Nice in May

Public transportation is convenient and inexpensive in the Nice area. If you're the active type, I recommend taking the bus to Eze-sur-Mer and walking up to Eze Village.

You don't need a car in the Nice area unless you want to go deep into the inland country - bus and rail services are good though sometimes very crowded in high season. As stated use the train to Monaco and bus to Eze.

I would not actually recommend Eze though - it is basically a big overpriced theme park and the really good views are private property that you have to pay to enter. My personal recommended less-touristed equivalent is Entrevaux an, inland hill-top town that you can reach from Nice by the Chemin de Fer de Provence railway line which has its own separate station in central Nice and runs along the very scenic Var valley. There's less tourist infrastructure there and fewer people will speak English, but it's much more atmospheric and you can still get a nice lunch.

Another suggestion is to take a bus trip from Nice to Vence and/or Saint-Paul-de-Vence - if you have any interest in post-1850 art I would strongly recommend visiting the Chapelle du Rosaire in Vence, which was decorated by the artist Matisse.

Just reread Brenda's comment - I would caution that the footpath from Eze-sur-mer to Eze-le-village is SERIOUS hill walking and not to be attempted, especially in that direction, unless you are very fit. Get the bus from Nice along the Moyenne Corniche to Eze-le-village, if you want to visit.

Thank you Phillip -

I saw that and I agree with you. While we are both fit, I just don't think we want to attempt that. I actually had a fall in Scotland that could have been really bad and I do not want a repeat of that. Someone else said that Eze was terribly touristy and that we may want to go elsewhere. What are your thoughts on this. It was highly recommended to me by a friend who is a travel agent and her daughter who thought it was fabulous.

So I am torn.

So, as I go through this planning I am starting to get confused -

Looking for some guidance.

We depart on May 21 from the barge trip and head towards Arles/Avignon - I have hotels reserved in both places so just need to choose one. Our thought was we would have a car but we could take the train from Narbonne to Avignon (haven't looked to see if it goes to Arles). We could pick up a car there and then explore the surrounding areas. My thought was 3 nights in that location.

Currently we were going to take the day to drive to Lorgues (some say it is in the middle of nowhere) - Someone recommended Chez Bruno to us and that was our objective however, it is not something we have to do.

An alternative would be to head to Aix en Provence and explore the area around there. 3 nights again

Then we would head to Nice where we would get rid of the car and take public transport to see the area there (Eze, Monaco, Villefranche sur mer and possible Antibes)

We fly out of Nice on May 31 so that is really 4 nights in Nice.

At this point I can modify our agenda easily as I am not bound to anything.

Typically, we like to get to a location, park the car, and walk everywhere - We love to explore the old towns and smaller villages. Bigger cities are not are preference unless there is some historical value. We try to avoid crowds. We are not foodies so we like to find unique places to eat but they don't have to be over the top Michelin rated restaurants.

I hope all of this helps and I look forward to hearing your thoughts from your own experiences.

Thank you.

We have been living in Nice for 6 weeks without a car. We live near the old town and the port (close to Place Girabaldi). Definitely walk around the old town area and along the promenade de Anglais. You can take the bus 100 to Monaco from the port (only 1.50 each way). If you take the bus 81 to Eze, you don't have to do the big walk up the hill, it's still up hill, but think of it as a steep driveway. The jardin at the top has breathtaking views, I think it was 8Euro entrance fee. The Villa Ephussi de Rothschild is definitely worth a visit on a lovely day. It's part of Cap Ferrat and you can take the bus there as well. The gardens are just lovely and the views of Villefranche sur mer are wonderful. Then take the bus back to Villefranche sur mer and sit and enjoy a lovely lunch of mussels and frites looking at the little harbor. Enjoy the scenary and the pace of life. We just love it here.

Thank you Mel B.

This is very helpful! We are looking forward to our trip in May.

I did see that the Grand Prix was going on in Monaco while we are in Nice. I have been told that it is not a good time to visit there while this is going on unless you are attending the race - thoughts?

Sorry, we have not been here during the race in Monaco and won't be here then either. I have a friend who went to the race who did say you really can't see anything and it is very crowded. My guess is that is not the day to visit Monaco.