Advice needed Monaco, Nice, St Paul or...

[trintrav]

We are trying to decide on which excursion to take. We are hiring a private guide in Monte Carlo that offers the following day excursions

 

Monaco & Monte-Carlo in the morning, Nice & St Paul in the afternoon

 

or

 

A full day all along the French Riviera from Monaco to St Tropez with many visits of sea-side resorts

 

Any thoughts on which route to choose? We are first timers to this are. Traveling with kids, ages 15, 10 and 12.

 

Thanks,

 

Greg

[TLCOhio]

We are trying to decide on which excursion to take. We are hiring a private guide in Monte Carlo that offers the following day excursions Monaco & Monte-Carlo in the morning, Nice & St Paul in the afternoon

or

A full day all along the French Riviera from Monaco to St Tropez with many visits of sea-side resorts

Any thoughts on which route to choose? We are first timers to this are. Traveling with kids, ages 15, 10 and 12. Thanks, Greg

 

Much depends on your personal and travel interests. How much city/urban areas versus more country-types of areas and scenery is of strongest interest to you and your family??? You might also consider the spectacular setting of Eze. Below are some visual examples for Eze, Monaco, the Coast, etc. I assume you won't be driving in this area, but the congestion and traffic can get frustrating at certain peak, busy times. Is this your first time in Europe? Museums, food, wine, art, music, shopping, architecture, etc.? How much of it in a leisurely style versus fast-paced? Then, with more detailed information from you, we can make better, more specific suggestions on what best fits your needs and interests.

 

COASTAL SUGGESTION: The old village of Eze, along the coast between Nice and Monaco, hangs up in the mountains above the water and crowds. It's wonderful to visit. Great, great views! Totally charming! Have lunch or dinner there at one of the two great eating places and feel like you're sitting on the edge of paradise! We ate at the Château Eza. Its website: http://www.chateauezarestaurant.com. At 1,407 feet above the Mediterranean, Eze offers commanding views of cliffs, sea, sprawling estates and off-shore islands. The village's narrow streets or more really paths among the buildings lead to the Jardin Exotique It is a maze of paths flanked by mammoth flowering plants and spiky cactuses. For about $3, you can walk up to the best view on the French Riviera. On a clear day, you can see Corsica! It does not get much better than Eze. Their tourism office:

http://www.eze-riviera.com

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For more details, great visuals, etc., from our July 1-16 Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle Silver Cloud experiences:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

 

 

Here is one of the parks in Monaco with the scenic mountains in the background:

 

 

 

Here is another view of Monaco with famed hotel and part of the Casino with the scenic mountains also shown:

 

 

 

From the water side, this is the view for this side of the Monaco Casino:

 

 

 

The charming mountain top village of Eze is nearby and offers great view along the coast:

 

 

 

This picture shows more of the gardens at the top of Eze that offers great views along the coast:

 

 

 

Along the scenic southern French coast west of Cannes:

 

[BiggiB]

Bonjour, trintrav

Since you are traveling with kids, I would not recommend to take the long tour to Saint-Tropez. It might not look far on a map, but driving, especially along the coast line is absolutely time consuming and will take up the whole morning, with some stops. This could be boring for the youngsters, who might prefer some more active pasttimes.

In October it will be still warm enough for watersports and Monaco got a safe beach with various water sports facilities.

If you are interested to see something different, or if the weather is not too good, why don't you take your family to the Oceanographic Museum (much more than an aquarium) and later to the Prince's Classic Car Collection?

If you have a private guide, ask her/him to take the young travelers into consideration and concentrate on a few interesting spots, not doing the whole coast in one day.

Have fun!

[Keith1010]

Greg, I would take the first tour. There is lots to see in Monaco and you could do a lot by walking around which the kids would enjoy. It is a fun city to walk around and that is a perfect time of the year. And what you have planned in the afternoon sounds great as well.

 

As mentioned if you want to throw in a little beach time there is a beach that is in Monaco that is quite nice.

 

Keith

[seabreezer]

Neither of those options sound all that appealing to me. I would target a couple of hill towns including Eze with a nice lunch to get a good taste of the area. Otherwise I'm afraid you'll be rushing around all day.

[Green4me]

Questions to the folks here that have a comanding knowledge of this area,and I mention that with great respect! :) First time to this area, not Europe in general. family of 5 ages 17 and up, no medical restrictions. All love history and none like rushing around to try and see it all. Kind of an eat drink and be merry group ;)Want to see and spend time in Eze, Monaco and maybe Ville Franche from what I have read on hte boards. In Monaco next June on the new carnival magic from 9am to 8pm. Do we go our own way?, have never booked a ship cruise and sailed many times, like the amazing race idea of getting from point a to b and if you agree would you try and do these three stops? Bus or train

 

Thanks

[TLCOhio]

Questions to the folks here that have a comanding knowledge of this area,and I mention that with great respect! :) First time to this area, not Europe in general. family of 5 ages 17 and up, no medical restrictions. All love history and none like rushing around to try and see it all. Kind of an eat drink and be merry group ;)Want to see and spend time in Eze, Monaco and maybe Ville Franche from what I have read on hte boards. In Monaco next June on the new carnival magic from 9am to 8pm. Do we go our own way?, have never booked a ship cruise and sailed many times, like the amazing race idea of getting from point a to b and if you agree would you try and do these three stops? Bus or train. Thanks

 

You are fortunate to have from 9 am to 8 pm in port. With a group of five, I would consider getting a rental car so that you have more freedom and flexibility. That makes it easier to see more of the charming villages such as Eze and getting away from the normal urban crowds and congestion. Much depends on what your group likes and enjoys. With a family of five trying to do it on a bus or train is possible, but you will have lots of wasted time making all of those logistic flow together and connect. Towns like Aix are not that far away and some of Provence might be possible. What are your other port stops on this cruise? How much do you like history, small villages, architecture? Tell us more!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For more details, great visuals, etc., from our July 1-16 Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle Silver Cloud experiences:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

[Green4me]

Terry in Ohio, thanks for your reply! We will be 12 nights rt from Barcelona on the carnival magic. 2 nights each side pre and post cruise. Monaco will be stop #1 followed by Liverno, Citv. (Rome), Naples, Venice, Messina and Dubrovnik, not neccesarily in that order :) My family loves history, and architecture, but we do not want to cram it all in so to speak. Any suggestions for us are greatly appreciated. Ages are 17 and up to me at 52!

