questions on French Riveria ports

[wwinfl91]

I will be on a cruise leaving Rome on Nov 29 and stopping at Monte Carlo, Cannes and Marseille on the first 3 days of December. I would like to visit the 12-13 century Pope's palace that sits in Southern France from Marseille if I can find a reasonably priced private tour. I have been to Monte Carlo previously but my companion has not so I suspect we will do a tour that includes the palace, the casino, etc in Monte Carlo and then possibly visit Eze which if I remember correctly is up the coastal highway. I'm not sure what we will do in Cannes.

 

I would appreciate suggestions on what to do in these ports as well as any recommendations for private guides that others have used and had good tours with.

 

I will be on a smaller ship, 450 passengers, and I don't know how successful I will be in getting others interested in doing tours so I am also looking for suggestions for doing excursions using public transportation if this is possible.

 

Thanks for your assistance and guidance.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[Hlitner]

We assume you are speaking about the Popes Palace located in Avignon. I am sure you can find a private guide to take you there (and other places) for about 400+ Euros for the day. On the other hand you could simply take the train from Marseille to Avignon and go to the Palace on your own. The walled old part of Avignon is a fabulous city and worthy of a full day just walking, browsing, shopping and eating. Round trip on the train would cost you less then $50 (price varies depending on whether you take the high speet TGV or slower regional trains). As to your visit to Cannes, you might want to consider visiting St Paul de Vence. Since you seem to have a propensity towards tours you could do this by booking a cruise line excursion. Of course there are lower cost options such as renting a car or using a train/bus public transit combination.

 

Hank

[wantocruisemore]

We assume you are speaking about the Popes Palace located in Avignon. I am sure you can find a private guide to take you there (and other places) for about 400+ Euros for the day. On the other hand you could simply take the train from Marseille to Avignon and go to the Palace on your own. The walled old part of Avignon is a fabulous city and worthy of a full day just walking, browsing, shopping and eating. Round trip on the train would cost you less then $50 (price varies depending on whether you take the high speet TGV or slower regional trains). As to your visit to Cannes, you might want to consider visiting St Paul de Vence. Since you seem to have a propensity towards tours you could do this by booking a cruise line excursion. Of course there are lower cost options such as renting a car or using a train/bus public transit combination.

 

Hank

 

WOW, Hank I just looked up St. Paul de Vence! It is EXACTLY what we are looking for that would make us keep the cruise we're booked on that changed from Corsica to Cannes. We were not interested at all in Monte Carlo but one of my DD's still wants the stops in Spain, so family is divided on switching cruises.

 

Personally, we actually prefer private excursions where we are not stressing about getting back to the ship. One of my DD's is mentally disabled and can sense stress and gets out of sorts easily. We only like doing public transport if close distances.

[wwinfl91]

Thanks, Hank, for the good advice on the French ports. I will start taking a look at the train schedules from Marseille to Avignon and see how they fit in with how long our ship is docked.

[millergj]

We assume you are speaking about the Popes Palace located in Avignon. I am sure you can find a private guide to take you there (and other places) for about 400+ Euros for the day. On the other hand you could simply take the train from Marseille to Avignon and go to the Palace on your own. The walled old part of Avignon is a fabulous city and worthy of a full day just walking, browsing, shopping and eating. Round trip on the train would cost you less then $50 (price varies depending on whether you take the high speet TGV or slower regional trains). As to your visit to Cannes, you might want to consider visiting St Paul de Vence. Since you seem to have a propensity towards tours you could do this by booking a cruise line excursion. Of course there are lower cost options such as renting a car or using a train/bus public transit combination.

 

Hank

Would St. Paul de Vence be possible from Monaco by bus. We will be in port from 9 to 8. What would be the highlights, shopping, eating, and walking around? Went to Eze this year and loved it. Are they similar? Any other suggestions from Monaco?

Thanks,

Gail

[wwinfl91]

A question for you, Gail. When you went to Eze this year were you docked at Monte Carlo and did you use public transport to go there?

 

Thanks

[millergj]

A question for you, Gail. When you went to Eze this year were you docked at Monte Carlo and did you use public transport to go there?

