Saint-Paul-de-Vence from Nice: train to Cagnes-sur-Mer and bus 655, the €18 Fondation Maeght open every day, and the half-day tours

💡 The Short Version: From Nice, take the train to Cagnes-sur-Mer (12 to 16 minutes) and Zou! bus 655 to the Saint-Paul Village stop. The Fondation Maeght is €18, open every day from 10:00 to 18:00 and needs no booking; it is a 10-minute walk from the stop. The village centre is pedestrianised. A tour is a driver, not a saving: the half-day trip with Cannes and Antibes is from €65. Ellsworth Kelly’s exhibition at the Fondation runs to 15 November 2026. Prices are in euros. Or book a tour: the Cannes, Antibes and Saint-Paul half-day tourad is from €65 and the Saint-Paul and wine tasting half-day tourad from €94 (GetYourGuide).

Tickets and prices

Source: the Fondation’s visit page. Parking at the Fondation is free. Backpacks are not allowed in the galleries and a cloakroom is provided; dogs are not allowed.

Tours worth paying for

A tour here buys a driver and the order of the day. The entry to the Fondation is not named as included in any listing, so read each one before you book. Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices.

The cheaper “Saint-Paul de Vence, Antibes and Cannes” listing at €36 is rated 3.9 from 893 reviews and is a 5-hour drive past three towns; the half-day tour above is the better-rated one.

Getting there

There is no direct train, and the connection needs planning.

1. Train to Cagnes-sur-Mer. 12 to 16 minutes from Nice-Ville, on the line with a train every 15 minutes between Cannes and Menton.
2. Zou! bus 655 to Saint-Paul Village. The line runs from Cagnes-sur-Mer to Vence by Saint-Paul and also serves La Colle-sur-Loup. The village’s tourist office and the Fondation both give it as the route. Look up the 655 timetable on the Zou! site before you leave.
3. On foot. The Fondation is a 10-minute walk from the Saint-Paul Village stop. The centre of the village is closed to cars.

An on-demand Envibus service, booked ahead, links Villeneuve-Loubet and La Colle-sur-Loup with several stops in Saint-Paul. By car, take exit 48 for Cagnes-sur-Mer and Vence from the A8 when coming from Nice or Italy, then follow RD 436 towards La Colle-sur-Loup and Vence. Saint-Paul is 15 minutes from the motorway, and the Fondation is 25 km from Nice (fondation-maeght.com). A Pass Sud Azur Explore covers the train and the Zou! bus.

What to see

The ramparts and the village on their hill, seen from the road from La Colle-sur-Loup. Photo: Jpchevreau, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

1. The Fondation Maeght. The foundation calls itself France’s first independent art foundation. It opened on 28 July 1964 under the culture minister André Malraux, in a building by the architect Josep Lluís Sert for the dealers Aimé and Marguerite Maeght and their artist friends. The galleries and the garden are one visit: the Giacometti Courtyard with its sculptures, the Miró Labyrinth, mosaics by Marc Chagall and Pierre Tal Coat, a pool designed by Braque and a mechanical fountain by Pol Bury. There are two rooftop terraces, a chapel and a café under the pines. New galleries of 585 square metres opened beneath the Giacometti courtyard in summer 2024. Ellsworth Kelly: At the Edge of Water runs to 15 November 2026.
2. The village. The old streets are cobbled and closed to traffic, and the tourist office at 2 rue Grande is open Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 18:00, and on Sundays from April to October, closing from 13:00 to 14:00 on Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays. It also sells guided tours of the village and of the Fondation.

The Grande Fontaine on rue Grande. Photo: Jean-Charles GUILLO, Wikimedia Commons.

What to skip: the €36 drive-by listing rated 3.9. The order that works: the Fondation first, then the village on foot and the bus back.

Practical information

• Bags: leave backpacks in the cloakroom; the Miró Labyrinth is not step-free.
• Last bus: look up the 655’s last departure from Saint-Paul before you stay for dinner.
• The one thing that ruins a day: leaving the bus timetable until you reach Cagnes-sur-Mer.

Day trips from Nice compares every trip, and Antibes and Cannes are on the same train line. The Matisse museum and the Chagall museum cover the other two big names in Nice. Nice public transport has the fares, and where to stay in Nice compares the areas.