I will be taking a train from Nice to Ventimiglia; it appears I have a choice of stations in Nice. I am unfamiliar with the stations there and was wondering if I should choose one over the other. I will actually be staying in Haute de Cagne (above Cagne sur Mer).
From Ventimiglia I will be going to Genoa; does it make sense to buy the tickets online in advance.
Many thanks ~
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
Nice Ville is the main station in the city, but I assume you'll take local transport into Cagnes-sur-Mer and would get your schedule and tickets to depart from Cagnes-sur-Mer. Tickets for regional Italian trains are only sold online starting a week ahead. I would plan to buy tickets for the whole route in a French station when you arrive in the Nice area.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
The train line runs from Cannes to Ventimiglia, with Nice in the middle. These are unreserved trains; they run twice an hour and are cheap. So, just get a bus to the nearest train station on the line, buy a ticket on the day, then take the train to Ventimiglia. Staying in Haut-des-Cagnes (a lovely place), you'll get very familiar with the bus that runs frequently and goes down from the town. I know this bus meets the main coastal bus that runs between Nice and Cannes (the 200), but I don't remember if it goes near the Cagnes train station, or if you have to take another bus to get to a train station.
From Ventimiglia to Genoa, most trains are Regional or Regional Veloce (faster). These have no advance purchase discount, and are unreserved. You can just buy a ticket in Ventimiglia for the next train (€13.20). There are also some InterCity trains; these can be as low as €9 for advance purchase, but then you are tied to that EXACT train (ticket not good on any other train). These also don't save much time over Regional Veloce trains, so it's not worth it on this run.
Posted by
OP
5 posts
Thank you so much for your quick and very helpful responses! The RS team is the best ~