 

Thanks

Yes, we were docked at Monte Carlo. We took bus 100 to the Eze stop and then we had to take another bus that went up to the village. It is only 1 euro per route. The only thing is that I would go to Eze first before anywhere else as the bus that runs up to the village only goes each hour so you have to time it right. We had gone to Nice first and were cutting it close to get back to the ship. We ended up being early but there was a lot of pressure to get back and the bus was full. We only had one hour which was not long enough. Hope that helps. If you need to know anything else, let me know. We were going to take the train but it cost more and we did not have the right change. It took a credit card with a chip that we don't have. I liked the bus better.

[Hlitner]

Would St. Paul de Vence be possible from Monaco by bus. We will be in port from 9 to 8. What would be the highlights, shopping, eating, and walking around? Went to Eze this year and loved it. Are they similar? Any other suggestions from Monaco?

Thanks,

Gail

 

The easiest way would be to simply rent a car and drive yourselves. But yes, it is possible with the bus but you would need to make one transfer. You would first need to take the bus from MC to the Nice bus station (this is the final stop for the local #100 bus and there is also an express bus from MC (I am not sure about the schedule). Once at the Nice bus station you simply change to the #400 bus which goes to St Paul de Vence. Unfortunately this is a pretty lengthy trip because of all the bus stops. The #100 bus takes about 45 min between MC and Nice and the #400 bus takes approximately 1 hour between Nice and St Paul de Vence. Since the 400 bus only runs about once every 45 min you also need to factor-in the waiting time which means the trip could take up to 2 1/2 hours each way. With a rental car I can drive from MC to St Paul de Vence in about 45 min (if using the fast A8 Autostrade...or about 1:10 if I take the slower (but more picturesque) Corniche and Coastal roads.

 

I should add that with a car we would probably drive straight to St Paul de Vence, later stop at Nice to visit our favorite old town area, and finally make a stop at Eze Village before dropping the car in MC. For us this makes a perfect port day.

 

Hank

[wwinfl91]

Thanks for the reply. I will look into that as an option for our Monte Carlo stop. We might also try Eze from our stop at Cannes.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[millergj]

The easiest way would be to simply rent a car and drive yourselves. But yes, it is possible with the bus but you would need to make one transfer. You would first need to take the bus from MC to the Nice bus station (this is the final stop for the local #100 bus and there is also an express bus from MC (I am not sure about the schedule). Once at the Nice bus station you simply change to the #400 bus which goes to St Paul de Vence. Unfortunately this is a pretty lengthy trip because of all the bus stops. The #100 bus takes about 45 min between MC and Nice and the #400 bus takes approximately 1 hour between Nice and St Paul de Vence. Since the 400 bus only runs about once every 45 min you also need to factor-in the waiting time which means the trip could take up to 2 1/2 hours each way. With a rental car I can drive from MC to St Paul de Vence in about 45 min (if using the fast A8 Autostrade...or about 1:10 if I take the slower (but more picturesque) Corniche and Coastal roads.

 

Thanks Hank, I think you helped me on a Italy thread too.

 

I should add that with a car we would probably drive straight to St Paul de Vence, later stop at Nice to visit our favorite old town area, and finally make a stop at Eze Village before dropping the car in MC. For us this makes a perfect port day.

 

Hank

 

 

Thanks Hank, I think you helped me on a Italy thread too. We went to Nice and Eze this year and were looking to go somehwere different next year from the port of Monaco. Any other suggestions or can't miss places?

[Sailmore]

The easiest way would be to simply rent a car and drive yourselves. But yes, it is possible with the bus but you would need to make one transfer. You would first need to take the bus from MC to the Nice bus station (this is the final stop for the local #100 bus and there is also an express bus from MC (I am not sure about the schedule). Once at the Nice bus station you simply change to the #400 bus which goes to St Paul de Vence. Unfortunately this is a pretty lengthy trip because of all the bus stops. The #100 bus takes about 45 min between MC and Nice and the #400 bus takes approximately 1 hour between Nice and St Paul de Vence. Since the 400 bus only runs about once every 45 min you also need to factor-in the waiting time which means the trip could take up to 2 1/2 hours each way. With a rental car I can drive from MC to St Paul de Vence in about 45 min (if using the fast A8 Autostrade...or about 1:10 if I take the slower (but more picturesque) Corniche and Coastal roads.

