andreadee

Once again I am asking for help with organizing our France vacation. My husband, myself and my 17 year old daughter will spend 5 nights in Paris, travel by train to Nice for four nights. We are deciding if we should book a 1/2 trip to Monaco/Monte Carlo or do this on our own. Is there anyone out there in the world that did the tours which are approximately $103. They take us to Eze to do the perfume factory tour and then onto Monaco. In Monte Carlo we see old town, Palace & casino. We travel in a van with a total of 8 people.

My husband thinks we should venture on our own....any tips on organizing a trip on our own? We will be in Nice March 28, 29, 30 31 and leave very early April 1st.

Calabria62

We have been to Monaco twice, and Eze once. Monaco is very easy to do by train, about 45 minutes from Nice, if I remember correctly. That was on our most recent trip. I'd do it on your own. Monaco is small, and you can make arrangements on your own. Don't forget the Aquarium while you're there, and the lovely, coastal walk.

We drove to Eze the only time we visited there. If memory serves, it was also pretty close to Nice. I understand that you can hike up to the top, but I think it's pretty strenuous, so maybe not an option. Very charming hilltop village.

PalenQ

You can easily take buses to Eze and onto Monaco and trains back from there. These are largely commuter trains no need to book in advance - no reservations are taken and very cheap - just buy at station (to Nice-Ville station, the main one). Trains run up and down the coast all the time. For lots on trains in the area check www.oui.sncf - French Railways - BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com.

whitehall

Very easy to do on your own, a good day trip. Another day trip could be Cannes and especially Antibes by train. Another day trip could be via bus to pretty Villefranche (we often have lunch there) and/or Beaulieu-sur-Mer where there is a beautiful waterside walk to ritzy Cap Ferrat. There also are longer shoreside hiking trails around the peninsulas on Cap Ferrat.

greg

Nice – Eze Village. Buses #82 and #112
Map: https://www.lignesdazur.com/ftp/docu...toral-2018.pdf

Eze Village – Monaco. Bus #112
#112 bus. Note only 6 buses a day Mon – Sat. No bus on Sunday. Time your trip carefully.
Alternate way to travel is to travel Eze Village (430m above sea level) to Eze-sur-Mer (at sea level) using hourly #83 then SNCF train to Monaco.

Monaco-Nice: Bus #100 or frequent SNCF train
#100 bus
SNCF train: www.oui.sncf Monaco - Monte-Carlo to Nice Ville

The entire trips should be less than 10EU per person. .
To find #82, #83 schedules, goto https://www.lignesdazur.com/en enter these numbers into the Timetables.
To find #112, #100 schedule, Google search “TAM bus 100”.

StuDudley

>>Monaco is very easy to do by train, about 45 minutes from Nice<<


About half that - 21 to 26 mins depending on which train you take. I think the route is all underground - so you won't see anything. Take the bus instead.



Can the 17 year old get into the casino??


We're not big fans of Monaco - too much concrete, noise, crowds, glitz, and congestion.


Stu Dudley

thursdaysd

nanabee

>.They take us to Eze to do the perfume factory tour and then onto Monaco>>

This would be a red flag for me! I wouldn't want to waste my time and money at a perfume factory.

thursdaysd

The perfume tour at Eze was more interesting than I expected, as I got to try to identify different aromas. (I did better than I expected.) However, it was really more of a shopping op as the main factory is in Grasse..

kerouac

Monaco is worth about 2 hours of anybody's time, so the trick is to figure out what to do with the rest of your day.

andreadee

Do you know anything about the buses? Some mention taking the bus and not the train so you can enjoy the coastal view. Thanks for your help and tips.

andreadee

Thank you for the great details. This helps!!

andreadee

I am hoping she can go inside just to see it. She looks much older than 17. We will see.
Thank you for your help.

andreadee

I was wondering if it was worth it. I think we are going to pass on the perfume tour.
Thanks for the tips.

andreadee

Thank you for all of these awesome tips! There is never enough time to do it all! Ugh! I am excited to see Nice. I have been doing a lot of research. I hope the weather is as good as it can be during the end of March. I am wondering now if another day trip might be too much or fitting. We will determine that when we get there. Any other hints/help are definitely welcomed. The research is so much fun. We are foodies so it has been fun learning about the things Nice is noted for....Socca!

Fodorite018

When we were in Nice, I took the bus over to Eze for a day and loved it. I did the perfume factory tour, and like thursdaysd, really enjoyed it. I found it very interesting and learned a lot. It is free, so nothing to lose, and I knew I was going to buy perfume anyway, so it worked well for me. In the town itself, I loved walking all over.

Another day, I took the train to Antibes and really enjoyed that as well.

FWIW, I know our daughter at that age would have loved these places! In college ,she studied in Paris and made weekend trips to this area and raved about it.

Fodorite018

I just noticed your post about food and socca. We did a food tour with A Taste Of Nice and it was excellent! We went to a socca place on the tour, but honestly everywhere we went was excellent and I highly recommend doing this!

thursdaysd

StCirq

FWIW, which isn't much, the first time I went to Monaco, it was my own choice - I felt like I had wasted more than half a day.

The second time I was dragged there by starry-eyed first-time visitors to Europe, and it was even worse. I bought a magazine and sat by the port and read. Some sinfully ugly architecture ruining a perfectly nice hillside, full-of-themselves rich people cavorting on yachts, and sandwiches that cost as much as my monthly electricity bill.

gooster

Bus 100 leaves from the Nice Port area and follows a coastal route to Monaco. The train is quicker but some feel the views are not as great. (The views are best actually best by driving and being able to stop along the way). Bus 82 (or 112) goes to Eze le village up high. Weather in March can be highly variable, but the crowds should be done.

Best Socca is at Chez Pippo or if you are at the market, Chez Theresa's stand is the classic.

In Monaco, if you go, the Old Town and Palace have more charm. And it is possible to find a reasonably priced meal there. There is also high end tax free shopping down below, in town. Note the dress restrictions and passport/ID requirements for the Casino.