Villefranche to St Paul de Vence or Eze

[Adventures ahead]

We're tendering in Villefranche on Brilliance of the Seas on Sept 23.

Want to go to Nice and either St Paul de Vence or Eze.

Can someone advise on best DIY plan?

[TMLAalum]

Buy Rick Steves' Guide to Mediterranean Cruiseports! He provides extensive details on using public transportation from Villefranche to the areas you hope to visit + many others along the French Riviera.

 

Perhaps another poster can give you this information in a nutshell, but Rick's advice is comprehensive.

 

We will be tendering in Villefranche on our next cruise, and decided to opt for a private tour for this port, although will be taking public transportation in LaSpezia and Gibraltar.

[Adventures ahead]

After a quick search, we'd prefer to go St Paul de Vence (and Nice). We're used to taking public transportation when the logistics make sense.

 

 

The ship has a 4.5-hour tour that goes to both Nice and St Paul de Vence. The tour time isn't posted so it might inconveniently prevent us from doing much else and be rushed as a big-bus experience.

 

We're in port from 7am to 7pm. After we tender in Villefrance and take the bus to Nice, is it easy (how far, how long) to get to St Paul de Vence from Nice and back to Villefrance?

[mskaufman]

When we were in Villefranche we took the tender into town and did our own guided tour. A few hours in the morning was adequate to get a feel for this gorgeous place. We went back to the ship for lunch and then took the ship's tour to Nice and Eze. Felt that this really maximized our day there.

[Hlitner]

When we were in Villefranche we took the tender into town and did our own guided tour. A few hours in the morning was adequate to get a feel for this gorgeous place. We went back to the ship for lunch and then took the ship's tour to Nice and Eze. Felt that this really maximized our day there.

 

 

Going to St Paul de Vence (a favorite place of ours) is a pain in the behind....if done on public transit. You must first get to either Nice (by bus or train) or Cagnes sur Mer (by train) and then transfer to the #400 bus. Personally, we prefer to simply rent a car for the day which makes it easy to drive to Nice, St Paul de Vence, Eze, Antibes, etc.

 

Hank

[Adventures ahead]

Going to St Paul de Vence (a favorite place of ours) is a pain in the behind....if done on public transit. You must first get to either Nice (by bus or train) or Cagnes sur Mer (by train) and then transfer to the #400 bus. Personally, we prefer to simply rent a car for the day which makes it easy to drive to Nice, St Paul de Vence, Eze, Antibes, etc.

 

Hank

Thanks, Hank. I was hoping you'd reply. We've yet to meet in PV in the winter. Maybe next year?

 

Renting a car isn't an option for us - not that brave! I was hoping it would be easier to get to St Paul de Vence on our own.:( Actually, one bus to Nice and another to SPdV doesn't seem so bad if it's not too far and could be done in a reasonable timeframe. Can you comment on the distances (time needed) and how often the bus might run between Nice and SPdV?

 

We're two couples traveling together and, even then, the cost of a private tour seems prohibitive. We've been to this area before, many years ago, and it's a first-time visit for our friends. The ship's tour is an option - just not preferred.

 

Maybe we should opt to go by bus to Nice and Eze (second choice) instead?

[mskaufman]

We went to StPdV last summer and Eze a couple of years ago. Here is a link to some pictures so you can compare.

 

https://southerneurope.shutterfly.com/pictures/524

 

https://markandkareneurope2012.shutterfly.com/pictures/668

[buggins0402]

Here is a website that I like to use to get a general idea of how to get from point A to B by public transportation in port. Word of cuation always use its links to the actual timetables to see if it will actually work!!!! For example busses sometimes skip an hour at lunchtime in their schedules and for more esoteric ports the website can be very misleading.....a bus might run once every few days.

 

https://www.rome2rio.com/s/Villefranche-sur-Mer/Saint-Paul-de-Vence

 

Drilling down on the website you'll find this link to the schedule of the bus Hank cited.

 

https://www.departement06.fr/documents/A-votre-service/Deplacements/transports-en-commun/dpt06-cadredevie_lignes_400.pdf

 

Prior to leaving you should recheck the website to make sure you have the most up to date timetable.

[Hlitner]

Thanks, Hank. I was hoping you'd reply. We've yet to meet in PV in the winter. Maybe next year?

 

Renting a car isn't an option for us - not that brave! I was hoping it would be easier to get to St Paul de Vence on our own.:( Actually, one bus to Nice and another to SPdV doesn't seem so bad if it's not too far and could be done in a reasonable timeframe. Can you comment on the distances (time needed) and how often the bus might run between Nice and SPdV?

