to Monaco (the terminus for that is not where the tram stops).

 

The coastal road between Antibes and Villeneuve Loubet is closed to traffic and handed over to cyclists and pedestrians on the 1st Sunday of every month. The coastal road at Juan-Les-Pins is often closed at the same time. The coastal road at Cagnes-Sur-Mer closes on a variety of Sunday mornings between April and November for triathlons, marathons, fun days etc.

 

Then there's Ironman in Nice, all sorts of cycle races, taxi drivers, farmers and others carrying out snail operations on motorways and blocking tollbooths.

 

Having said all that we wouldn't live anywhere else, but we walk almost everywhere.

I wish you all the best of luck!