Driving tips in French Riviera

Q1.

Parking in Nice is awful and I will never do it again. As an annual visitor I never drive to Nice. If you think that cars in Rome get knocked about you haven't seen the ones in Nice. Really. It is rare to walk down a street and not see several cars with dents on the front, rear and sides. There are never enough places to park so people park "by braille". The cars suffer. Some locals are a bit loose with traffic rules.

I always rely on buses and trains, and the pretty neat tram, in Nice.

Monaco is easy, plenty of car parks. None on the street, always underground or multi-storey. First hour is free, further hours are not inexpensive. Spaces are indeed small and tight.

Monaco has a very good and inexpensive bus system, and the train station is ultramodern. There's even an electric boat across the harbour which is run as a bus, but it won't be much fun in the middle of the winter.

The old town and market areas of Nice are compact. Monaco is small and walkable (and fun to play the escalators, travelators, and lifts and find your way around on foot.

Q2.

I don't know of any free parking in Nice. Your hotel may have a car park or under their hotel. It won't be free. Or cheap.

Villefranche sur Mer has very difficult driving near the old town. It is hilly and extremely narrow. If you are used to driving on the left you may find it challenging.

Cap Ferrat has a good bus service, but if you are determined to drive you will find a few roadside spaces. Be sure to leave room for the bus, and don't park where prohibited.

Q3.

Never been successful parking the car there. Although I have tried 3 times over the years. I'm not sure it is worth it.

Q4.

Extremely.

I would take the train to Menton. The bus also goes.

Q5.

I'd take the train.

Q6.

I think they are all different. Using the logic of "they all offer old town, sandy beaches and yacht ports more or less" then every town in France is identical because they all have a Carrefour Market and a Casino Market. Don't count on sandy beaches - they are almost all sharp gravel and you will need water shoes to walk on them. And in the middle of winter, who goes to the beach?

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Now my question back - what is this fascination with driving to and from and within all these places? There is such great public transportation - trains, trams, and buses - which are comfortable, fast, frequent, convenient and cheap that take you everywhere with no hassle. The car is like carrying around a boat anchor all day.

I drive a lot. A great deal. I drive from my home in England to different parts of Europe every year, many times. I do it so much that I have a pass for the French Autoroutes, and frequent traveler privileges under the Eurotunnel. I have so many Swiss and Austrian Vignettes on my windscreen the car looks like it has measles.

I don't drive on the Cote d'Azur.

My advise to you is simply DON'T.

Don't drive to visit these spots. Don't try to find parking. Just don't.
Use the excellent (and cheap!) public transportation network instead. Seriously.

Rent your car when you're ready to leave the area. Pick it up and just start heading west.

Regarding Question 3 about La Turbie, we drove there this past July (not sure what impact December would bring) and it was a bit congested and confusing, but once we arrived at the street with the entrance to the Trophée des Alpes (our reason for going), we kept driving another couple-hundred yards, made a sharp hairpin curve to the left, and followed the road downhill to parking spaces near the fire station. Walking back up that roadway, we got to the entrance to the park where the Trophée is located.

Watch out for the low-lying bollards at intersections when you're turning. Good way to ding up your hub caps and other lower portions of your car.

Just to amplify what the others are saying, in this area the bus fares are very low (to encourage people not to drive) - €1.50 for single tickets good for the whole region, and with day passes, week passes, and ten-trip passes available that cut the cost even more (10 trips for €10). Parking alone will cost substantialy more than that, and then there's car rental, gas, and the biggest expense of all - aggravation and stress.

Buses from Nice to Villefranche, Monaco, and Menton (as well as the entrance to Cap Ferrat, but not the Cap itself) run four times an hour; last bus is around 8:30 PM. Trains run twice an hour; they cost a bit more than buses (still under €7 per ride) and are about twice as fast; last train is around 11:30 PM. Either bus or train works great for these places - not sure why anyone would want to drive.

For Nice to Cap Ferrat, take bus 81, which runs 2-3 times an hour. Schedule here: http://www.lignesdazur.com/ftp/lignes_FR/15%2009%2014%20Ligne%2081%20%20PA.pdf

I found the local Monaco buses (which are on a different system from the buses between Nice and Monaco) very helpful; Monaco may be small, but it's hilly. There's a separate day pass for these buses, for the cost of about 3 rides (don't know the current prices) - I sure got my money's worth from it. Particularly you're going to the Jardin Exotique or the car exhibit in Fontvieille, the buses are great.

Buses from Nice to La Turbie are much more limited (5-6 a day), so, that is indeed more difficult without a car, but certainly doable (I did it). In April the year I went (don't have it in front of me), it was foggy at La Turbie, but just before I had to run to get my bus, the fog lifted parted and I got great pictures of Monaco below. No idea of December weather.

Schedule for the 116 bus from Nice to La Turbie: https://www.departement06.fr/documents/Import/servir-les-habitants/116.pdf

Here's another schedule for the 116, which you may find more readable: https://www.departement06.fr/documents/A-votre-service/Deplacements/transports-en-commun/paillons/cg06-transports_lignes_paillon_Peille.pdf