 

Bob

[Pfg]

I posted this same request in the Nice threat too, since the company is located in Nice, however they serve Monaco too. Has anybody heard of them or tour with them? They seem to have reasonable fees, but I don't want to go blind here. We have asked for other quotes, and this one was the best one, price wise. Any reviews, comments?

Thank you.:)

Patricia.

[StarTrkGeek]

I posted this same request in the Nice threat too, since the company is located in Nice, however they serve Monaco too. Has anybody heard of them or tour with them? They seem to have reasonable fees, but I don't want to go blind here. We have asked for other quotes, and this one was the best one, price wise. Any reviews, comments?

Thank you.:)

Patricia.

DON'T USE THEM. We used them last year and they sent a driver who spoke only French and Spanish -- Not a word of English. We called the Med Tours and they told us that they contracted our tour out to another company because they were overbooked. We told them that this other company sent a driver who could not speak English, and Med Tours told us that there was nothing they could do. They totally ruined our tour.

Alan

[Pfg]

DON'T USE THEM. We used them last year and they sent a driver who spoke only French and Spanish -- Not a word of English. We called the Med Tours and they told us that they contracted our tour out to another company because they were overbooked. We told them that this other company sent a driver who could not speak English, and Med Tours told us that there was nothing they could do. They totally ruined our tour.

Alan

Thank you for the info.

Patricia.

[TLCOhio]

Terry in Ohio, thanks for your reply! We will be 12 nights rt from Barcelona on the carnival magic. 2 nights each side pre and post cruise. Monaco will be stop #1 followed by Liverno, Citv. (Rome), Naples, Venice, Messina and Dubrovnik, not neccesarily in that order :) My family loves history, and architecture, but we do not want to cram it all in so to speak. Any suggestions for us are greatly appreciated. Ages are 17 and up to me at 52! Bob

 

Sorry, Bob, for not catching your response earlier. You will be visiting some great ports and places. Lots and lots of wonderful options. You won't be able to see and do it all. That's your biggest challenge. Too many good potentials to see and do in most all of these ports. You will also have to "pace yourself" since the pace can be fast with such a cruise.

 

Here are a couple of other suggestions to help you and other future travelers. FIRST, scroll back through all of the earlier postings. You will see many different items on ports you would visit and/or at the board for each separate cruise line in planning for your upcoming cruise. SECOND, do a search on these boards by each city and you will see lots of postings on various subjects connected with each port stop.

 

You might grab, maybe from your library or a book transfer they can do for you, such good visual books such as Eyewitness, Insight, etc. Rick Steves, Fodors, Frommers, etc., can work well, too. No one travel book has it "ALL", perfectly and completely. These resources, especially the visuals one, can you help better figure out your priorities, in advance, for what you want to do and see in each of these great ports.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For more details, great visuals, etc., from our July 1-16 Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle Silver Cloud experiences:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

[baderry]

DH and I will be in Monaco in May and this will be our second visit. We will have a tour guide and have been to the Casino, Eze and the normal 1st time visitor stops. Would you please give me your thoughts on the following two places? Also, if you had to chose one, which would you prefer: Saint Paul & Les Hauts de Cagnes?

Thanking you in advance for your input.

[ddpe]

We just returned two weeks ago from a cruise that stopped in Nice and ended in Monaco. We toured Nice, Eze, Monte Carlo, Villa Rothschild and St. Paul de Vence. Our favorite was the day we spent post cruise in St. Paul de Vence. We used the train to Cagne sur Mer and then a taxi to St. Paul de Vence. We returned via bus to the train in Cagne sur Mer. Very easy. Very nice shops, very intersting fortified village (much better than Eze IMO), great lunch at one of the cafes. I think you could also rent a car yourself and drive there quite easily.

[baderry]

We just returned two weeks ago from a cruise that stopped in Nice and ended in Monaco. We toured Nice, Eze, Monte Carlo, Villa Rothschild and St. Paul de Vence. Our favorite was the day we spent post cruise in St. Paul de Vence. We used the train to Cagne sur Mer and then a taxi to St. Paul de Vence. We returned via bus to the train in Cagne sur Mer. Very easy. Very nice shops, very intersting fortified village (much better than Eze IMO), great lunch at one of the cafes. I think you could also rent a car yourself and drive there quite easily.

 

ddpe: Can you tell me which of Cagne sur Mer and St. Paul de Vence you enjoyed most. Is there much difference in the two? If you had to choose one, which would you chose?

 

Thanks in advance

[ddpe]

Hi Baderry,

 

We did not tour Cagne Sur Mer and all I saw was the train station and a bus stop. I would definitely vote for St. Paul de Vence though.

[cabincop]

Hi I have been to Canne Villafrence and Monte Carlo. The first time we went to Monte carlo we did 4hr ship tour with Cathedral, museum and a walking tour of gardens. We had time after and we sat in an outdoor cafe and had cappuchino and salad it was 70euro total we just laughed. It was a great place to people watch both locals and tourist. This time I am going back to my cafe then gamble with the big boys. Ok I can't gamble like the locals but I will try and do USA proud, lol