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“No dinner and no watching movies tonight!” I had threatened everyone in my family to get lots of sleep on the flight from New York to Nice. Since we were not arriving at the Cote D’Azur airport until 11:00 am, it was critical to quickly drop our things at the hotel and hit the streets, making the most of our day.
For once, everyone listened!
Traveling across the ocean to see all that the Cote D’Azur has to offer is a monumental task for someone visiting for a week. We had a day and a half!
Quickly showering and changing, we were in and out of our hotel within an hour. An impressive feat for four people! In the interest of time and due to our proximity to the Gare de Nice-Ville, we decided to take the train into Monaco, although I knew that the bus route was much more scenic.
A quick 20 minutes later and after getting our passports stamped (fun thing to do in the train station at the Tourist Information office), we made our way out of the Monaco train station and into the slightly rainy day.
Walking quickly, my sons gawking at the vast array of expensive cars along the way, we made our way up the steep pathway to the Prince’s Palace of Monaco. Although the palace is closed at this time of year, we stopped for a bit to watch the guards. Being wintertime, it was nice to have the square pretty much to ourselves, not missing the massive amounts of tourists which visit during other times of the year.
Wandering the quiet, near-vacant streets down to the Cathedral, we soon entered the Roman-Byzantine-style building. Much time was taken to admire the beauty of the church and to pay our respects at the graves of Princess Grace and Prince Ranier, as well as the other sovereigns that are laid to rest here.
We were soon on our way back down to the marina, checking out the numerous yachts moored here, each seemingly larger than the next. Having been in Monaco before and wandered around this area, I knew that my children and husband would enjoy seeing these magnificent vessels…and they certainly did! Remembering the 48 foot sailboat that we vacationed on this summer and the tight quarters, it was mind-boggling to think that some of these boats were larger and more opulent than our house!
We ended our quick tour at the Monte Carlo casino. If I had thought that my family would enjoy the boats, then I knew that they were going to enjoy seeing the expensive cars parked out front. My boys were in heaven! Ferraris, Maseratis, Bentleys…you name it. It was like being at a car show.
Since our children were under the age of 18, it was impossible to visit the Casino, so we decided to head back to Nice for a nice dinner. Catching the bus back to Nice was the easiest (and cheaper) option from this part of town. Wanting to end up near Old Town, the #100 bus dropped us near Place Garibaldi, where we found a wonderful resturant.
Early the next day, we were headed to St. Paul de Vence. Having always wanted to visit this medieval city, I was wide awake and coaxing everyone to grab a quick bite to eat and walk quickly to the bus stop. However, getting to the bus stop, we found the Promenade de Anglais to be shut down to traffic and buses re-routed to other streets due to a marathon. Not sure if we were at the correct stop for the #400 bus, we decided to jump on the #99 airport bus, knowing that the marathon course did not extend that far. From there, we would catch the #400 bus, forgetting that the #99 bus fare was 6 euro each, instead of 6 euro for all four of us. Nonetheless, we arrived at the airport and were soon on our way, finally figuring out (after missing one bus), that we had to wave them down.
The plus side to all of this was that the ride did not seem quite as long…and we made it to St. Paul de Vence. The downside was that it cost a total of 30 euros instead of 6 euros.
I have read that the village of St. Paul de Vence can be extremely busy during the summer months, with tourists walking shoulder to shoulder. Being a Sunday morning, the village seemed to be just waking up with our arrival.
The village is very quaint and beautiful. Sitting on a hill, you can see it from afar on your bus ride. After arriving at the bus stop, it is a quick walk into the village. There are many art galleries, shops and museums to while away your time as well as quite a few restaurants to grab a nice lunch. There are many photographic opportunities throughout the village as well as many scenic overlooks.
After our visit, we were soon on the #400 bus back to Nice. The bus’ final stop was near the beach. Our children wanted to see this beach that is filled with colorful rounded pebbles instead of sand. It was a windy day, but sunny and warmer than the day before. The Promenade Anglais and the beach area was filled with many people enjoying the beautiful weather.
We headed into the Flower Market area, which was now closed for the day and on to Parc de la Colline du Chateau (Castle Hill), a tourist must-see and one of the best lookouts in Nice. Although we had done much climbing and walking while in St. Paul de Vence, we knew we had to climb to the top for the panoramas of the city.
Not to be disappointed, we were rewarded with amazing views of the city as well as a beautiful park, ruins and a waterfall at the top.
Finally, it was on to Old Town in search of a Happy Hour that would help us to forget the aches and pains that my husband and I were experiencing from all the climbing that we had experienced that day.
There were so many more things to see and experience in Nice, but we are only human after all! Fitting in what we could, I think my husband’s and son’s first experience in the Cote D’Azure was a fantastic one. For all the things we missed this time…we’ll save them for another weekend!
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Transportation
- Bus #99 takes you from the airport directly to Gare de Nice-Ville. From there you can catch the train, tram or another bus. €6 per person
- Trains leave regularly from Gare de Nice-Ville for Monaco and other coastal cities.
- Bus #100-Nice to Monaco and return (about 45 minutes). €1,50
- Bus #400-Nice to St. Paul de Vence and return (about 1 hour) €1,50
Prince’s Palace of Monaco
- State Apartments-Adults €8, Children (6-14) €4
- Private Collection of Antique Cars- Adults €6.50, Students (6-14) €3
- State Apartments and Private Collection of Antique cars-Adults €11.50, Children (6-14) €5
- Opening times-State Apartments from 26th of March to October 16, 2016
Monte Carlo Casino
- Every day from 2:00 pm
- Proper attire required. No shorts, sports shoes or flip flops
Jackets recommended after 8 pm - From 9 am til 12 pm, open to groups and tours, every day except during the Formula 1 Grand Prix. Admission fee €10 per person, €7 per person for groups over 10 people
- Admission fees payable in cash at the entrance
- €10 admission fee per person, over the age of 18 years and not banned from gambling
- €10 additional admission fee for entry to private rooms
Parc de la Colline du Chateau (Castle Hill)
- October 1 thru March 31, 8:30-18:00
- April 1 thru September 30, 8:30-20:00
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