Day trips from Nice

djmrof,
Go to the search box above and type in "day trips from nice" Then select travel forum and one year or less in your options. You will find lots of discussions that will probably answer your questions. Bonne chance!

I'm not sure going to the mountains is worth it. The coastal towns are very different from each other and very easy to reach by local train. Here are my takes:

Nice. The RS walking tour was good. I was wowed by the Chagall Museum and enjoyed evenings in Nice. There are lots of choices for dining and bars.

Menton is charming. There's an RS walking tour. One of my favorite memories was having an aperol spritz at a sidewalk cafe, with the main road on one side and the beach on the other, just relaxing and people-watching.

Villefranche was my hands-down favorite, tiny with interesting sights, another RS walking tour. A half day is probably enough, and it's close to Nice so you could spend 1/2 one of your Nice days there.

Antibes has a good Picasso museum, a great market (mornings only) and another RS walking tour.

You are right to avoid Cannes at that time. It will be crowded and overrun with temporary structures and scaffolding. Unless you are part of the trade and get to attend, avoid the area. Monaco is later in the cycle so may be less impacted.

I would suggest Villefranche-sur-Mer, Cap Ferrat and the Villa Ephrussi, Eze and Menton. To the west, Antibes is a good choice. You could also go to St. Paul de Vence and the town of Vence but they require a tram/train + bus combination (or Uber). There are some wonderful hill towns beyond those, like Tourettes-sur-Loup and Gourdon, or Mougins. (There are day tours that hit these towns as well). The mountain trains are less about villages than the actual sights, like the Mercantour National Park, although places like Entrevaux are entertaining in their own right.

I agree with Gooster for the suggestions east of Nice. Menton and Eze le Village would make a lovely day trip. Villa Euphrussi de Rothschild on Saint Jean Cap Ferrat and Villefranche sur mer would make another lovely day. Have dinner in one of the lanes or side streets, or on the many choices of water front dining in VSM. I wish I were back there!

If you want to take a train to the mountains, you could try the Chemin de Fer de Provence to Entrevaux. It is an impressive place. Train times are a bit limited, but with the current schedule you could spend the morning + lunch there. This being said, you'll end up spending most of the day on such an excursion; not the most effective use of time IMO.

Train des Merveilles will not run until the end of 2025.

Saint Paul de Vence is special.

St.Paul de Vence is home to Fondation Maeght, a marvel of 20th c. art. There is an outdoor sculpture garden with works by such well- known artists as Picasso and Miro. If memory serves me, there is also a small chapel decorated by Matisse. In town there is a restaurant, where those folks liked to hang out, decorated with some of their work.

The Matisse chapel is in Vence, a bit of a ways north of the old town and up a slight incline.

Thanks everyone. More to ponder.