My husband and I will arrive at the Nice airport on Thursday, Sept. 5 around 1:00. We are staying for three nights at the Welcome Hotel in Villefranche-Our-Mer. I have researched what we want to see quite a bit already and I have a tentative itinerary.
Arrival Day: By the time we go through customs at the airport, take the train to Villefranche, walk to hotel, check in, take showers, etc. we figure that we will just enjoy the village of Villefranche-Our-Mer and our hotel area after the long flight.
Friday, September 6: Take the train to Monaco (after 9:00 rush hour), walk to see the sights, be at the Prince's Palace for the Changing of the Guard. We would leave Monaco by early to mid afternoon for Nice to explore the Promenade and the sights in that area. I created a walking tour of the churches, Old Town, Castle Hill etc. We would spend the rest of the day and evening there until we were worn out!
Saturday, Sept. 7: Go to Eze Village fairly early that morning to see the gardens, views, and explore the village. From there, take transportation to Villa Ephrussi to tour the gardens/ villa. We may walk back to our hotel via Promenade des Marininieres if we have the energy.
So that is the basic plan so that we at least have a plan! The main issue I have questions about is transportation. I have familiarized myself with the trains, buses and it seems that trying to catch buses 81 or 82 could add a lot of time to the day. Does anyone have experience with using Uber in this area and would that be a good option for going from our hotel to Eze Village and from Eze Village to the Villa Ephrussi? My other question is whether or not I am being overly ambitious in what we are trying to cover. We are not really into art museums, we like beautiful scenery, gardens, castles, fortresses, churches because we feel we see enough art and history through those for our interests. And we enjoy just the ambiance of walking whatever town or city we are in, window shopping, cafes. Thanks for all opinions and advice.
Posted by
Nice, France & San Francisco
713 posts
People have reported trouble getting an Uber in Eze (I've only ever been by bus or car). You should be able to take one there, however. There are very expensive taxis there as well, besides the bus. If you are fit and have good walking shoes, you can walk down (45 min) the pretty difficult Nietzsche path to the station and get out at Beaulieu-sur-Mer to walk to the Villa Ephrussi.
As you've read, no Uber in Monaco (take the train back for the fastest route). Uber works well in Nice, however, and the tram comes very frequently. By Sept the 2nd line will be running. As you might have noticed, the distance from the Russian Cathedral to Old Town is pretty far.
You might want to reserve your Nice visit for a morning, if the Cours Saleya market holds any interest. You might also want to try the walk around Cap Ferrat as well, if you have time.
Posted by
OP
231 posts
Thank you Gooster, I had thought about walking both of those areas as well. I had read about the Tram lines a while back so I will get up to speed on the routes for those.
Posted by
11570 posts
After visiting Villa Ephrussi, visit Villa Kerylos in Beaulieu. We easily walked there from Ephrussi, an interesting replica of Ancient Greek home by the sea.
Matisse's Chapel up in the hills in Vence is beautiful.
In the Cathedral in Monaco, you will see the tombs of Prince Rainier and Princess Grace. We went on the castle tour too. It is a very wealthy enclave, huge yachts galore, and we didn't care to spend much time there. We would never return to Monaco but we adore Nice which doesn't feel urban, with it's pretty Italianate architecture, and Nicoise cuisine.
We easily took a bus to Villa Ephrussi and Monaco. It travels along the water.
There are trains to Monaco as well. Nice is a hub for public transportation and it is the place where we used it more than we have ever before or since.
You will enjoy strolling around Nice with it's shops, street markets, gardens, etc. Antibes is also a good destination.
Nice Airport is small and easy to navigate.
VIllefranche is a pretty town; enjoy your time there.
Posted by
OP
231 posts
Thank you Suki. I really appreciate all of your information. I was thinking the same thing about Monaco; we will probably just devote the morning to it then head elsewhere. Would you recommend the palace tour? I wasn't really planning on it since we plan to tour a few other magnificent abodes throughout our trip so I would love to hear your opinion since you did it.
