Villefrance - Nice - Eze for 3 Days Mid April

St-Tropez is too far, Antibes would be a much better choice heading west. We were advised to skip Eze . It would not fill a day.
Our favorite was Cap Ferat with Villa Ephrussi. to the East. We spent two weeks in Nice. Make sure you spend enough time in this historic city before adding day trips.

In addition to being fairly far west, St.-Tropez doesn't have a train station, so you have to switch to a bus for the last part of the trip, which definitely adds to the time required.

To reach places off the coast (like Eze Village), you'd need a bus ride. You can take a bus all the way to Eze from Nice or you can take the train to Eze-sur-Mer and pick up a bus up to the village there (I'm guessing it's a different bus but am not sure). If you all have good knees, walking down from Eze to the coast might be nice; I haven't done that myself.

Villefranche-sur-Mer and Eze are both rather small, but Nice will fill the rest of your time. If you want to explore more, the train running along the coast (except to St-Tropez!) makes lots of places accessible. I think there's something to enjoy at just about every train stop along that coast; different travelers have different preferences. Other than the gardens, nothing about Monaco sounds all that interesting to me, so I haven't been there. Quite a few other folks here have been and were not impressed; others recommend it. Let's just say the comments about Monaco are more mixed than they are about many other places.

Rick has a guidebook focusing on Provence and the Riviera. Even though your stay is very short, with five people traveling, I think it's worthwhile to buy that book. We can't tell you what is in every town within reach of Nice. If you travel without a guidebook, it's easy to miss out on the place or experience you would like the most.

Do be careful with your personal possessions (especially purses/wallets/backpacks) on the train; tickets are cheap, so it is popular with pickpockets.

Monaco has an absolutely outstanding aquarium. The legendary oceanographer Jacques Cousteau directed it for years. We visited Monaco on what turned out to be a very rainy day, and while other activities got pretty much rained out, the aquarium made the visit totally worthwhile. Monaco’s an easy bus ride from Nice, too.

If you’re interested in Changing of the Guards ceremonies, you can catch that, too. Hopefully there’s not a downpour when you go!

I have done the walk down from Eze village to Eze-sur-Mer -- one definitely needs good knees!!!!

you need fairly good knees for the climb up from the bus stop to the top of Eze le Village (often now known as Eze or Eze-Village) where finds one the Jardin Exotique which I like very much. It has more than a passing resemblance to the Jardin Exotique in Monaco - no wonder since the designer of the Monaco garden was brought in to help with the creation. Both well worth seeing in my estimation - but then again I like cactus.

Then again, 3 days (3 whole days?) is a really short time for that part of the world. I usually go for at least a week.

Villefranche sur mer is a wonderful base for your trip. We have stayed there on two different trips. The waterfront, shale beach, citadel, and restaurants are great. We took a bus from the Octroi bus stop to St Jean Cap Ferrat to the Passable bus stop at the driveway to Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild and enjoyed the estate and gardens, as well as lunch on the terrace with great views. You could also take the bus to Beaulieu sur mer. There is a lovely walk to the town of St Jean Cap Ferrat behind Hotel Royal Riviera on Maurice Rouvier. The views from the Promenade are spectacular. You could combine a day to Monaco and Eze. Take the bus and get off at Place d'Armes and walk up to the Prince's Palace. You can get a combo ticket to the Prince's Palace and the Oceanography Museum. Have lunch at the Oceanography rooftop cafe or continue on to Place du Casino and have lunch at Cafe de Paris, You could go to Eze for the afternoon. Jardin Exotique is a beautiful cactus garden with lovely views from the top. Stop in at Chateau de la Chevre d'Or (The Golden Goat) and have a drink on the terrace so you can see the Mediterranean below. In Nice you will enjoy the Promenade des Anglais. Take the stairs to Parc du Chateau to Bellanda Tower for views. Vieux Nice on Cours Saleya and Place Massena are also nearby.

If you decide to include Monaco in your itinerary and hope to see the interior of the casino, check its website to see whether there's a dress code. I believe there may be--but perhaps only at night and/or only for part of the casino.