Villefranche Itinerary

[DGK]

Can you please send me the highlights of your day in Villefranche. We are booked on a private tour with Revelations Sept. 08 and this is our first trip to Europe. They suggested Nice, Saint-Paul, Eze, Monaco and Monte-Carlo. Wondering if we should spend less time driving and more quality time in one area. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and suggestions,

DGK

[Bill S]

Just one person's opinion having been to all those places, except St. Paul: we enjoyed Eze more than any of the other places. While it was neat to ride around Monte Carlo and Nice, we really did not think there was much to see or experience in those places. We really enjoyed walking up and down the "hill" of Eze, especially the amazing garden at the top of hill. We probably spent 2 hours walking around Eze on our own. Hopefully, you will get more responses and probably different opinions. Have fun planning, whatever you choose!

[Keith1010]

I would not go to all of these places because in the end you will spend more time going to and from these locations and less time enjoying these locations. Here's my suggestion. Read about each one and what there is to do there and that will help you narrow this down.

 

I have to differ with the other poster on one item and I do know that many do share the other posters view. But there is quite a lot to do in Monte Carlo as well. My wife and I are avid walkers and we spent literally almost the entire day walking around there.

 

So again, read about each area and then narrow it down to what you want to see. For me I would rather see fewer things and do them well and not spend half the day traveling between locations.

 

Keith

[Wilba]

I agree with Keith, Monaco is probably the best choice & furthermore the train station is 5 minutes walk along the front. They run about every thirty mins. & costs about 7 Euro return from memory. Trenitalia is the website (Google it) Trains are smart, clean & double decked so you get a lovely view of the coast along the way. Nice is about equal distance the other way along the coast so attempting all this in a day would be frantic. By the way is one of the ports Cannes? If so you've seen Nice as they are both similar. Whatever you do enjoy it. Regards

[John&Betty]

Hi DGK,

 

St Paul de Vence is beautiful little walled city, one of the neatest ones I have ever been to. It is only about 30 kilometers from Villafrabce so the travel time is less than an hour and the scenery is well worth the ride. Here's some pictures and other info on the area. http://home.mchsi.com/~jbglenn36/mono.html

 

We were there in 03 and will be back next spring on the Azamara Journey in late April and plan to go to St Paul again. We rented a car in Nice but if you are not comfortable driving in a strange country a private tour might be more relaxing. There is some other info on the area under "Med 2008" in our signature below.

 

John

[Freddy Beach]

Can you please send me the highlights of your day in Villefranche. We are booked on a private tour with Revelations Sept. 08 and this is our first trip to Europe. They suggested Nice, Saint-Paul, Eze, Monaco and Monte-Carlo. Wondering if we should spend less time driving and more quality time in one area. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and suggestions,

DGK

 

In October, we started in Cannes and went Nice - Monte Carlo - Eze. Nice is along a nice beach, has a great flower market (that closes at noon) and generally is a pleasant stop. I wanted to go to Monte Carlo to see the Formula 1 race circuit and the cars; for me, that makes this stop worth it. We also went into the Casino (mostly for a bathroom break). I agree Eze is a highlight and should be a place to spend some time.

 

Yes, the driving takes time but the scenery is beautiful along the way and if your guide is good, you'll get some interesting information along the way.

 

The traffic can be crazy in some areas; you may want to consider your schedule and go to the furthest place first and work your way back. It is nice to be working your way closer to the ship as sailing time approaches!

[Fuzzy55]

For our Revelation Tour, we went to Monaco, St. Paul de Venice, Nice and then Eze. After having been to St. Paul de Venice, Eze was a big letdown. We had about 1 1/2 hours at St. Paul de Venice and it was very enjoyable walking thru the artist colony. You will have time to do all of them and not be rushed. Eze is close to the port and we could have stayed longer there, but didn't care to. There were 8 in our group and we all felt the same way. We were not rushed for any of the locations. I think we were in Monaco for an hour. We were on the Voyager and were only at the port from 11 am to 7 pm.

 

Bev

[Sammy1]

We did the tour with Revelation, as you've outlined, two years ago, with the addition of Cannes. Although there was a lot of driving between these places, we had lots of time to explore each. We're going beck to Villefranche next spring on another cruise, and have hired Revelation again (they are excellent!), but have substituted Cannes and Monaco with two other interesting villages. We highly recommend Revelation Tours - Michel was the best tour guide we've ever had.

[rsquare]

I agree with Keith, Monaco is probably the best choice & furthermore the train station is 5 minutes walk along the front. They run about every thirty mins. & costs about 7 Euro return from memory. Trenitalia is the website (Google it) Trains are smart, clean & double decked so you get a lovely view of the coast along the way. Nice is about equal distance the other way along the coast so attempting all this in a day would be frantic. By the way is one of the ports Cannes? If so you've seen Nice as they are both similar. Whatever you do enjoy it. Regards

 

Trains from Villefranche to Monaco or Nice are SNCF, the French railroad; Trenitalia is the Italian railroad. If you are in Villefranche on a Sunday, there is a fun flea market next to the Hotel Welcome.

[janazaz]

We did Revelation Tours also with the same itinerary as the OP and didn't feel rushed at all. The only place I would've skipped is the flower market. I preferred to see the countryside.

 

Eze was our favorite stop of all and I felt like we could've stayed longer in this area. St. Paul was fabulous, don't miss Monte Carlo either. For first time visitors I wouldn't have changed much at all. Go with their tour suggestions, see it in its granduer and then scale back on your options when you return again and again.

[Wilba]

Trains from Villefranche to Monaco or Nice are SNCF, the French railroad; Trenitalia is the Italian railroad. If you are in Villefranche on a Sunday, there is a fun flea market next to the Hotel Welcome.