Posted by
464 posts
You are planning a wonderful trip! Great choice on the Welcome Hotel in Villefranche sur Mer. We have stayed there on two different vacations, one in October and one in June. We absolutely loved it. You will enjoy the view from the balcony and Villefranche is very charming with its picturesque narrow streets, restaurants, beach, and citadel. It is easy to take Bus 100 from the Octroi bus stop in Villefranche to Monaco. We got off at the Place d'Armes bus stop and walked up to the Prince's Palace. We bought a combo ticket for the Palace and the Oceanography Museum of Jacques Cousteau and had lunch at the Oceanography rooftop cafe. Then you can walk across from the aquarium up some stairs to stops for buses #1 and #2 which run to the port, the casino, and the train station. We stopped at Place du Casino to see the Monte Carlo Casino plaza and Cafe de Paris. Then you can walk a few blocks to catch bus #100 to Nice.
The day that we went to the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild we took bus #81 from the Octroi bus stop in Villefranche to St Jean Cap Ferrat to the Passable bus stop and walked up to the Villa. After the audio tour we had lunch at the tea garden on the terrace with great views.
A walk on St. Jean Cap Ferrat that had spectacular views was on Promenade Maurice Rouvier beginning behind Hotel Royal Riviera and going to Port St. Jean if you have time.
Taking a taxi to Eze may be worth it rather than the bus.
We were in the French Riviera for 6 nights on each trip. Best wishes for a great time!
Posted by
OP
231 posts
Organizer8, thank you very much for all of this information, it is so helpful.
Posted by
1 posts
Hello,
We will be in Nice and around for 3 full days and one /half.
Please could you tell me is my program a good option to spend good time asweel see enough things.
1. Arriving in Nice - Half Day- Nice at night
2. Full day - Eze and Monaco
3. Full day - Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild and Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat
4. Full Day - Antibes and Cannes
5 - leaving
I am thinking to take Uber From Nice to Eze and then at night to take the last train from Monaco to Nice or the night bus (monaco-nice) .
For Villa Ephrussi - is this right - bus stop Promenade des Arts (nice) and then bus 81 to Cap Ferrat?
Posted by
SF Bay Area
882 posts
To the OP: We were on the Riviera 5 weeks ago, and I think you have planned the right amount of activity for each day. We did about the same in the same amount of time, except that we did not go to Monaco and spent more time exploring Nice.
Posted by
Nice, France & San Francisco
713 posts
OP: As an update to my prior response -- the tram line 2 is now running to the center but the extension to the port has been delayed to the end of the year.
@alethea: Note the cautions on troubles getting in Uber down from Eze. You will need to take a taxi (pretty expensive), walk down the Nietzsche path or take the bus. Also note the Cours Saleya market in Nice is best in the morning before 12:30/1pm, when the full market is open. Note Mondays are a great brocante/antique/flea market instead of the fruit/produce/souvenirs.
Posted by
11570 posts
Re: Monaco Palace tour. I think taking a tour was the only way to get inside the Palace.
We really loved spending two weeks in Nice.
Posted by
OP
231 posts
After reading various forums about getting to and from Eze and the unknowns of the wait time for buses, I am wondering if we should do everything else on our wish list that I originally posted first and then go to Eze if we have time. I like having an itinerary, but I have a feeling that we will also want to play things by ear a bit more with this being our first stop of the trip and so many unknowns about transportation. I would love opinions; if we don't make it to Eze, will we still have a similar experience of seeing the area from high points in Monaco or at the top of the Castle Hill for instance? It sounds like the village of Eze is very charming and we do love our cacti gardens since we live in New Mexico, but I don't feel we have a lot of extra time to spend on trying to get there and back if it means rushing through everything else. But if we took a little more time with the rest of the plans and then still had some time left over, maybe we could go for it! Opinions welcome, thanks!
Posted by
Nice, France & San Francisco
713 posts
@dpalmier53 -- the view from Eze is much higher than Castle Hill and Monaco (unless you are above, above the upper Cornice). It is also less populated -- you won't see nearly as many buildings. Its beautiful but if you don't have the time, then perhaps you can skip it. Or simply pay for an Uber to drop you there (but you'll be left with a bus to go down, a pricey taxi ride or a steep walk down the path to the train state at Eze-sur-Mer).