How to get from Villefranche to Nice?

The ship will be arriving in Villefranche sur Mer and we have a rental car reserved in Nice. What is the best and/or fastest way to get to Nice?

You can get to Nice via the SNCF service which is about 5 minutes walk from the port. Don't cross the track.

The train station is walking distance from where the tender lets you off. Trains are frequent.

There are a few ways. You can take the regional TER train which means a little walk from the tender pier and then lots of steps up to the small station. Trains run about twice an hour and there are no reservations. You could also,just Walt to the bus stops and take the #100 bus which costs less then 2 Euros. These buses run more often then the train and will take you to the Nice bus station which is pretty convenient to the Old Town (and Flower Market). And there are even a few souls that decide to walk all the way to Nice.

Hank

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Hank,

I have tried to do the search button to understand getting to Eze from Villefranche but maybe I'm dense but I still am unclear. My understanding from you is that you cannot reach Eze from Villefranche by bus. I understand you can take bus 100 to Nice and that is totally clear but what about Eze? Is renting a car or private tour the only way to go?

Pat

Pat,

I'm not Hank but he would tell you that renting a car or getting a tour company to take you to Eze is about the only way to do it and not worry so much about missing the ship.

You are correct that you have to pick up a bus (#82 or #112) in Nice. The problem is the infrequent schedule to/from Eze (every 2 hours or so). Logistically, it sounds too stressful to catch the bus and then ensure you don't miss it on the way back.

Sheal

You can get to Ezeby bus or bus/train combination but it can take a lot of time. You can get a bus to Eze Village from either Nice or Monte Carlo, but the bus does. to run very often. It is also possible to take either the train or bus from Villefranche to the Eze/Bord sur Mer station where you can catch a different bus up to the village. But this bus also runs on an irregular schedule so we do not normally recommend this option. Personally, we prefer to rent a car in many ports, including Villefranche, if we want to go to places inconvenient to public transport. In this region both Ezeand St Paul de Vence fall into that category.

Hank

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Thank you Sheal and Hank! Is it difficult to rent a car? Do you drive on the same side of the road as in America?

Pat

In France and everywhere in Western Europe (not including the UK and Ireland) you do drive on the right. Most of the driving laws are similar to the USA/Canada. However, the parking rules are a bit different so one should do some research on parking. Italy also has some restricted driving zones (called ZTLs) which impact driving in major cities.

As to renting a car, it depends on your port. In cities like Cannes or Monte Carlo it is possible to walk to a few agencies. But in Villefranche you would want to pre book a car for delivery to the port (not always easy). And getting a car on a Sunday or holiday is nearly impossible in most ports.

Hank

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Thank you, Hank, I will give up the car rental idea.

PMO,

Just want to pass along some various options on getting to Eze Village from Villefranche by bus. For consistency, I'm using the Octroi stop for the origination point, but there are others that can be used, as well. I'm including both the direction & the last stop on the line.

*Bus #80 from Octroi/Grand Bretagne (direction: Nice w/ last stop @ Riquier)

Get off at Col de Villefranche stop

(This should take 6 minutes)

Connect to Bus 82 (direction: Eze w/ last stop @ Plateau de la Justice)

Arrive to Eze Village stop 6 minutes later

OR

*Bus 80 from Octroi/Grand Bretagne

(direction: Nice w/ last stop @ Riquer)

Get off at Col de Villefranche stop

(This should take 6 minutes)

Connect to Bus 112 (direction: Beausoliel w/ last stop in Monaco)

Get off at Eze Village stop

OR

*From Octroi stop, Bus 100 (direction: Menton or Monaco) to Gare SNCF Beaulieu (there are other connection points, as well)

Connect to Bus 84 (direction: Nice w/ last stop @ Riquier)

Get off at La Leopolda

Connect to Bus 82 (direction: Eze with last stop @ Plateau de la Justice).

Get off at Eze Village stop.

OR

*From Octroi stop, Bus 100 (direction: Menton or Monaco) to Gare SNCF Beaulieu (there are other connection points, as well)

Connect to Bus 84 (direction: Nice w/ last stop @ Riquier)

Get off at Le Castellet

Connect to Bus 112 (direction: Eze with last stop @ Plateau de la Justice).

Get off at Eze Village stop.

