Please critique my Villefranche plans

We'll be tendering in Villefranche on a Sunday in August, so some of the buses run less frequently. This is the one port we're doing using public transportation, so I ask you all for a little hand-holding to get us through it. ;)

We're planning on catching the 8:42 train arriving Monte Carlo at 9 a.m. We'll meander for a bit, eventually going to the Oceanographic Museum, perhaps catching the changing of the guard at the palace, perhaps a quick lunch, then back to the train for the 1:32 return.

We'll get off at Eze Gare and catch the #83 bus up to Eze village and spend some time there. There appears to be a bus #112 (the last one) that departs Eze Village at 5:25 back to Villefranche that might work. If we do that, at which Villefranche stop do we get off the bus? We might also reverse course and go back to the train.

If there were just 2 of us, I'd buck up and take taxis, but we're 10, so that's right out. This seems like a disaster waiting to happen. Somebody talk me out of it before it's too late! :eek:

Why talk you out of it?? It sounds very doable as long as you can keep 10 people together and on schedule!

Sounds good to me. However, keep in mind that Monte Carlo is pretty much a dead town on Sundays as is Nice. The best place to be on Sundays is St Paul de Vence with Eze the runner-up since these tourist towns cater to local crowds on Sundays...hence everything is open. By the way,,, the Eze Gare is called Eze sur Mer and the bus from the station up to the town does not run as frequently as one may wish. In a pinch you can cross the road and stop at the cafe and ask them to call some taxis (you would need a few). As to the bus stops in Villafranche,, I am not sure of the stops but its a pretty small village and you will have no problem figuring which stop is closest to the ship. Personally, we would take more time for lunch since this is France and eating is a passion.

Hank

Wow, I didn't expect replies so quickly. Thanks.

Cathi, I guess I just need moral support like your post.

Hank, considering that I have a wife and 3 daughters on this trip, the shops being closed in Monte Carlo is a huge win for me. ;) We're fine just walking around and taking in the sights and some photo-ops. Do you know if they do the changing of the guards ceremony on Sunday?

I've checked bus schedules online, and you're right about the infrequency. The #112 only makes 3 runs all day. The schedule for the #83 is more regular. En service tous les jours. Even my limited French can read that.

Rich

A wife and 3 daughters! I could give you directions to the nearest "stag" bar (big smile). They do have the changing of the guard every day at 11:55. I suggest you take a taxi or local bus from the train station up to the palace (its mostly uphill) and than you can walk down. Personally, I would prefer lunch at Eze (rather than Monte Carlo) but that might not fit with your schedule. Monte Carlo ranks very low on our list of favorite places,, but you are picking the best things to see in the city (palace and Oceanographic Museum). Call me stuborn, but the idea of dressing "appropriately" and paying admission to get in a casino is not gonna happen to this guy! We were recently in this area on a Sunday port call (we tendered into Cannes) and chose to spend our Sunday in St Paul de Vence and Antibes (we rented a car). Somehow I managed to escape without any serious shopping :)

Hank

Hank,

Thanks again for all the suggestions. You wouldn't catch me paying admission to enter a casino either, however, I do see the reason behind it. I guess it keeps out those that just want to wander through.

Rich

We'll be to VF in the fall. I'm guessing we need to get some Euros to do any onshore shoping/travelling on our own. What about Visa/MC instead? Where/when do we get the Euros; ahead of time or in port?

We have been to Monte Carlo several times and most recently on a cruise last Fall. We have also been to Villefanche. What you have outlined for the morning looks very reasonable to me. Fairly close to the Aquarium is an outdoor garden area with a huge variety of plants. If you have time, would be nice to walk around there.

As you correctly noted you will be tendering in Villefranche. The only thing to keep in mind (and you might have considered this already) is that usually the first off the ship are those who have shore excursions booked through the cruise line. So, the only thing to think through is can you get off the ship in time to catch the train that you noted in your original post. I want to say that it is about a 10 or 15 minute walk to the train station if I remember correctly.