 

I should add that with a car we would probably drive straight to St Paul de Vence, later stop at Nice to visit our favorite old town area, and finally make a stop at Eze Village before dropping the car in MC. For us this makes a perfect port day.

 

Hank

 

Hi Hank,

 

We too are going to be in Monaco next May and have been trying to decide on options. My original thought was to just take the train to Nice. Then I realized we could take the bus back via Eze. Someone also raved about St Paul de Vence, but I started to think we were stretching things unless we did a private tour. How difficult was the driving in this area and are there issues with parking? We spent 2 weeks this summer driving in England and Wales and came home saying that it was manageable, but way too much work and difficult to appreciate scenery for both the driver (my husband) and the navigator (myself). How would you rate your experience of driving in this area? Any specifics or recommendations would be appreciated. We are in port from 8AM to 11PM.

Thanks,

Linda

[Hlitner]

Hi Hank,

 

We too are going to be in Monaco next May and have been trying to decide on options. My original thought was to just take the train to Nice. Then I realized we could take the bus back via Eze. Someone also raved about St Paul de Vence, but I started to think we were stretching things unless we did a private tour. How difficult was the driving in this area and are there issues with parking? We spent 2 weeks this summer driving in England and Wales and came home saying that it was manageable, but way too much work and difficult to appreciate scenery for both the driver (my husband) and the navigator (myself). How would you rate your experience of driving in this area? Any specifics or recommendations would be appreciated. We are in port from 8AM to 11PM.

Thanks,

Linda

 

The good news is that they drive on the right in France (and everywhere else on the continent) and the driving rules are similar to what we have in the US and Canada. Even better news is that one can now get a GPS and avoid having to worry about getting lost. We really enjoy driving in this part of France since it opens up so many options and allows us to do what we want, when we want, with whom we want. Although the bus (and train) connections are excellent between the main cities in the region (such as Nice, MC, and Cannes) they are not as good when trying to get to places like Eze (very few buses) and St Paul de Vence. As to parking, at St Paul de Vence there are 2 options. You can park along the road outside the town (which can leave you with a long hike to the town) or there is a large indoor paid parking garage located just past the main entrance. At Eze Village there is a parking lot located right in front of the village entrance where we have always managed to get a space. In Nice we generally find parking on the street (there are parking meters). The worst place for parking tends to be in Monte Carlo....but since DW likes to avoid MC (it is our least favorite city in the region) this has never been an issue.

 

Hank

[Hlitner]

Thanks for the reply. I will look into that as an option for our Monte Carlo stop. We might also try Eze from our stop at Cannes.

 

Have a great next cruise.

 

Keep in mind that Eze Village is located along the Middle Corniche road that connects Nice to Monte Carlo which makes it a pretty long distance from Cannes. St Paul de Vence is equally accessible, by car from either Cannes or Monte Carlo. It would make more sense to visit Eze from the Monte Carlo port and drive to St Paul de Vence from Cannes. From Cannes it is also possible to get to St Paul de Vence by taking the train to the Cagnes sur Mer stop (a couple of stops west of Nice) where you can catch the #400 bus (which started at Nice's bus station). If you do this just ask at the Cagnes sur Mer station for directions to the bus stop.

 

Hank

[bp traveler]

Hi Hank - we were in Monaco this past July and took the bus to Nice - we had a bit of trouble trying to figure out how and which bus to Eze, and the kids were getting restless - so we never made it to Eze!

 

so we are going again in October and wanted to know if we rent a car - any route suggestions if Eze is must see what else could we do on our day stop here from a cruise?

 

Also -where do you typically rent your car from at the Monaco port?

 

thanks - you give some great insight out here!

[Hlitner]

Hi Hank - we were in Monaco this past July and took the bus to Nice - we had a bit of trouble trying to figure out how and which bus to Eze, and the kids were getting restless - so we never made it to Eze!

