Shore Excursion - Monaco & Monto Carlo

We are due to sail on Celebrity Equinox on 25th July and are starting to look at shore excursions for the ports. Me and my darling wife really want to see Monaco & Monte Carlo and notice that Celebrity offer it as a shore excursion at Nice port. However, there is very little info on the tours on Celebrity website which makes it hard to decide whether it is worth it.

Can anyone who has been on this tour, provide some info on it e.g. what sights do you see - is casino, palace and Grace Kelly's tomb included; do you get any free time to explore etc

Or even advise on whether it is worth considering an "on your own day" from villafranche port as it only seems to be 15 mins by train compared to 1 hour by road on the tour.

Thanks

We are also considering the Celebrity tour to Monte Carlo while on the Silhouette. Have heard mixed reviews. Any info is appreciated.

We are also considering the Celebrity tour to Monte Carlo while on the Silhouette. Have heard mixed reviews. Any info is appreciated.

We docked at Monte Carlo a couple of years ago and took the Dotto (Road) train, It was fairly cheap, took you round to the various places of interest but strangely didn't go all the way back down the hill to the port so we had to walk the last part.:)

Our cruise stopped in Monte Carlo. There was little of interest in MC for us, so we took the bus to Nice (1 euro each way - beautiful scenery enroute both ways; sit on the seaside for the best views) for the day. Enjoyed the Matisse and Chagall galaries, had a surprisingly good pizza, and roamed the beach area. For us, Nice (and the bus ride) was much more enjoyable than Monte Carlo would have been.

If you like to walk this really is an easy city to walk to see all of the key spots without needing a tour.

I would just get a map and you can see the key sites and do it at your own pace for substantially less cost and enjoy a more leisurely day.

Keith

I am looking for a recommendation on full day tours for port of Nice incorporating Monaco and St. Paul.

Thanks

Monte Carlo is a magical name, and at first glance might seem like a magical place. But once you get beyond the Palace area it really is not much more then a city with expensive condos and shops (some of which can be visited by appointment only). While one can certainly disagree on the region , MC is far down our list of places we visit. In fact, when we are driving through the area we always bypass Monte Carlo. So what is higher on our list? For starters we would list St Paul de Vence, Nice (including the old town area), Eze Village, and the Antibes (including Cap d'Antibes) area.

As to touring Monte Carlo, you can certainly make this a DIY place, but you should have a guide book (like the Rick Steves books) or download all the relevant info. From the train station you are going to want to either use public transit (buses) or a taxi to get up to the Palace. As to the Casino (if you must) you will pay to enter. The only folks in that casino during the daytime are cruise folks and some other tourists. The beautiful people do not come out until late at night and they often gamble in the private rooms that are not even open to most tours.

Hank

I just read this to reply to it - my husband was the OP!! For anyone reading this now... We got off the ship (tender) and walked to the right past the shops. There are steps up to the train station. We took the train which was about €15 for the two of us return. Train took around 15 mins to Monaco and then it was a short walk to Monte Carlo. We went to the casino and paid the €10 fee each to go in. I thought it was worth it as it was really interesting to see. The trains run around every 20-30 mins although leave plenty of time as some of the trains didn't arrive.