In terms of Monte Carlo the first time we were there we thought it was so so but the last time we were there about two full days we had a wonderful time. Maybe it was due to the fact that the weather was much nicer the second time but we just had a fun time walking all over this area and taking advantage of the various attractions.

Keith

Hi RichYak,

Ok, here are my thoughts! You asked, here they are! LOL I would like to talk you out of it! With 10 people to keep track of and all those other tourists visiting Villefranche, etc., your time would be better spent on an organized tour. Doing it yourself, you will also be watching for the right train, the time you have to catch the train, etc., etc. Not only that, but you won't know any of the history or the background of the areas you will be visiting. Michel had audio guides that he played prior to our entering the areas we were going to see. It was money well spent. The places you want to visit are not that close together either.

We went to Villefranche in October and also tendered into Villefranche port. Villefranche is beautiful and has a lovely port area. Lots of shops to browse, etc. It is a pedestrian-only area so no cars!

We booked a private all-day tour with Michel of Revelation Tours. Michel and another driver picked us up at the port at 9 am and off we went for a wonderful day! It was truly the best tour we have ever taken. We had 16 passengers in 2 vans.

If you have 10 people in your group, it might be better if you booked a tour w/ someone. I am sure that you can book a mini-bus that would accommodate all of you. You can do a half-day tour also. I can give you a couple of names of tour guides.

If you still think that you want to try to navigate on your own, then I would pick a couple of areas to see rather than stretch it out and try to see everything. You will enjoy it so much more than trying to see too much in the time you are in Villefranche.

Do you have any children traveling with you? If you do, then they would enjoy seeing Monaco & Monte Carlo and all the Mercedes, Lamborghinis, etc. They can see where the Grand Prix is held also. Visiting the Palace, seeing the changing of the guard would be interesting to them. The views of the port are spectacular! All those yachts hanging out in the harbor. I think I would pick Monaco, visit the acquarium, etc., then visit Villefranche. There is lots of info on these boards from people that have been there.

Here are some websites that I used in our planning. The first one says that there are special shoppings days on Sundays in Monaco during August. Don't know if your cruise date will coincide.

http://www.cote.azur.fr/site-tourisme-monaco-1136.htm

http://www.rtstours.net/cruise.html

http://gofrance.about.com/od/nice/a/nicebyg.htm

http://www.villefranche-sur-mer.com

http://www.palais.mc/wwwpal.nsf/ABDA2D1C46C35324C1256D52004F9708/4B0C3DD148D484FFC1256BA60051E774

http://www.culturespaces.com/en/ephrussi/215-/

The Villa Ephrussi a favorite of mine. It is so beautiful there. This was the last stop of our tour. It is about 10 min. drive from Villefranche.

Hope this helps. Good luck. You will enjoy visiting Villefranche. It was one of my favorite ports.

I like to know that my day is all planned when I visit ports and that I don't have to worry about time frames, traffic jams, etc. Your tour guide does all that for you and then some! They know you are off a cruise ship and make sure you get back to the port in time for your sailaway. I did a lot of research b4 we went and decided that booking a private tour would be the best option to see the maximum in the time we had in Villefranche.

Let us know what you decide. I have lots of info on the French Riviera!

Mary

P.S. Here is something that I found in my notes from another CC member:

"Anyone who goes to Europe and is limited by ship time constraints to see such historical and amazing places should try to take private tours if they can! They are a little expensive, but I think you can see twice as much as the ships tours offer in the same amount of time for close to the same price. You will not regret it and definitely will never forget it!!

You can buy small amounts of Euros in the states before you go - they're used everywhere except Great Britain. Your AAA office will sell them in packets worth $100, but at a very expensive exchange rate (seems like it was $.10 more than the going rate). Or, you can use the ATM machine at the Europe airport or anywhere in big cities. You can also change cash dollars for Euros at the airport and at the purser's desk on the ship. Again, the exchange rate will not be as good as at a local bank, but still OK for small amounts. Finally, you can buy Euros from AmEx Travel agencies in the states. Exchange rate isn't that bad but they'll tack a $5 service fee on top of the exchange rate so you pay a premium. If you're going to exchange money in the US before you go, check out rates out a large bank. My advice, get a little Euro cash (less than $100 worth) before you go and use your ATM to get the rest while in Europe. You'll get a great exchange rate without a large amount of fees.