OR

*From Octroi stop, Bus 81 (direction: St Jean Cap Ferrat) to Baie des Fourmis (there are other connection points, as well)

Connect to Bus 84 (direction: Nice w/ last stop @ Riquier)

Get off at Le Castellet

Connect to Bus 112 (direction: Eze with last stop @ Plateau de la Justice).

Get off at Eze Village stop.

OR

*From Octroi stop, Bus 81 (direction: St Jean Cap Ferrat) to Baie des Fourmis (there are other connection points, as well)

Connect to Bus 84 (direction: Nice w/ last stop @ Riquier)

Get off at La Leopolda

Connect to Bus 82 (direction: Eze with last stop @ Plateau de la Justice).

Get off at Eze Village stop.

OR

*From Octroi stop, Bus 81 (direction: St Jean Cap Ferrat) to Kerylos, walk to Plage Beaulieu & catch Bus 83 (direction: Eze/ Grande Corniche with last stop @ Plateau de la Justice).

Get off at Eze Village stop.

OR

*From Octroi stop, Bus 100 (direction: Menton or Monaco) to connect with Bus 83 (direction: Eze/ Grande Corniche with last stop @ Plateau de la Justice), as described above in other posts, getting off at Eze Village stop.

Here's the website for the bus company: http://www.lignesdazur.com

This map details all of the lines: http://www.lignesdazur.com/ftp/documents_FR/NiceNCAsept14.pdf

Here's the current schedules for each bus

Bus 80: http://www.lignesdazur.com/ftp/lignes_FR/ligne%2080%20(au%2003%2009%2013).pdf

Bus 81: http://www.lignesdazur.com/ftp/lignes_FR/ligne%2081%20(au%2017%2005%2014).pdf

Bus 82: http://www.lignesdazur.com/ftp/lignes_FR/ligne%2082%20(au%2015%2007%2014).pdf

Bus 83: http://www.lignesdazur.com/ftp/lignes_FR/ligne%2083%20(au%2007%2007%2014).pdf

Bus 84: http://www.lignesdazur.com/ftp/lignes_FR/ligne%2084%20(au%2025%2007%2013).pdf

Bus 100: https://www.cg06.fr/documents/A-votre-service/Deplacements/transports-en-commun/100.pdf

Bus 101: https://www.cg06.fr/documents/A-votre-service/Deplacements/transports-en-commun/101.pdf

Bus 112: https://www.cg06.fr/documents/Import/servir-les-habitants/112.pdf

Here's a handy trip planner that can help make sense of the various options by the hour (note: it doesn't include routes as far as Monaco): http://www.lignesdazur.com/ri/?rub_code=4

Always check before you leave for the latest schedules! Since the buses are infrequent, I would advise printing the schedules in advance, along with the map. I would also print the options from the trip planners for the hours I expected to be in the area, as it's always a good idea to have a Plan B and C!

Have a great trip!

Correction:

Bus 112

direction: Beausoliel w/ last stop in Monaco.

Any suggestions for hotel for one night prior to embarkation? Just a place to rest weary bodies after long flights; lol.

Then how far from hotel area to pier? Can two seniors with luggage and carry-ons manage on their own or should I be looking into transportation for them?

Thanks in advance.

WOW! Am impressed with all the work Syesmar put into posting links to all the ligne d'Azur bus schedules. But I will toss a monkey wrench into the works when it comes to taking buses to Eze Village. The reality is that you can often spend well over an hour just getting from Villefranche to Eze..if you use buses. So one has to be very careful with the schedules. Some buses like the 112 only run about once every 2 hours! Others run only once an hour. And many of the bus combinations involve huge delays in making connections. If you pick up a rental car in Villefranche (not always easy to arrange) you can drive to Eze Village in about 15 min, to St Paul de Vence in 45 min, Nice in 10 min (silly to rent a car just to go to Nice), Anitibe in about a half hour, etc. Use buses to get to an from Eze Village and you can spend 3 or 4 hours of your day just waiting on buses...or have to plan your entire day around those darn bus schedules.

It is the same with trying to get to St Paul de Vence (our favorite small town in the region) which can take 1 1/2 hours (one way) depending on bus connections. While we love using the #100 bus which runs between Nice and Monte Carlo (and stops at several places in Villefranche) one must be very careful planning other bus journeys.

Hank