French Riviera tours from Nice collect you in the city and drive you along the coast to other towns, for four to ten hours. The question is not which towns they list but how long you get in each, and that is the figure to compare.
Ten hours from your door with eight people at most: a hill village and its perfume factory, about two and a half hours in Monaco, then Cannes, Antibes and the art village inland. Food is yours to buy. It cannot take cruise passengers.
From $110 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Five hours from your accommodation, eight people at most: photo stops over two bays, an hour and a half at the hill village and its perfume factory, then Monaco and Monte-Carlo. It cannot take cruise passengers.
From $75 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Four and a half hours at the lowest half-day fare, in a vehicle of up to 32: short stops at the hill village, the perfume factory and the casino square. Admission fees are extra, and bookings need two people.
From $75 per person, bookings of two
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Nine hours with a driver-guide who collects you from your hotel in Nice, and a perfume factory visit on the way. The most-reviewed day on the coast. Food is not in the fare, and the listing prints no group cap.
From $85 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Four to five hours with a driver-guide in a minivan of eight: an hour of viewpoints on the middle road, the hill village, the palace and Monte-Carlo. Water is in the fare. Pickup is in Nice only.
From $111 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Nine hours from your hotel or the cruise port, eight people at most, in a minivan that takes wheelchairs. The timed stops add up to under three hours, so read it as a long drive with short visits. Lunch is extra.
From $133 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Eight hours inland instead of along the sea: the perfume town, a village on its cliff, the village of violets and the walled art village. Up to sixteen people. Lunch, water and coffee are yours to buy.
From $149 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Five hours in a private car for up to four, from your hotel, the port or the airport: the viewpoint over Nice, an hour and a half in Monaco, then the hill village and its perfume factory.
From $185 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Five hours in a private car for up to four, west instead of east: an hour and a half each in Cannes, Antibes and the art village. Pickup by arrangement from Nice to Antibes; parking is paid for.
From $191 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Collected from your door in Nice, then a hill village and its perfume factory, about two and a half hours in Monaco, Cannes, Antibes and an hour in the art village inland.
See this tripA tour from Nice is a minivan or a car, a driver who guides, and a string of timed stops in other towns. You are collected from your hotel or an address in the city and brought back to it at the end. The town names on the card matter less than the minutes printed beside them.
The half-days go east, up the Moyenne Corniche to the village of Èze and on to Monaco. They are back by mid-afternoon. The long days add the western coast: Cannes, Antibes and Saint-Paul-de-Vence. One day heads inland instead, to Grasse and three hill villages. The private cars do either half of the coast with your group alone.
The coastal train runs along the shore. The hill villages sit above it. Bus 82 or line 602 climbs to the village above the sea, and line 602 does not run on Sundays. The art village inland takes a tram and two buses. A driver takes you to each one.
A long day reaches four to seven towns, with the driving done for you. Alone, you would spend half the day on platforms and at bus stops.
The road days collect you inside Nice, and the private cars wherever you ask. You do not need to find a meeting point at eight in the morning.
Most road days stop at the Fragonard perfume factory, whose guided visit costs nothing. You learn how the scent is made, and the shop is optional.
The train is the honest alternative, and for Monaco alone it wins on price. Here is what each gets you.
| Tour from Nice | Train and bus on your own | |
|---|---|---|
| Monaco | 55 minutes to 2.5 hours there, by tour | 22 minutes each way, €6.10 full fare |
| The village above the sea | On most, with the perfume factory | Bus 82 or line 602; no 602 on Sundays |
| Cannes and Antibes | On the long days, 15 minutes to 1.5 hours each | About 27 and 11 to 13 minutes by train |
| The art village inland | On the long days and one private car | A tram, then two buses |
| A guide | Live, in the vehicle | None |
| Price | $75 to $149 a person, shared | A few euros a leg |
If you only want Monaco, take the train: our guide to doing the coast without a tour shows how. If you want the hill villages and several towns in one day, the tour pays for itself in time saved.
Decide this second. A half day buys the east of the coast; a long day adds the west, but you spend more of it in the minivan.
| Half day | Long day | Private car | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Length | 4 to 5 hours | 8 to 10 hours | 5 hours |
| Towns | The village above the sea and Monaco | Four to seven, east and west | Three or four, your choice of side |
| Group | 8 on most; one of 32 | 8 on most; 16 inland | Yours only, up to 4 |
| Price | $75 to $111 a person | $85 to $149 a person | $185 to $191 a person |
First visit and one free day? Take the long day. Two free days? Take a half day and spend the other on the water or in the old towns on foot.
Photo stops over two bays, an hour and a half at the hill village and the perfume factory, then Monaco's old town and Monte-Carlo, with pickup at your accommodation.
Check availabilityThe map of the meeting points shows where each town sits on the coast, and our four-day plan puts a road day into a longer stay.
Rather see the coast from the sea, or leave the minivan for a bike? Every way of touring the coast is compared on French Riviera Tours.