Day trips from Nice: Monaco by train in 22 to 26 minutes, Èze by bus 82, Menton and Cannes in about 40, and the €36 half-day tour that covers Monaco and Èze

💡 The Short Version: Take the train for every town on the coast: a regional train runs every 15 minutes between Cannes and Menton, and from Nice-Ville it takes 7 to 9 minutes to Villefranche, 22 to 26 to Monaco, 23 to 28 to Antibes, 35 to 40 to Menton and 36 to 41 to Cannes. Grasse is 67 to 73 minutes on a direct train. Èze village is bus 82 from Nice Vauban, about 30 minutes. A tour pays for the Gorges du Verdon, where the alternative is a hire car, and for Èze, Monaco and a perfumery in one half-day. The Prince’s Palace in Monaco is closed until spring 2027. Carry a passport on any trip into Italy: France checks that border from 1 November 2026. Prices are in euros. Or book a tour: the Èze, Monaco and Monte-Carlo half-day tripad is from €36 and French Riviera in One Dayad from €68 (GetYourGuide).

The day trips compared

Entry prices are the operators’ own, for one adult. A tour’s price is GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” price, which moves with the date. Run times are scheduled times from Nice-Ville and are approximate: check the timetable for your date.

When a tour is worth it

A tour saves the connections, not the entries, and the listings do not say whether entries are included, so read each one before you book. It is worth it for the Verdon, where the alternative is a hire car, and for Monaco, Èze and a perfumery stop in half a day, which the €36 half-day tour fits in. It is not worth it for Antibes, Cannes, Menton or Villefranche, which are one direct train each.

By train, bus and pass

Zou!, the Région Sud’s transport brand, runs a train every 15 minutes between Cannes and Menton and, on Saturday nights, trains until about 2:00 on Sunday morning. A TER ticket is valid for the route you chose on any train that day, so you can take an earlier or a later train than the one you bought it for. TER fares are priced by distance and sold on the SNCF Connect and Zou! apps and at station machines; the run times below are the scheduled ones, so check the last train before an evening away from Nice.

A regional train at Menton station. Photo: Tangopaso, Wikimedia Commons.

Three passes decide the cost of several trips:

The Sud Azur Explore stops at Menton-Garavan, the last French station, so the ride into Italy is separate. Three days of trains, buses and trams cost €35 on the pass, against €81 for a Pass Journée and a Lignes d’Azur day pass on each of three days. Buy the pass at the Lignes d’Azur machines at every tram stop, which also charge a refundable €2 for the card, or at the Zou! desk in Nice-Ville station. Nice public transport has the fares in town.

The trips

Monaco

Train · 22 to 26 minutes · Oceanographic Museum €22.50 · half-day tour from €36

The Prince’s Palace is closed to visitors until spring 2027, and the Oceanographic Museum’s Mediterranean aquariums have been closed since 1 September 2026 for about two years. The Changing of the Guard is free at 11:55 every day, and the Casino has a morning visit at €20. The Monaco page has the order to go round.

Èze village

Bus 82 · about 30 minutes · garden €10

A medieval village 429 metres above the sea, with an exotic garden and a free perfumery tour. The Èze page has the bus times and the way up from the station.

Villefranche-sur-Mer and Cap Ferrat

Train · 7 to 9 minutes · Villa Ephrussi €18

The Villefranche page covers the bay, the Citadelle and the bus to the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild on Cap Ferrat.

Antibes

Train · 23 to 28 minutes · Musée Picasso €12

Picasso’s 1946 studio in the Château Grimaldi and a Provençal market. The Antibes page has the closed days.

Cannes

Train · 36 to 41 minutes · island ferry €19.00 return

The Cannes page covers Le Suquet, the Forville market and the ferry to Île Sainte-Marguerite, where the Man in the Iron Mask was held.

Saint-Paul-de-Vence

Train to Cagnes-sur-Mer, then bus 655 · Fondation Maeght €18

The Saint-Paul page has the connection and the museum.

Grasse

Direct train · 67 to 73 minutes · perfume museum €6

The Grasse page has the perfumery classes and the museum’s closed Mondays.

Menton

Train · 35 to 40 minutes · Cocteau museum €5

The Menton page has the old town, the Italian border and the Lemon Festival, 13 to 28 February 2027.

The Gorges du Verdon

No public transport · tour from €89 · 9 to 10 hours

The Verdon is a canyon inland from the coast, and the tours leave Nice for 9 to 10 hours; the alternative is a hire car. The Route des Crêtes, the clifftop road, is open from late March to late November; its central section is one-way and driven clockwise, and the tourist board lists 15 July to 30 August as the busiest weeks (Verdon Tourisme). The Gorges of Verdon and Fields of Lavender tourad is from €89 for 9 hours; the guided Verdon tourad is from €139 for 10 hours and is rated 4.8 from 298 reviews.

The Verdon between its gorge walls, from the Pont du Galetas. Photo: kallerna, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Saint-Tropez

Road tour from €110 · 8 to 9 hours

Trans Côte d’Azur’s boat from Nice ran from 12 May to 20 October 2026 and cost €84 for an adult; it has not published 2027 dates, and no train serves Saint-Tropez. The road is the winter option: the Saint-Tropez and Port Grimaud day tourad is from €110 and takes 8 to 9 hours, and the full-day tourad is from €139 for 10 hours.

The harbour at Saint-Tropez. Photo: Kev22, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Ventimiglia and Italy

Train · 51 to 60 minutes · bring a passport or national ID card

The train beyond Menton crosses into Italy at Ventimiglia, where a market runs on the seafront every Friday from 7:00 (Visit Ventimiglia). France checks its borders with Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg from 1 November 2026 to 30 April 2027, so carry a passport or national ID card. The Menton page covers the stop before the border.

A lane in the old town of Ventimiglia. Photo: Alexkom000, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.

Before you go

• Passport: Monaco uses the euro and French immigration rules, so the documents are the same as for France. The entry rules are on the Nice hub.
• The one thing that ruins a day: a Monday on the Antibes trip, when both the Picasso museum and the covered market are shut, or a Tuesday in Menton, when the Cocteau museum is.

What to book in Nice lists the closed days for the city’s own sights, and Nice airport to the city has the way in. Where to stay in Nice compares the areas, 3 days in Nice shows where a day out fits, and the Monaco Grand Prix 2027 covers the one weekend the trains fill. From Paris, the Paris hub has the TGV north.