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Nice to Monaco, back to Nice to Lyon to Chamonix; Make sense, worth the time?

Posted by (United States) on

Thoughts everyone?

We will be flying into Gatwick (11AM) then flying to Nice (3PM). Once we are in Nice we are planning on getting a on a train to Monaco. Spend a night in Monaco, then spend a half day in Monaco. Then take a train back to Nice (late afternoon?). Spend a night in Nice, then half day in Nice (afternoon). Then take train to Lyon, to Chamonix. Planning on one night in Chamonix, then travel to Reims or Paris, haven't made up our minds yet.

Is all that travel time worth it? We want to go to Nice, but not sure of what we can do there, but want to "experience" the blue coast. My friend wants to gamble in Monaco, I'm not much of a gambler so I'm just going to follow her around and eat a lot. And we both really want to see Chamonix and the Alps.

I'm not sure if all that traveling will be worth the sites. Or the sites will be worth the traveling. Plus all the one night-ers per city will be worth the time finding a place to stay. Plus when we looked at the train map of going to Chamonix, the train went through Italy, which we want to avoid bc getting a pass for 2 countries would be more expensive, hence the trip to Lyon, bypass that and on to Chamonix.

Posted by
16895 posts

Stay 2 nights in Nice or Monaco not both. I'd choose Nice for the better airport and train connections as you arrive and depart. You can side trip to Monaco (without your luggage) by bus or train.

The DB train schedule link suggests the Lyon connection among the faster options, so it's a standard route, not a detour:

Nice Ville We, 04.05.16 dep 12:23 TGV 6864 TGV

Lyon Part Dieu We, 04.05.16 arr 16:54

Transfer time 46 min.

Lyon Part Dieu We, 04.05.16 dep 17:40 Bus 39757

Chamonix-Mont-Blanc We, 04.05.16 arr 21:40

Whether or not you arrive that late, you need to stay 2 nights in Chamonix. I don't think it's worth going if you don't have time to go up any mountain lifts.

What are your travel dates?

Posted by
2679 posts

It's hard to say what makes sense for you specifically without knowing how many nights you have in France and whether you've been to Paris and/or France before. But just from the information provided above, I'd say that your plan does not make a lot of sense and would make for some pretty awful travel days.

If you want to see Nice and the area surrounding it, spend a few nights there. There's no point in spending a night in Monaco AND Nice - they're close to each other.

One night in Chamonix, which is about a 5 hour train ride from Nice, when you're then getting up the next morning to take a 6 hour train ride to Paris, means that you won't see Chamonix at all.

Posted by
10623 posts

Monaco is fifteen minutes from Nice, so there's no need for two hotels. The train is local and the tickets cheap. In addition to Monaco, there are casinos all up and down the Riviera, including Nice.
It doesn't pay on your route to buy a train pass. You should buy point-to-point tickets in advance. Frankly the Riviera is so beautiful that it would be a shame to give it so little time. It's mountains plunging into the sea.

Posted by
80 posts

Thank you for the advice. Just thinking about all that traveling was tiring! I think we will stay 2 nights in Nice and in Chamonix :)

Posted by
1014 posts

In Nice, there is a bus terminal where you catch a bus to Monaco or Grasse, Monte Carlo, etc. It was 1 Euro each way per person when I was there. The train station is a hotbed of thieves. They pick pocket and steal luggage all the time there. I would stay away from the train station if I were you. Take the bus. Thieves also troll the Tram in Nice. So, keep valuables close at hand. I speak from experience on this one. While reporting the theft to the Police, I met 4 other gentlemen and women who were pick-pocketed at the train station. Together, we lost over 4,000 euro.

Posted by
80 posts

Thank you for the heads up! It's much appreciated.

Posted by
3643 posts

I'm not speaking from experience, since I have zero interest in gambling. However, you mentioned that your friend wants to gamble in Monaco. I have read that the casinos have dress codes, and won't even admit people who don't look like they belong with the seriously rich patrons of those establishments. It's an issue you should investigate before allotting one day of your very limited time to Monaco, when there are many other places to visit.

Posted by
80 posts

Really? I guess that makes sense. I have a feeling we probably won't go then if that is true. I will research that. Thanks!

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