 

We're two couples traveling together and, even then, the cost of a private tour seems prohibitive. We've been to this area before, many years ago, and it's a first-time visit for our friends. The ship's tour is an option - just not preferred.

 

Maybe we should opt to go by bus to Nice and Eze (second choice) instead?

 

It's fun helping those who have the spirit of adventure. I think it might be best to just post the link to the entire bus schedule (for the area) which is

https://www.departement06.fr/vous-deplacer-en-bus/lignes-et-horaires-3029.html

 

You can take some time and browse through the info, which it a bit confusing until you get used to their system. The bus# from Nice to St Paul de Vence is the #400. From Villefranche to Nice there are actually a few different bus lines...but the most common (which runs quite often) is the #100.

 

When I looked at the current schedule, I noticed that the #400 seems to have changed its initial bus stop (in Nice) from where we used to go (the Gare Routiere) to a street stop at Albert 1 and Verdun. Since we have never used that particular stop we cannot know, for sure, its exact location although it appears to be on the west side of the old port. So, we are hoping that somebody with more recent info (like Marazul or Euro Cruiser) might jump in with more detailed info. The tricky part of your journey is knowing the best bus stop on the #100 Line (from Villefranche to Nice) to get you closest to that #400 stop. That being said, we would suggest first stopping at the Nice Flower Market (before going on to St Paul de Vence) if you have enough time in your port day. Just keep in mind that the #400 bus takes around 1 hour to get to St Paul de Vence (we can drive it much faster).

 

As to Eze Village, it is a lot closer to Villefranche and also charming. But while Eze Village has plenty of charm, we still favor St Paul de Vence because of its larger size and some interesting art stores/galleries. Near St Paul de Vence is also a very interesting Art Museum called the Fondation Maeght. This museum is particularly popular with those who enjoy contemporary art...especially that of Jean Miro.

 

Getting to Eze from Villefranche can be done several ways including a bus line that runs between Nice and Monte Carlo..... I think it might be the #82....but this entire bus thing has become more complicated since they have split the bus timetables into two different sites (which work differently). The one I posted above (for St Paul de Vence) is primarily the regional buses. But I can no longer find those local buses (with bus numbers below 100...which are now at some other site. Wait a few weeks and it might change again :). I do think its possible to take a bus from Villefranche to nearby Beaulieu where one can get that 82 up to Eze Village. There is also a #112 bus that stops at Eze Village...which I think can be accessed in Nice. The problem with buses to Eze Village is that have always been few and far between (sometimes more then an hour between buses) so one really needs to access the latest info near their trip date.

 

Wish we could be helpful, but the relatively new bus schedule site(s) are kicking our butt! The French have never made it easy to access and understand bus schedules....but DW reminds me that is the case with most local bus schedules around the world.

 

Hank

[Adventures ahead]

Hank,

Thanks so much for your detailed response!

 

Although we don't often take ship's tours, it's looking like a better option for reaching the smaller towns.:o Would be a completely different story if we were staying overnight.

[Hlitner]

Hank,

Thanks so much for your detailed response!

 

Although we don't often take ship's tours, it's looking like a better option for reaching the smaller towns.:o Would be a completely different story if we were staying overnight.

 

We are not big fans of cruise line excursions, but if the itinerary is and price is right, it could be your best choice. You might also want to become active on your cruise's Roll Call (here on CC) and see if you can find a few others who want to go to the same small towns. If so, you might do better to hire your own driver/guide. There is no question that trying to do a lot of smaller towns using public transportation is a true challenge and not a great option. This is what led us, over thirty years ago, to get into the habit of using rental cars in many European ports. A rental car generally costs us around 100€ for a port day, whereas hiring a taxi or private tour (for ourselves) would likely cost 350 - 500€.

 

We have seen cruise line excursions in St Paul de Vence and it has always made us grateful we were not on the tour. They will generally walk their charges (which can be up to 60 souls) through the city (up the one main street) giving them some information about the walled city. Then the tours usually get a limited amount of free time which generally does not leave them enough time to relax with a nice lunch. DW reminded me that on one driving visit to St Paul de Vence we got there about 9:30am on a beautiful Sunday morning. Several local men were having their weekly Boules game on the pitch located at a cafe just outside the city walls. We stopped for some coffee and ultimately spend over an hour just watching the boules game and chatting with some of the locals. While this was happening, along came a large tour group from our ship with several of our friends. When they saw the Boules they asked their guide if they could leave the tour and join us at the cafe....and were advised it was not a good idea since they would miss their tour and possibly lose their group. Several others on the tour also wanted to stop at the cafe....but it was not to be since their guide had a schedule. And that sums up one big negative of large group tours...in that you lose most flexibility (this is not normally as big an issue if you are on a small private tour).