As for the Villefranche on your own - you sound very organized - I think you can do it. We did a train to Nice (didn't do like you did and missed the 10am train (I think) and had to wait for the 11:30 train and took it to Nice. We then walked all the way from the big Nice station (2nd stop) to the water but I felt Nice was not a very pretty city and that we wasted time there. By that time, I had obtained a train schedule (in French!) and we took the 4pm train to Monte Carlo. We came out at the wrong end of the train station and ended up having a nice French lady call a taxi for us to go to the casino. It was a disappointment - both the free slot machine area and the "pay-to-enter" casino. Next, we took a taxi back to the train station and tried to catch the 6pm train but arrived just as it was leaving and missed it. So, we caught the 7pm train back to Villefranche and caught a tender back to the ship and were on it by 8:15.

I thought Monte Carlo was very pretty and would have enjoyed staying there longer. If I had it to do over again, we would have spent more time in Villefranche, seen Eze and more time in Monte Carlo and skipped Nice. Finally, be careful and note which trains stop in Villefranche and the ones that don't - it seems every other train stopped there but the express trains (I guess) did not.

Are you on the RCCL Voyager for August 5? We are a party of 10 on that ship. We had also planned on doing the area on our own.

Ok, lots to cover here. First of all:

Thanks again for all the suggestions. You wouldn't catch me paying admission to enter a casino either, however, I do see the reason behind it. I guess it keeps out those that just want to wander through.

intentionaltourist, we're on Millennium Aug 18 sailing.

cruisingmimi, the reason we didn't do a private tour is that we have full day private tours 4 out of the next 5 days on this trip. I didn't want the kids or, heck, even me, to be toured out. With the ship tendered until 11pm we have the luxury of winging it without fear or missing the ship, and with the potential for all or any part of the group to just call it quits whenever we want by spending a few more euros on taxi fares or going straight back to Villefranche on the train and skipping Eze.

lucyjohnz, missing trains would be a nuisance. It's highly likely that we'll push back the whole day by an hour because of the difficulty making that first train. We'll see.

Thanks to all for the comments.

Rich

could you please send me a bus scheduel link for villefranche and a train one also? Do you have one for any of the other ports that voyager stops in in france? thanks vlnovak@hotmail.com

Train schedules are at http://www.sncf.com/indexe.htm

Bus schedules are at http://www.lignedazur.com/

thanks so much. If I wish to visit Eze from villefranche can you tell me which bus and how to get there and back. Leaving in the morning. also is there a day bus pass and the cost. thank you.

thanks so much. If I wish to visit Eze from villefranche can you tell me which bus and how to get there and back. Leaving in the morning. also is there a day bus pass and the cost. thank you.

Bus #112. Fares in link below.

http://www.lignedazur.com/tarif/index.asp?rub_code=7&thm_id=1178

cruisingmimi-

do you have an email address for the tour company you used? i'm on the voyager of the seas next june with my family and my husband's family (8 people total including two 17 yr. olds-one boy and one girl) and i think it would be much easier to take a private tour. next summer will be my first time back in the nice area in 24 years and i'm very excited and also want to make sure that i make the most of our day there. any other suggestions you have will be very appreciated.

Rich,

Your plans look fine to me. As Hank says Monte Carlo will be quiet, but easier to walk around. The expensive boats will still be in and you may spot some Celebs. Monaco on the hill will still be the same though whatever day you visit. You can get a bus up to the top from just outside the bottom entrance to the train station. When you get off the train go towards the exit and then down the steps under the tracks and eventually you come out by the waterside. The bus is just on the right.

Here is a quide of Villefranche sur Mer with an interactive map, you can see the bus stops marked.

http://www.villefranche-sur-mer.com/accueil_english.htm