I will be in Nice (then onto Provence) for 5 nights (4 full days) traveling with my sister (she'll get there 1 day later so only 3 full days for here). She is an artist so you can imagine she is pretty excited to see this area - and her first time in France (I have done Alsace, Burgundy and Provence already). We will be traveling via public transportation. We are trying to figure out day trips and want to allow plenty of time for visiting the museums in Nice as well (and getting in a boat cruise to see coast from that direction). We will definitely spend a day in Antibes and think we want another full day away. We were discussing options between St. Paul de Vence/Vence or Eze le Village. Clearly the artist (sister) would probably get more out of the Vences and not Eze. The challenge for me personally is the amount of time on a bus and I wanted some thoughts on those out there who have perhaps done one or the other via bus. Right now it appears that St. Paul de Vence is at least 45 minutes and then another 10 to Vence and the returns (using the official bus line website) seem longer. Any thoughts/opinions on the choices and also the bus time? Thanks!
Posted by
London, United Kingdom
4684 posts
I've done both, and I'd heartily recommend the Vences over Eze-le-Village. The Vences have genuinely good artwork (the Fondation Maeght in St Paul and Matisse's chapel in Vence are not to be missed). Eze-le-Village is pretty but a pure tourist trap. The bus trip is a little long but the scenery is nice once you get through Cagnes. The only thing I'd say is that I took the bus from Nice to St-Paul, then to Vence, and I had to wait a long time for the bus at St-Paul. I don't know if it was running late or if the bus I wanted was running early and I missed it.
Posted by
St-Laurent, Montreal, Canada
77 posts
We did a smiliar trip in April 2010. We did 4 days in Nice with day trips to Cannes, Monaco and Eze. Then 4 days in Marseille with day trips to Avignon, Aix en Provence and Nimes. All by train and all were great except for Marseille. Eze is nice for lunch and a stroll. An hour, 2 tops (unless you like shopping and knickknacks). Monaco held our interest all day Cannes bored us to death Nimes was rainy and we were not well dressed, so I can't really comment **Avignon and Aix were outstanding! I think you have to decide what you like and what's within an acceptable "travel radius" around your home base city. Hopefully this gave you some ideas!
Posted by
san mateo, ca, usa
53 posts
Must you take the bus? With so little time, the train whisks you everywhere. We used Nice as homebase and fanned out each day east and west, i.e. Monte Carlo, Antibes. Certainly saves travel time. Arrive at your major destination and then take a local bus if desired.
Posted by
OP
Newton, MA, USA
289 posts
Thanks for your responses so far. We plan to go to Antibes, per my original post, and will be taking the train since that is easiest. We were deciding between two of the places Eze le Village and St Paul de Vence and Vence, both of which we would get there via bus since there is not train service direct to either. Based on some of our reading and opinions on the forums we are likely going with St. Paul de Vence and Vence at this point. We are not considering other places and have already narrowed it down so that we give ourselves plenty of time to relax.