 

Ever since stopping for to watch that Boules match....this cafe has become a regular haunt of ours whenever we see a few locals playing boules. It is an interesting part of the local culture...which I find a lot more interesting then a guide touting a jewelry store (from which they get a commission).

 

Hank

[marazul]

Hi Hank,

just saw this thread. Albert 1er and Verdun could not be more centrally located. It is just up the street from the Meridien hotel. It is a short walk from the Flower Market. Here is a link to the map:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Albert+1er+%2F+Verdun/@43.695741,7.2656814,18z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x12cddaa05f549c3f:0x77d1c44df5957019!8m2!3d43.6961255!4d7.2669648?hl=en

 

I am afraid I don't have much experience with buses in Nice since we always have a car.

 

And we also love the Cafe de la Place in St Paul. Years (lots) ago we use to see Yves Montand playing boules there on Sunday mornings.

[marazul]

Just another thought for the OP. Find out where the bus stops are coming back from St Paul. If you have enough time, take the Petit Train in Nice before taking the bus back to Villefranche. It is well worth it for the tour of the back streets of Old Nice and the ride up to the Chateau for the spectacular views of the Baie des Anges. I think the little train takes one hour. The main stop is across the Promenade des Anglais from the Meridien hotel.

[Hlitner]

Great to see Marazul jumping in on this thread...as we were feeling inadequate not having all the latest info. I need to be sober and have a lot of patience to take a closer look at the bus schedules and options. Before folks go jumping on to cruise line excursions you might want to consider that many of the French buses (in this region) only cost 1.5 € (one-way). In many cases you can accomplish the same thing by spending 3 Euros (round trip) on a bus...compared to spending more then $100 on a simple cruise line excursion. Multiply that times 2 (if you are a couple) and you may save nearly $200. And that is just one day of a cruise that has other ports. Taking the train between Civitavecchia and Rome will save you more then $100 per person over a simple cruise line transfer/excursion. And its similar in many European ports. Somebody once asked my wife how we could afford to do so much cruising and she responded "because we don't pay for cruise line excursions."

 

Hank

[trishs]

We are not big fans of cruise line excursions, but if the itinerary is and price is right, it could be your best choice. You might also want to become active on your cruise's Roll Call (here on CC) and see if you can find a few others who want to go to the same small towns. If so, you might do better to hire your own driver/guide. There is no question that trying to do a lot of smaller towns using public transportation is a true challenge and not a great option. This is what led us, over thirty years ago, to get into the habit of using rental cars in many European ports. A rental car generally costs us around 100€ for a port day, whereas hiring a taxi or private tour (for ourselves) would likely cost 350 - 500€.

 

We have seen cruise line excursions in St Paul de Vence and it has always made us grateful we were not on the tour. They will generally walk their charges (which can be up to 60 souls) through the city (up the one main street) giving them some information about the walled city. Then the tours usually get a limited amount of free time which generally does not leave them enough time to relax with a nice lunch. DW reminded me that on one driving visit to St Paul de Vence we got there about 9:30am on a beautiful Sunday morning. Several local men were having their weekly Boules game on the pitch located at a cafe just outside the city walls. We stopped for some coffee and ultimately spend over an hour just watching the boules game and chatting with some of the locals. While this was happening, along came a large tour group from our ship with several of our friends. When they saw the Boules they asked their guide if they could leave the tour and join us at the cafe....and were advised it was not a good idea since they would miss their tour and possibly lose their group. Several others on the tour also wanted to stop at the cafe....but it was not to be since their guide had a schedule. And that sums up one big negative of large group tours...in that you lose most flexibility (this is not normally as big an issue if you are on a small private tour).

 

Ever since stopping for to watch that Boules match....this cafe has become a regular haunt of ours whenever we see a few locals playing boules. It is an interesting part of the local culture...which I find a lot more interesting then a guide touting a jewelry store (from which they get a commission).

 

Hank

 

Would you suggest St Paul de Vence, or Eze?

[Hlitner]

Would you suggest St Paul de Vence, or Eze?