Sorry Wrong country Wrong train. You're quite correct.SNCF Regards

[texancruzer]

We just got back..... we did Nice, Eze, Monaco/Monte Carlo tour with the ships excursions. We normally do not like to do the ship excursions but we booked this cruise very late and the ports toward the end of the cruise I just plain ran out of time for organizing a private tour. But we were pleasantly surprised and enjoyed our day ALOT.

 

We actually got to see the French president in Nice (we were standing 4 feet away from him) as well as the promenade and a quaint Christmas market. Eze was definately my favorite as this is just a special little place. Walked and shopped all up and down the village and had a wonderful lunch there provided by the tour at the White Horse restaurant. Then to Monaco (short tour and then time on our own) and really enjoyed the palace and the Jacques Cousteau museum. Monte Carlo was pretty nice also and we simply sat at an outside table at the Cafe de Paris right outside the casino and people watched. Had coffee and a crepe. Then walked around a bit before heading back to our bus.

 

We never felt rushed. Felt like we got a good "feel" for each place. I think that since you will be on a private tour you will have plenty of time in each place. Only you can decide how immersed you wish to become in each and this is easily decided since you have control over your time.

 

Whatever you decide - do not miss Eze.

[DGK]

Wow, thank you everyone for all your suggestions. Too many wonderful places to see in such little time. I appreciate everyone taking the time to pass their experiences on.

DGK

[Steph27]

DGK: We used Michel with Revelation Tours last month. We did Mont Boron, viewed Nice from above, then went to St. Paul de Vence, Monaco (Rock) and Monte Carlo. St. Paul was very nice but as it was off season in November the stores were not in rush to open. Toward the end of our tour we went to Cap Ferrat and walked the Promenade Maurice Rouvier from the Royal Riviera Hotel to the yatching harbor of St. Jean. The red tarmac walkway is flat and is a very pleasant and beautiful stroll along the water. It is quite popular and you will see lots of people going both directions. You pass the the pretty pink flower covered former home of David Niven and before that, Charlie Chaplin. This was my favorite part of the day. When we reached the end of the path (only 1 km), Michel picked us up and drove us to Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild. Toured the first floor of the house and the fabulous gardens. We did not go to Nice or Eze. I would definitely go back to St. Paul but probably not Monte Carlo. Michel by the way was late to pick us up by 10 minutes which was not a big deal but we did start to worry. His car was parked at the port entrance with our name on it if we had thought to look! I think he was having his breakfast. Michel does a lot of talking. It is pretty much non-stop. He is a wealth of information on the history of France and Italy. However it did get to be a bit much after a while. His timing was perfect and he got us back to Villefranche right at our requested time.

[DGK]

Thanks Steph 27, Was your tour 8 hours and what time did you start please ?

DGK

[Steph27]

DGK, We were supposed to start at 8:30am for our 8 hour tour but as I mentioned his van was there but he did not show up until 8:45am. The van was very comfortable for the 4 of us. I hope you have a great trip.

[Wicked w]

We just came back from the Millenium cruise and Villefranche. We took the bus from Villefranche and went to the Nice bus stop and transferred to the bus to Eze. After a few hours we returned to Old Nice and toured for a while there. We finished by taking the bus back to Villefranche with a little time to enjoy a little walking and seaside cafe time before taking the tender back. It was a most relaxing day. I agree with the previous posts, select a couple of locations and enjoy them. You cannot do it all in a day.

[Lsimon]

We had a big day planned initially, then decided that it would be too much. We just got off the ship and walked around Villefranche for a while - an interesting place itself! Then we took a cab ride to Eze - I think it was around 235 or 30 euros each way for the four of us. We loved Eze and spent time going through the shops and had a drink at the Chateau Eze - expensive but what a wonderful view! I love to have lunch there some time.

 

We returned early afternoon and had a nice leisurely lunch at one of the cafes along the shore in Villefrance. Had a great relaxing day.

[mad4mky]

I find it interesting how different everyone views each place.

 

I would pass on Eze. To me--this was a giant tourist trap. I mean it was 'quaint'--but it was just little boutiques with overpriced goods in an old fortress town.

 

Monaco/Monte Carlo is not to be missed! What an amazing place. So much luxury and $$$.:eek:

My husband won in the Grand Casino--which made it even more fun. But, the place is just amazing.

 

I enjoyed Nice. I found it fun to walk in the marketplace and the old streets of the town. I enjoyed watching the french buy their fresh fruits and cheeses as they go about their business.

 

Eze to me seemed more of a waste of time...I would have rather spent time in Villefranche than Eze. I'd rather see how the french really live vs. being forced to look around a tourist trap.

But, everyone is different...:)

[ragbag1]

Wow, thank you everyone for all your suggestions. Too many wonderful places to see in such little time. I appreciate everyone taking the time to pass their experiences on.

DGK

On this thread I see no mention yet of guide Sylvie Di Cristo. We were on the Century in October and she took 8 of us in a van on a tour of Nice, (Flower market and Russian Orthodox Cathedral), Eze (for lunch), Monte Carlo, and stop-offs at various places en route for amazing views. We voted to leave out St Paul de Vence, as it would have meant too much additional driving for us to enjoy a casual day. No one else in the van was interested but she took two of us to the Fragonard perfumery in Eze where we solved many Christmas presents!:p

Sylvie is a very professional and knowledgeable guide, who set a standard never equaled in later ports, where most so-called "guides" were little more than drivers: "This is the Duomo. 5 Euros entrance fee. See you back at the van in 45 minutes"!

Sylvie's web site is www.azur-guides.net

Happy travels,

Anthony