Nice or Monaco & Monte Carlo?

Nice has much more to do in the way of museums and sights. Monaco is just a palace and yacht-filled harbor. Villefranche itself is worth spending some time in.

Monte Carlo is not very friendly. Nice is much nicer. Go there. MC is designed to cater to the ultra wealth and you are just rift raft -- assumptions on my part based on the fact that you asking the question on this site.

"will traveling the Middle Corniche and visiting Monaco and Monte Carlo make for a better day?"

We can give you a better answer to your question--if you can clarify how you were planning to travel the Middle Corniche on your way to Monaco, after getting off the cruise ship at Villefranche?

If I had your limited time, I'd say Monaco. Nice is great, but it's the kind of place you want to spend a bit of time in. Monaco you can go check out the glitz and the glamour (and it really is beautiful), maybe splurge on a nice meal, and get a whole experince in several hours.

Don,

Each of the locations has pros & cons, so it's a bit of a "toss up" in my view. Villefranche is about half way between Nice and Monaco, so it won't be hard to get to either area.

Nice has some great Museums, an interesting old town with good restaurants and street markets. Monaco has the "Changing of the Guard" (11:55 every day as I recall, lasts about 15-20 minutes). Also the Jacques Cousteau Oceanographic Museum (lots to see on several levels), the Church where Princess Grace & Prince Rainer are interred and some beautiful houses (possibly owned by the Royal family).

As Monte Carlo is just across the bay from Monaco on the other hill, it's easy to visit there also. Note that the famous Casino has a "dress code" (if you were planning to visit there). Seeing such an enormous number of huge yachts is a bit of a sight. The biggest and most ostentatious of them all is the Lady Moura! It was there in June and is probably still there.

Villefranche is also an interesting place to explore, but with only one day, you'll have to decide which area you most want to see.

The cruise line will probably be offering day tours, so you can possibly decide at that time, based on what looks most interesting and of course the cost.

Good luck and happy travels!

I never felt like "rift-raft" in Monte Carlo. In fact, I was treated very nicely. (I attempted to ask, in French, for directions from a Monaco police officer. He looked at me, and in what can only be described as a thick Brooklyn accent, asked me in English--"Where do ya wanna go?")

I agree with Ken. With such a limited amount of time, you may want to see what the cruise is offering. It will include transportation that will save you a lot of time.

If going on your own, you really have to figure out what interests you.

Question: Which ones of these are in Italy? :-)

Micheal - I had to think about that one. Took me awhile. Regardless...I will offer my two cents for this non-Italian thread.

My thought is that Monaco has some major "list checker" items like Grace Kelly's tomb, the casino, the palace, the sea of yachts. And yes it is very beautful and compact and easy to wander around.

Nice on the other hand may not have as significant of items to check off, but extremely enjoyable. Laying on the beach, the museums (Chagal and Matisse), also beautiful.

If you want something easy to navagate and be able to say you saw certain things...Monaco.

If you want something a little more authentic to everyday life (bars, shops, restaurants, people) plus some other great stuff...Nice.

just my impression.

This is the Italy helpline. You may get more responses if you use the "To The West" helpline.

Hi Don - The old sections of Nice are very nice to see along with the walk along the ocean; however, I think for your first trip there Monaco is a must see and if you have another two hours take a bus or train from Monaco (about 20 minutes) to the medieval village of EZ - think you and your wife will really enjoy!!

Greg

Don - A bit more on Ez - Famous for perfumes and spectacular views - As i mentioned in previous post close to Monaco and easily accesible -

greg

We just returned one week ago from a cruise that also visited Villefranche. We were off the ship by 7:30 and walked up the hill a couple of blocks to a local bus stop. We took the #100 bus to Nice walked the promenade de Anglais for a couple of hours than took the 9:50 bus #82 to Eze.Eze was beautiful and quiet we had a picnic,visited the perfume factory and walked around a charming old castle full of shops and restaurants.We then took the #112 bus to Monaco & Monte Carlo.Got off at the gardens just above the casino. We enjoyed people watching and a look inside the casino.We took a beautiful walk along the harbor and then up to the palace and cathedral. We caught the #100 bus back to Villefranche at 4:30 and were back by 5:30. Very easy to do . Each leg of the bus was between 1 euro and 1.6 euro.