My husband and I will be staying in Cinque Terra, Italy in July. He would very much like to put his feet in France for a day trip after our time in Cinque Terra. Any suggestions for places to stay or things to do over the border in France? It looks like Monte Carlo, or Nice?
Posted by
Napa, CA
3580 posts
Will you go round trip on the same day from Genova? By train it takes many hours, maybe 4-5 each way. In Nice walk downhill and visit the Old Town for shopping and lunch. Stroll the promenade. Monte Carlo isn't technically in France, so you need to travel at least to the next town to get your feet in France.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33821 posts
4 or 5 hours each way is a bit pessimistic.
It can take some time on all regionales but somewhat faster on the through trains, and nearly as fast on the InterCity with a change at Ventimiglia.
The through train leaves Genova Piazza Principe (from Milano) at 08:56, making only 8 stops before the first French town, Menton at 11:26. That's only 2 and a half hours, and Menton is most definitely France. The town is famous for its lemons, and its flowers (but not as famous as San Remo, Italy through which the train passes (but you can see nothing from the train as you do) at 10:48.
Monaco is 8 minutes further down the line, and is not France. It has all sorts of things to see including one of the best aquariums in the world, a McDonalds with a great view of the petit harbour, an exotic garden, a Japanese garden, a rose garden named for the Princess, so much that we return nearly annually and still have plenty to see. You can find bling, but it is not all bling.
Nice is 13 minutes further by express train or just a few more by stopping train.
We really like Villefranche sur Mer, Eze (both of them), Beaulieu sur Mer, all on the coastline between Monaco and Nice. A walk around the peninsula of Cap Ferrat is exquisite.
It would be a shame to only be there a few hours and leave so much behind. Can you swing a night or two?
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
I don't think this question is much different from your previous thread and am not sure what has changed. Are you actually planning to stay overnight in Genova or another town north of the Cinque Terre, after leaving CT? If you'll be traveling straight from CT, as I understood earlier, then of course that adds a bit to the travel time.