St. Paul de Vence by train and bus

[cadreamer]

I promised someone on this board that I would report back after going to St. Paul by public transport. We decided to do it by train. We were in Monte Carlo but you can get the train in Ville-franche. The stop is Cagnes Sur Mer and the fare was 7.20 round trip euros per person with the senior fare (over 60). Ask for De couvert senior Age. Our ticket was actually checked on the train because they did a car sweep to check for tickets( a first on this particular train for us) and there was no problem with our senior fare. So I assume it is not necessary to be from a EU country or they don't check on that.

When you exit the train station you turn right and walk 1-2 blocks, cross the street and you see the bus stop.You take the TAM bus #400 for 2.20 euros each one way. It is a 15 minute ride to St. Paul. Coming back you just get the bus back to town on the opposite side of the street. From the bus you can get a great picture of the town on the hill as you approach. The bus runs about every 30 minutes with fewer on Sunday and over lunch.

You can also take bus TAM bus # 400 all the way from Nice. To do this you take the train from Monte Carlo to the Nice bus station. I do not know the bus fare from Nice.

We decided to take the train since it seemed more convenient and quicker to us but probably not cheaper. We had already been to Nice so did not want to go thru there. We loved St. Paul and it was especially nice to be there right around lunch time before the tour buses arrived. It was also nice to do it on our own without a crowded tour and not feeling rushed. We recommend a trip to St. Paul.

[TedC]

Thanks for the info, Cadreamer.

 

We loved St. Paul de Vence when we were there on a land trip several years ago.

 

We'll be in Monaco by ship next year and plan to make a return visit to St. P de V.

 

Is there an advantage getting the bus at Cagnes Sur Mer rather than Nice? Is Cagnes Sur Mer east or west of Nice?

 

Thanks for any help.

[cadreamer]

Cagnes Sur Mer is west of Nice. Taking the train and bus seemed quicker and more convenient to us. Maybe someone who took the bus can tell us how long it takes to get from Monaco to Nice and then from Nice to Cagnes Sur Mer. Either way you have to walk either to the bus stop in Monaco to take the bus to the Nice bus station and change to the St. Paul bus, or to the train station to take the train to Cagnes Sur Mer. The train station I would say is just a little farther to walk. Again maybe someone who did it this way can tell you about the bus stop location in Monaco. We did not wait long in Cagnes Sur Mer for the bus up the hill to St. Paul and coming back we got off the bus at the train station and jumped right on the train.

[Mike Andrews]

For info on St Paul de Vence go to http://WWW.saint-pauldevence.com

[Sunsailor]

Do you know if we can get to St.Paul deVence from Marseille easily? Last trip we were on a small ship and docked in Monaco but the next trip will dock in Marseille.

Appreciate any help.

Barbara & Mark

[Robin G]

We will arrive in Villefranche in June and I would like to visit both St. Paul and Eze. Can we do this all by train or should we rent a car? Thanks.

 

Robin

[Robin G]

Bump

[cadreamer]

You can definitely do it all by train. If you are there overnight it will be especially easy. Allot depends on how long your ship stays there.If not overnight perhaps it is there til 11 PM. The two towns are opposite directions from Villefranche. You can read above how to do the train to St. Paul and the same train going the other direction goes to Eze-sur-mer. This is at the bottom of the hill and you have to get a bus or taxi up the hill. I believe you can get the bus directly from Villefranche but you have to walk about 20 minutes up hill to the main road from the port(and from the train station) where you tender in - very doable. We were actually in Monaco and from there the bus(a different bus) was quite easy and it goes all the way up to Eze. The very last part up you have to walk in any case. The buses do not run all that frequently so it is best to get the schedule. I believe there are directions on cruisecritic for how to get the bus schedules. You may want to wait til it is closer to your time to be there. Eze is very close to Villefranche and St Paul is about 30 minutes by train and another 15 minutes up hill on the bus.Hope this helps.

[Robin G]

The info was a big help, thanks so much.

[lucyjohnz]

Not every train that comes through Villefranche stops there - it's about every other train. So, get the train schedule before you go (it's available online and I found a link to it somewhere on this Europe board). If you don't look at a schedule and plan ahead of time, you'll end up sitting in the train station for an hour waiting for the next train. The train station does have schedule brochures available at the station but they are in French and fairly difficult to figure out.

 

We took the train from Villefranche and got there around 10am - found out the next train to Nice didn't leave until 11:30. And, after walking around for awhile, we came back to the station around 11:15 and there were no longer live people selling tickets at the station - you could only buy your tickets from a machine - again, all information in French. We had already purchased our tickets so we were fine. I intently studied the schedule and figured out that we could catch a train back from Nice at 4pm that would stop in Villefranche but we decided to ride the train through to Monte Carlo (another 10 minutes on the train). We got off the train there, went the wrong direction and ended up who knows where in relation to the casino and had to take a cab to the casino (10E). We then took a cab back around around 6:30pm and ran into the station and saw our train to Villefrancheleave. We then waited another hour and a half for the next train - there was a 7pm train that left but it did NOT stop in Villefranche.

 

So, do your research for the whole day before you go so you don't waste time waiting for transportation.

[cruisinsince75]

Do you know if we can get to St.Paul deVence from Marseille easily? Last trip we were on a small ship and docked in Monaco but the next trip will dock in Marseille.

Appreciate any help.

Barbara & Mark

 

Easy to get to from Cannes, Nice, Villefranche, and Monte Carlo, but a real trek from Marseille.

[Sunsailor]

Thank you. We'll make Avignon our destination