 

There are pros and cons and enjoy both places. St Paul de Vence is certainly a larger place with more shops and eating venues. St Paul de Vence used to be a great choice for art lovers since the town used to have many excellent galleries. Now, there are fewer galleries but some are excellent. And only a few minute ride from St Paul de Vence is the fascinating art museum called the Maeght Fondation. This place is about contemporary art (think Miro) and has a decent small collection. Eze is easier to access....and does offer a great view of the sea.

 

We have previously posted that when we have a rental car we will often go to both St Paul de Vence and Eze.

 

Hank

[trishs]

There are pros and cons and enjoy both places. St Paul de Vence is certainly a larger place with more shops and eating venues. St Paul de Vence used to be a great choice for art lovers since the town used to have many excellent galleries. Now, there are fewer galleries but some are excellent. And only a few minute ride from St Paul de Vence is the fascinating art museum called the Maeght Fondation. This place is about contemporary art (think Miro) and has a decent small collection. Eze is easier to access....and does offer a great view of the sea.

 

We have previously posted that when we have a rental car we will often go to both St Paul de Vence and Eze.

 

Hank

Thanks so much Hank, your a wealth of knowledge.

 

 

I saw your post on renting a car. That is what I would like to do, but my daughter wants a tour guide.

 

 

How is the paring at Nice, St Paul, Eze, and Monte Carlo ?

[Hlitner]

Thanks so much Hank, your a wealth of knowledge.

 

 

I saw your post on renting a car. That is what I would like to do, but my daughter wants a tour guide.

 

 

How is the paring at Nice, St Paul, Eze, and Monte Carlo ?

 

Parking at St Paul de Vence is quite easy. There is free parking along the road (just past the entrance) although it can be difficult to find a spot close to the town. Otherwise, there is a large "pay" indoor garage just past the town entrance (you will see the blue "P" signs) where there always seems to be plenty of room. Parking in Nice can be difficult if you are seeking a spot on the street (either free or covered by parking meters). But Nice also has several large garages (at least one is underground) ...so if you are willing to pay to park you just follow the blue "P" signs. Its always wise to do a little pre-trip homework and look at some local maps (online) where you can locate parking garages....in terms of the part of town you want to visit.

 

When we have driven to Nice...it is usually in the morning (before 10) where we like to go to the Flower Market....and at that hour we usually do find metered parking on the streets just outside Old Town.

 

As to Eze, there is a medium size lot located right in front of the town (just off the Moyenne Corniche). While the lot is not huge...we have always managed to find a spot (although one might have to wait a few minutes for somebody to vacate a spot). As to Monte Carlo, we hate driving and parking in that city. There is limited on the street parking (usually metered) and some pay garages....but MC is an easy city in which to get flustered while driving...because of one-way streets and hilly terrain. If you are driving to MC, have a GPS and make sure to have studied a map (in advance) so you have an idea where you want to go.

 

Hank

[trishs]

Parking at St Paul de Vence is quite easy. There is free parking along the road (just past the entrance) although it can be difficult to find a spot close to the town. Otherwise, there is a large "pay" indoor garage just past the town entrance (you will see the blue "P" signs) where there always seems to be plenty of room. Parking in Nice can be difficult if you are seeking a spot on the street (either free or covered by parking meters). But Nice also has several large garages (at least one is underground) ...so if you are willing to pay to park you just follow the blue "P" signs. Its always wise to do a little pre-trip homework and look at some local maps (online) where you can locate parking garages....in terms of the part of town you want to visit.

 

When we have driven to Nice...it is usually in the morning (before 10) where we like to go to the Flower Market....and at that hour we usually do find metered parking on the streets just outside Old Town.

 

As to Eze, there is a medium size lot located right in front of the town (just off the Moyenne Corniche). While the lot is not huge...we have always managed to find a spot (although one might have to wait a few minutes for somebody to vacate a spot). As to Monte Carlo, we hate driving and parking in that city. There is limited on the street parking (usually metered) and some pay garages....but MC is an easy city in which to get flustered while driving...because of one-way streets and hilly terrain. If you are driving to MC, have a GPS and make sure to have studied a map (in advance) so you have an idea where you want to go.

 

Hank

Awesome, great advice. Thank you so much. Now to convince the family :)

[lamchops]

I took the #100 bus to St. Paul de Vence last year and it was an easy day trip. We caught it near the McDonald's across from the promenade d'anglais by the park at the end of avenue jean medicine. I assume you would visit the market and promenade so you'll be in the area. I forgot how long it took each way but I'm guessing almost 45 minutes.

 

It was the bus stop at Albert1er.

Edited June 16, 2017 by lamchops
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