Cannes to Monaco

I went to Monaco on the train. from Nice. You can do your own tour on foot.
Cannes has a train station on the same line as Nice
It is 1 hour and 10 minutes from Cannes on the train to Monte Carlo

Many of us who have visited Monaco didn’t stay there too long. I highly recommend looking at what else the French Riviera offers that interests you, so you could cover two activities during that time. For instance, I combined my train trip from Nice to Menton to see the beautiful Italian architecture neighborhood with a quick stop at Monaco on the way back. Eve or other stops might interest you.

Ugh, spell check! That was supposed to be “Eze “

Thanks for the info. This is our first visit to Europe, and all of the information is getting pretty overwhelming. Coming in on a cruise ship causes time limitations on what we can do. We get concerned about getting back to the port timely.

We enjoyed Monaco and took the bus #100 from Nice although the train direct from Cannes would be fine also. The bus ride along the sea was beautiful. In Monaco we got off at the Place d'Armes bus stop and walked up to the Prince's Palace. There is a gorgeous view of Monaco's port on the way up. You can buy a combo ticket to the Palace and the Oceanography Museum which were both interesting. We had lunch at the Oceanography rooftop cafe. The cathedral where Princess Grace and Prince Rainier are buried is across the street from the Oceanography Museum. You can walk up stairs across from the aquarium and a bit to the right and up to stops for buses #1 and #2 which run to the port, the casino, and the train station. Stop at Place du Casino to see the Casino, Hotel de Paris, and Cafe de Paris. Allow plenty of time to return to Cannes to meet your ship. Have a great time!

I will second others who say that Monaco is pretty disappointing. It’s extremely hilly, it was super hot in the summer, very crowded and had this bizarre tourist vibe. I don’t know how to explain it except that we just felt like we were walking through tons of crowds and not really doing anything but sweating.

Also I know that the ships excursions are expensive but that is one location that I would encourage you to take one. Most ships have to tender in Cannes and priority is given to those who are booked excursions to get off first. Especially on a ship as large as the Epic, you may be waiting up to two hours to even be allowed off the ship. Also, the traffic around Cannes was atrocious and the traffic coming back from Monaco was atrocious. Our shore excursion got back over an hour late so I was super glad we had booked the official ship one. (Our guide told us the traffic is almost always awful.) We also did Eze on the tour and weren’t hugely keen on it either. The Cannes port was our least favorite of our entire Mediterranean cruise. If I had it to do again, I would just stay near the ship and go to the beach instead of doing the hot, crazy, and rushed excursion that we did. The French Riviera was so hot. It was way hotter than Rome and there is basically no shade anywhere, especially in Monaco. I am a Georgian so I am used to hot and humid weather. My kids luckily had those battery operated fans or they would’ve had total meltdowns.

You can reach Monaco quite easy by train from Cannes; you will avoid any of the traffic experienced by the buses or cars. The train station is convenient to the center. You can also get to Antibes and Nice quite easily as well (you can stop on the same ticket, btw). The weather in September should be excellent.

Just stick to what you wanted; go to Monte Carl, Monaco by train stay 2-4 hours and back.

If this is your first trip to Europe, there’s nothing wrong with spending it in Cannes. There is an old fort on top of the hill with a museum, a glamorous shopping area with shops that outfit yachts for the newly super-rich with gold fixtures. One local restaurant is the best for seafood: Chez Brun. You can see the Festival building, the Cannes casino. There’s enough for a day. If you want to see an older, charming town, just catch local transportation to lovely Antibes right next door with its market, winding streets, and a Picasso museum. You don’t have to go all the way to Monaco to see the Riviera.

I'm on the love Monaco side of the coin. Of course there are tourists, the whole Riviera has them - that's why it was developed - but I love the little local touches in Monaco.

I love seeing the white (perfectly pressed) uniforms of the traffic police. I really love the hilliness and what the predominantly older population have done to overcome the hills. If you look for them there are public escalators and lifts (elevators) hidden in all sorts of great places. It is like a multi-level human sized jigsaw/jenga puzzle. I love seeing how I can get from place A to place B the way the locals do. The views are pretty good too, and the Japanese Garden (who would look for one on a carpark?) and the Rose Garden isn't bad either. Even the two storey McDonalds has incredible views under the Rocher to the little harbour with boats bobbing up and down.

The Jardin Exotique is pretty incredible, with all sorts of cactus in all sorts of exotic settings, and I prefer it to the one at Eze. Much easier to get to, too. If you don't want to walk (it isn't far) the buses in Monaco are frequent, cheap and easy.

FYI - I've never been in the Casino. I do get gelato at Sainte Dévote though. I'm a particular fan of Monaco Grand Prix. Even if you aren't, the setting of the church at Sainte Dévote is pretty good too. It is on a fun climb up into Monaco station, but if you don't want to make the climb up from the harbour there is a hidden tunnel with escalators right up to the station platform.

We did the same cruise on the Epic a few years ago. We found enough to do to stay in Cannes for the day. The morning was spent wandering the Old Town and then we took a ferry for a 15 minute trip to Ile Sainte-Marguerite. You can kill a couple of hours there wandering through some hiking trails. As well it's got an old Spanish Fort with a small museum. The fort is reported to be where the real Man in the Iron Mask was imprisoned.

We didn't go to Monanco on this trip but the train ride is easy. On another trip we visited Monaco from Nice. Be warned that on cruise ship days the trains and train station at Monaco is a zoo. Give yourself plenty of time to get back in case your first train is full. I think Monaco is well worth a visit and can take you the entire day.

Lots of good info. I really appreciate all of your input.

I've seen 10-minute waits to use ticket-vending machines at Nice Ville (which has a lot of them). Allow time for a hold-up a that step when you plan what time you need to head back toward Cannes.

If you are taking the train, definitely buy a round trip ticket at the outset so you don't have buy one for the return.

In addition to Nigel's list of Monaco sights, I liked the Prince's car collection (they are emphatic that it's not a "museum") and the Princess Grace Rose Garden. A day pass for Monaco local buses is €5.50 and I got a lot of use out it; Monaco may be small, but it's hilly and the various areas are separated by lots of water, so walking between sights is not always fast or easy. A single bus ticket is now €2 bought on the bus or €1.50 bought beforehand from a machine (per the bus company's website).