22 yr. old daughter and I will travel to France late march 2009. Would nice be a good base camp for several days to explore Cannes, Monte Carlo, Grasse, St. Tropez, Monaco. Are these places all doable day trips? Would we get there by train or bus? I do not want to drive. We also want to see St. Remy, Les Baux, Avignon area but thought we would move camp to that area after the coast. Just starting the research; we have never been to France. How long would be advisable for these places? Time is on our side, then on to Italy. Thanks so much for any help.
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I think Nice is a very good base because you can easily do the places to the east and to the west.
A bus journey eastwards along the coast to Villefranche and Eze,Beaulieu sur mer and St Jean Cap Ferrat. Take the train to Monaco and Menton.
(Personal note: I wouldn%26#39;t bother with the nearest bits of Italy: Ventimiglia, San Remo, etc.)
Take the bus westwards to St Paul and Vence, Cagnes sur mer and Haut de Cagnes and the train to Cannes. (Personal note again: I wouldn%26#39;t bother with Grasse, but some of the inland villages in this area are stunning, e.g. Biot.)
Take the boat from Nice port to St Tropez (book in advance for a fabulous day and to see the sights all along the coast between Nice and St Tropez.)
Another consideration might be one of the trains that goes from Nice up into the Alpes Maritimes- for stunning scenery.
If time really is on your side- allow 2-3 weeks to do this area!
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We have been going to Nice for some time now and always use Nice as our base for the riviera. Firstly because we love being in Nice and also because it is centrally located with all the major bus and rail lines at our disposal. I really do not recommend taking the boat from Nice to St. Tropez. It will take you all day. If you must go to St. Tropez take the train to Cannes and pick up the boat there, it is a much shorter trip. Personally, I would wait for my next trip to go to St. Tropez rather than give up a day to it. I would use my days for Nice ( you will need them) and day trips to 1. St. Paul de Vence, 2. Eze, 3. Cap Feratt and the Villa Rothschild/Beaulieu su mer and Ville Franche. You can also skip Monaco unless you want to say you have been there but you only need 1/2 a day there and you can include Menton in the same trip.
It will help your research greatly if you look at past TA postings. I posted some great, small books just a week or so ago, Frommer%26#39;s Nice %26amp; Cannes Day by Day, Walk %26amp; Eat Nice and Time Out%26#39;s Short List.
Speaking of Cannes, you can skip that too but do go to Antibes. You can actually cover St Paul de Vence, the Maeght musee and Antibes and the Picasso Villa on the same day trip. I hope this gives you some help.
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Hi there,
Nice in March will be a good base camp to explore the coast as it does have good transport links with other places that you are interested in. With a bit of luck, the weather will be warm too.
You say that time is on your side, so I would suggest that you try to visit all the places that you mention plus the ones that other posters have as well. The only one that I wouldn%26#39;t probably go out of my way for is Grasse particularly if you go to Eze village instead.
You may find that some of the smaller places like Villefranche,Beaulieu and Menton have not emerged from their winter hibernations, so half a day will be ample there.
Visit the perched villages mentioned above and Cap Ferrat ( bus). The Villa Ephrussi is nice and can be combined with a half day in Eze and the Cap Ferrat peninsula (bus). Only go if the weather forecast is good though.
I would definitely include Monaco (half day plus by bus or train), Cannes and the Isles des Lérins plus Antibes ( 1 day by train) as all of these will be fully open. The Cap d%26#39;Antibes is beautiful too (bus or walk from Antibes).
If you are going in late March, the ferry to St Tropez will not be running from either Nice or Cannes. To get to St Tropez will entail a train journey to St Raphael and a boat or bus onwards.
The train journey between Cannes and St Raphael gives spectacular views of the Esterel.
This is a full day visit.
As mentioned by another poster, there is lots of information with links to transport websites which should help with planning to be found if you search previous posts on the TA forum.
Hope you and your daughter have a great trip
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