 

so we are going again in October and wanted to know if we rent a car - any route suggestions if Eze is must see what else could we do on our day stop here from a cruise?

 

Also -where do you typically rent your car from at the Monaco port?

 

thanks - you give some great insight out here!

 

I am not aware of any rental car company right at the port so getting a car involves some walking. We usually rent from the Hertz location which is pretty close to the port. There are other rental car companies with offices in town but you need to be careful with the location and office hours. The problem with the bus to Eze Village (from either Nice or Monte Carlo) is that it does not run very often (sometimes 1 1/2 hours between buses) so you need to plan your day around using that particular bus. As to a route, we have a basic rule when we rent cars on port days which is to drive to our most distant place early in the day and work our way back towards the port. With this formula we would save Eze as the last stop before returning to Monte Carlo. As to routes, there are so many options that its hard for us to plan for somebody else. But assuming you are in port early in the day and can get a car by 10 am, we would probably suggest driving straight to Nice's old town to enjoy the Flower Market (every day but Monday when they have the Antique Market). After some time at the market we would probably drive to St Paul de Vence for our usual browsing of the art galleries and perhaps lunch (although Nice old town has better eating options). Depending when we leave St Paul de Vence we might make a stop in Antibes before driving back along the coast towards Monte Carlo. At that point, if there is time we would certainly make a stop at Eze Village (only a few minutes outside of Monte Carlo) before dropping the car.

 

However, everyone has different interests which is an advantage to having a car. Personally, we just like to know our options and then we often make our itinerary decisions "on the fly" depending on how things go that day. DW reminds me of one time when we had worked-out a real itinerary and our first stop was at St Paul de Vence. When we got to that town there was a "heated" game of boules happening at the cafe right outside the main entrance to town. We stopped to watch those village men play their boules game and did not leave that cafe for more then an hour. At that point our entire itinerary went in the trash :)

 

Hank

[bp traveler]

Thanks Hank - I will try and get a car.

 

The funny part of the story from Nice is that I went to the information booth right out front of all the buses and they didn't know a lick of English and I didn't know enough French to find where to get our Eze bus!

 

We have been to Nice so I will do so research on where to visit besides Eze.

 

thanks

[wwinfl91]

Unfortunately that has also been my experience in my visits to France. Unless they stand to make some money from you many French people will not speak English back to you. I know I am in their country and I should learn a little more French than thank you but given I am a tourist and visitor in their country I would really appreciate at least an attempt to speak a language that has become the universal language, which is English, not French.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[Sailmore]

Hi Hank,

 

Thanks for all the info. I'm hoping to hear from others on our roll call and see if anyone wants to form a group. Meanwhile, I'll make a note of all your tips and we may make a decision on the day. Would you normally book a car ahead of time? We actually have our own GPS for Europe that we used on our Britain trip. It became a bit of a love hate relationship at times, but I wouldn't have gone without it.

We too often have a plan A, B & sometimes C, but I find the key is to do the research ahead in case something unexpected happens or you just change your mind on the day.

 

Thanks again,

Linda

[Hlitner]

We do understand that it can be somewhat frustrating that many of the French do not speak English, but then again, how many Americans speak French. We have done a lot of travel throughout France....mostly on long driving trips. DW and I speak very little French although we did have our share of high school French which does help for reading. Personally, we have generally found that many French will go out of their way to be helpful if folks use the right approach. Always greet any French person in their own language...a "Bonjour" with a smile will often get amazing results. Instead of asking a French person "do you speak English" just try "parlez-vous anglais madame" or whatever is correct for that person.

 

As to booking rental cars, we almost always book in advance before we leave on our trips. Most of the majors (such as Hertz) do not require a deposit and have no penalties for cancellation (or no shows). It is also very helpful if one knows how to drive a manual transmission (stick) since automatics can cost a lot more money and are not always available. And we certainly agree with Linda that its wise for independent travelers to always have a Plan A, B and C. Its also smart to carry the name and phone number of the ship's agent in case something goes horribly wrong and you might miss the ship. Lately we have been asking at Guest Relations for a phone number to reach the ship (sometimes you get a number and sometimes you do not).

 

Hank