Staying in Nice. Suggestions for a day or two in Italy

Skip Cannes, Monaco. Make sure you visit Villefrance but on a day when no cruise ships are scheduled to arrive.

No reason to skip Monaco. Easy to get to and an interesting day trip IMO.

I'm afraid I'll have to disagree with Suki about Cannes and Monaco, we enjoyed both, but on separate trips. Part of what we enjoyed in Cannes was a short ferry to Isle St. Marguerite which has a Spanish style fort with a small museum that includes a prison cell that is said to be where the real Man in the Iron Mask was held. As for Monaco, we could have spent an entire day there.

I can't comment on sites in Italy but I'm commenting as a reminder to follow the thread because we're interested in a daytrip there from Nice in the future. Nice is a place we have on our list for a month one-month stay at some time in the future.

Bordighera is a nice coastal resort and Sanremo is larger but a bit grittier. Just over the order you can go to Ventimiglia/Vinghtmille -- the Friday market is super popular. Town itself isn't as pretty as the others. You can also go to Dolceacqua, which is a very pretty stone village just up the hill. It is possible to take a bus from Ventimiglia but car may be better (continue on to Apricale). There are a number of other towns that are nice to visit, like Cervo. It all depends on your interests and how much time you want to spend. Genoa is reachable but that is a long day trip. You can also go inland to Langhe/Piemont but that once again is a long day trip.

Monaoo is destination for many and I would prioritize it over Cannes, but it depends on your preferences. You can reach Ste. Marguerite directly from Nice by ferry. But there is only the ferry from Cannes to St. Honorat, another island with a monastery and winery/

Just to clarify we welcome day trips and also an overnight. Thank you for your suggestions,

I'm in the skip Monaco camp, I found it utterly boring and full of vanity. The family and I took a day trip to Sanremo but there wasn't really much to see (what is there is a bit run down) but we had a decent lunch. If I was to return to Nice then I'd probably consider a trip to Genoa.

Hello,
Ventimiglia is a day trip from Nice-easy by train- lots of shops restaurants and cafes and easily walkable.

For us it was a bit the opposite, bc we were in Sardinia and took a ferry from Porto Torres to Nice. We got the idea from ferryhopper’s blog while also browsing where we could go to make most of our days in that region (https://www.ferryhopper.com/en/ferry-routes/direct/nice-sardinia). It was a nice choice, cheap ticket (although the ferry was during the day, it would have been better to have the trip at night). Then we took the plane back home from Nice.

I'll balance the table and say that I very much enjoy Monaco and sometimes stay there.

Hello,
Basing in Nice one of my favorites is Antibes. Definitely either a day trip or stay overnight you will love it!