First Time on the French Riviera: What to Book and What to Do Free
The short answer. Walk the towns for free and ride the coastal train between them: the seafronts, the old quarters and the markets cost nothing, and Monaco is 22 minutes from Nice for €6.10. Spend your money where the train stops helping: the hill villages above the coast, the capes from the sea, and a guide who explains the food. Compare the French Riviera guided tours by what each one reaches that you could not.
Quick facts for a first visit
- No entry ticket: the coast is a string of towns, and there is nothing to buy at a gate.
- The train: Nice to Monaco takes about 22 minutes for €6.10 full fare, with around 60 trains a day; Antibes is 11 to 13 minutes the other way.
- The bus: a Ticket Azur costs €2.50 and covers one city trip plus one regional connection within two and a half hours.
- From the airport: tram line 2 runs to the centre of Nice and ends at the port, about every 8 minutes.
- Paid doors: Monaco's palace (€13, from 30 March to 15 October) and the Oceanographic Museum (€22.50) are never inside a tour fare.
- Cancelling: the outings compared in this post all refund in full up to 24 hours ahead.
What costs nothing
You can spend two full days on the coast and pay for nothing but trains and lunch. In Nice, walk the Promenade des Anglais in the morning, climb Castle Hill for the view over the bay (the park and its lift are both free), and come down to the port. The next day, take the train east to Villefranche-sur-Mer, where the courtyards of the old fort are open to anyone, or west to Antibes for its Provençal market, which runs every morning except Monday outside summer.
Even some of the famous names cost nothing. The Fragonard perfume factories in Èze and Grasse run free guided visits all year. The Monte-Carlo casino's atrium is open to visitors who do not play. Our page of things to do on the coast goes town by town, with a price beside every door that charges one.
What the train reaches, and what it does not
One line runs along the shore from Cannes through Nice to Menton and on into Italy. It stops at almost every town a first visit needs, which is why a car is a burden here rather than a help.
| From Nice to | By train | Fare, full single | What is waiting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monaco | About 22 min | €6.10 | The old town on the Rock, the casino |
| Antibes | 11 to 13 min | Check at the station | Ramparts, the market, Picasso |
| Cannes | About 27 min, fastest | Check at the station | The Croisette, the islands |
| Menton | Direct, on the same line | €7.70 | The lemon town, the old quarter |
| The hill villages | No station | — | Bus, or a day by road |
The last row is the one that shapes a first trip. Èze sits on its rock above the coast, and you reach it by bus 82 or regional line 602, which does not run on Sundays. Saint-Paul-de-Vence takes the tram, then bus 9 to Vence, then bus 655. Neither is hard, but joining a village to Monaco and Cannes in one day is.
Where a fare earns its place
Everything you can book falls into three kinds: a day by road through several towns, one town on foot or on two wheels, and the coast from the sea. The table sets them side by side with the lowest fare in each.
| What you book | What it adds | Fare from | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| A full day by road | Villages and both ends of the coast | $85 a person | 8 to 10 hours |
| A half-day by road | A hill village and Monaco | $75 a person | 4 to 5 hours |
| A shared boat | The capes from the water, a swim | $62 a person | 1.5 to 3 hours |
| A food walk | Lunch, and the story of each dish | $110 a person | 3 to 3.5 hours |
| Two wheels or a small car | The hills above Nice, fast | $58 a person | 2 to 3 hours |
The road days are the ones a first-timer is most glad of, because they cover the part the train cannot. The ten-hour day with eight seats collects you at your address in Nice and reaches the villages, Monaco, Cannes and Antibes before evening. The half-days keep the village and Monaco and give you the afternoon back. Every road day is compared on our page of French Riviera tour from Nices.
The food walks and the wheels are the other two fares worth a first-timer's money. A food walk in Cannes or Menton adds up to lunch, with a guide who names each dish and the place that makes it best. An e-bike, a Segway or a small electric car climbs the hills above Nice in two or three hours, which on foot would take the whole day. The e-bike routes and the vineyard ride are on our page of French Riviera bike tours.
A boat for the coast you cannot walk
East of Nice the coast is capes and coves, and the best of it is only visible from the water. The two-hour boat with a swim stop leaves from the tram stop at the port, spends about 45 minutes at a sea cave below the cliffs, then runs along the cape on the way home. The shared and private boats from five harbours are on our page of French Riviera boat tours.
How many days, and where to sleep
Three days suits a first visit: one on foot in Nice, one on a road day or the train to Monaco, one on the water or in Cannes. Nice makes the easiest base, because nearly every road day collects you there and the boats leave from its port. Our guide to where to stay on the coast compares Nice with Cannes, Antibes, Menton and Villefranche, and the meeting-point map shows where each outing starts. For the practical detail on getting in and around, read the visitor guide.
If you are choosing between the villages, our comparison of the two hill villages sets the rock above the sea against the walled art town inland.
Wheels, water or a day by road
French Riviera E-bike Panoramic Tour from Nice
Three hours on an e-bike from the seafront in Nice: along the bay, half an hour in the harbour town next door and a viewpoint on the fort above it. Helmet and raincoat supplied.
From $63 per person
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Nice: Sunset Boat Tour with Wine and Local Snacks
An evening boat from the port of Nice to the cape, with wine and local snacks at anchor and a swim if you want one. It sails from 1 April to 30 October.
From $62 per person
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From Nice: French Riviera in One Day
Nine hours by road from your hotel in Nice with a driver-guide, the perfume factory visit included. The most-reviewed day on the coast.
From $85 per person
Check AvailabilityNext: Walk and ride the train for the first day, then book the fare that takes you where the line does not. Every fare sits side by side on French Riviera Tours.