Day trips from Nice
Èze in a quarter of an hour, Monaco in twenty-five minutes, Cannes and Menton within forty — the coast on one line.
- Monaco
- 25 minutes by train
- Èze
- 15 minutes by train then a climb
- Cannes
- 35–40 minutes by train
Day trips from Nice are done by train, because one line runs along the coast: east to Èze, Monaco and Menton, west to Cannes. A ticket to Menton, the furthest stop east, is €7.70 one way. The train falls short for only two places on this list — Èze village is a climb from its station, and Saint-Paul-de-Vence sits in the hills, a bus ride from Cagnes-sur-Mer.
Monaco — the nearest
The station is cut into the rock and you leave it by lift. Monaco is done in half a day: the Prince's Palace, the cathedral where Grace Kelly is buried, the Oceanographic Museum on its cliff, and the casino in Monte Carlo — entered with a ticket and a dress code, and closed to Monégasque citizens as players.
Èze — the finest
A village on a rock four hundred metres above the sea, with lanes spiralling up to an exotic garden at the top. The train stops at Èze-sur-Mer on the shore, and from there the Nietzsche path climbs to the village — ninety minutes uphill that Nietzsche is said to have walked while writing. If you would rather not climb, bus 82 from Nice stops in the village itself. On the road below the rock is the Fragonard perfume factory, opened in 1968. On a clear day Corsica is visible from the top.
Cannes and Menton
Cannes lies to the west, and outside the film festival in May it means the Croisette, the old town of Le Suquet on its hill, and a boat to the Lérins islands, which hold a monastery and the fort where the Man in the Iron Mask is said to have been held. Menton lies to the east, the last town before the Italian border — gardens, lemons as the local emblem, and the Old Castle cemetery at the top of the old town, above the harbour.
TWhen to goWhen the coast runs summer timetables — and when it is empty:The best time to visit Nice →What is not worth it
- Saint-Tropez as a day trip. The railway does not reach it: train to Saint-Raphaël, then bus 876, is three hours or more each way, which leaves little time for the town itself.
- Monaco at noon with no plan. The changing of the guard is at midday and the palace forecourt is at its worst then; everything else is easier in the afternoon.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
Which trip from Nice is best with only one day?
Èze and Monaco on the same day — both are on the same line east, and in opposite registers: a village on a rock and a state of two square kilometres.
Do I need a car for the Côte d'Azur?
No. The train runs the length of the coast and stops in the centre of every town; a car mostly sits in traffic and needs expensive parking.
How long is the train to Monaco?
Twenty-five minutes from Nice, with several departures an hour from Nice-Ville.
Ready for Nice?
Where to next
The best time to visit Nice
→Sea, air and rain month by month — and why Nice's wettest month is October, not winter.
Provence · 199 km
→The lavender flowers for six weeks; the region works all year
How well does Nice suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
Front row for the next trip
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