Day Trips from Nice: 11 Best Escapes by Train and Car

The best day trips from Nice are Monaco, Èze, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Antibes and Menton, all within forty minutes by train or car. With a driver, add Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Grasse and Cap Ferrat, and for a long day, the Gorges du Verdon or the Italian Riviera. Nice is the best base on the coast precisely because everything fans out from it, east toward Italy and west toward Cannes.

We design Riviera trips from our office in Nice, so this list is ordered the way we actually plan them: by distance, by how you get there, and by what the day is for.

Day trips from Nice at a glance

Train times are typical TER times from Nice-Ville; road times assume no summer traffic, which in July and August is optimistic.

East of Nice: the Corniches

Villefranche-sur-Mer and Cap Ferrat

Villefranche is ten minutes away by train, with the station right above the beach. Walk the covered medieval rue Obscure, see the Chapelle Saint-Pierre decorated by Jean Cocteau on the harbor, and swim in one of the deepest bays of the Mediterranean.

Next door, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat has the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, a Belle Époque villa with nine themed gardens over the sea, and a coastal path around the cape. We often combine the two in one easy day with a driver. One thing to check: on cruise-ship days, Villefranche fills up between late morning and mid-afternoon.

Èze

Èze is a medieval village perched about 400 meters above the sea, with an exotic garden at the summit and views to Cap Ferrat. Its streets are narrow, steep and stepped, and it is busy from late morning when the tour coaches arrive. Go at opening time or in the late afternoon.

There are two Èzes: the village on the rock, and Èze-sur-Mer by the water, where the train stops. The path between them, named after Nietzsche, is about an hour's steep climb. Most of our travelers go up by car on the Moyenne Corniche and walk down the path if they want the exercise.

Monaco

Monaco is about twenty to twenty-five minutes by train. The station is deep underground, so allow time for its long corridors and elevators. Our order for the day:

1. Walk up to Monaco-Ville, the old town on the rock, for the changing of the guard at the Prince's Palace just before noon (11:55).
2. The Oceanographic Museum, built into the cliff, with its aquarium and rooftop view.
3. Lunch, then down to the harbor and Monte-Carlo for the casino square, ideally around dusk when the lights come on.

Avoid the Grand Prix weekend in late May or June unless you are going for the race: roads close and prices soar. Our guide to Nice to Monaco compares train, bus, driver and helicopter.

Menton and the Italian border

Menton is the last town before Italy, about thirty-five to forty minutes by train. The old town climbs in pastel layers to the Basilica of Saint-Michel, the seafront has the Jean Cocteau museum, and the gardens (the Val Rahmeh and the Serre de la Madone) suit garden lovers. In February, the Lemon Festival fills the town with sculptures made of citrus fruit.

From Menton, Italy is minutes away. On Fridays, the huge weekly market in Ventimiglia draws shoppers from the whole coast. Inland, Dolceacqua has a stone bridge that Monet painted. Carry your passport: border checks happen.

West of Nice: art, perfume and islands

Antibes

Antibes is twenty to thirty minutes by train. Inside the old ramparts, the Picasso Museum occupies the Château Grimaldi, where Picasso worked in 1946, and the covered Provençal market on the Cours Masséna is at its best in the morning. In the afternoon, walk the coastal path around the Cap d'Antibes, a rocky trail with clear water below. It is uneven, so wear proper shoes.

Cannes and the Lérins Islands

Cannes is about half an hour by train. The Croisette and the Palais des Festivals take an hour; the real treat is the boat from the old port to the Lérins Islands. Sainte-Marguerite, about fifteen minutes away, has pine forests and the Fort Royal where the Man in the Iron Mask was held. Saint-Honorat, a little farther, belongs to Cistercian monks who make wine and liqueurs you can taste at the abbey.

Saint-Paul-de-Vence and Vence

Saint-Paul-de-Vence is a walled village of artists' studios and galleries, about forty minutes inland. At its edge, the Fondation Maeght shows Miró, Giacometti and Chagall in a pine garden; Chagall is buried in the village cemetery. Nearby in Vence, Matisse's Chapelle du Rosaire, which he designed down to the vestments, has short and changing opening hours, so we check them for your date. A driver makes this day easy; parking in Saint-Paul is limited in summer.

Grasse

Grasse, about forty-five minutes to an hour away, has been the perfume capital of France for centuries. The historic houses Fragonard, Molinard and Galimard offer factory tours (Fragonard's are free) and paid workshops where you blend your own perfume with a nose. The International Perfume Museum completes the picture. On the way back, stop in Gourdon, a village on a cliff edge, or Tourrettes-sur-Loup, the village of violets.

Longer days and overnight ideas

The Gorges du Verdon

The Verdon canyon is about two and a half hours from Nice by road, which makes for a long day: the Route des Crêtes along the rim, Moustiers-Sainte-Marie and its faience, and a pedal boat or kayak on the turquoise Lake Sainte-Croix. In late June and early July, it combines with the lavender of the Valensole plateau; see when to see lavender in Provence. We recommend one night in Moustiers rather than a return trip in one day.

The Train des Pignes

The narrow-gauge Chemins de fer de Provence line leaves from its own station in Nice (Gare des Chemins de fer de Provence, not Nice-Ville) and climbs the Var valley toward Digne-les-Bains. A day out to the fortified village of Entrevaux, with its Vauban citadel, is a slow, scenic alternative to the coast.

Provence itself

If you are tempted to day-trip to Avignon or the Luberon from Nice: do not. They are three hours away. Read Provence vs the French Riviera and give each region its own nights.

Our planning rules for day trips from Nice

• Train for the coast, driver for the hills. The TER is cheap and frequent along the sea, but Èze village, Saint-Paul, Grasse and Cap Ferrat are easier by car.
• One area per day. East (Villefranche, Cap Ferrat, Èze, Monaco) or west (Antibes, Cannes, Grasse). Crossing Nice twice in a day wastes an hour in traffic.
• Go early in summer. Perched villages and Monaco are calm before 10 am.
• Check strikes and maintenance. Regional trains occasionally run reduced services; we always have a driver option ready.
• Leave one day in Nice. The Cours Saleya market, the old town, the Matisse museum in Cimiez and an afternoon swim are reasons enough to stay put.

For where to sleep while you do all this, read our guide to where to stay on the French Riviera.

Day trips with reduced mobility

Several of these day trips work well for travelers who use a wheelchair: the seafronts of Nice, Menton, Antibes and Cannes are flat, and Monaco is threaded with public elevators. Èze village and the upper streets of Saint-Paul-de-Vence are stepped and cobbled, so we suggest the viewpoints and accessible gardens nearby instead. Our Accessible French Riviera in 8 Days, from €1,499 (about $1,700) per person, uses one hotel on the Promenade and adapted vehicles for Monaco, Èze and Grasse.

Our French Riviera in 7 Days combines Nice with Saint-Tropez, Porquerolles, Monaco by night and a perfume workshop in Grasse. Tell our Nice team which days you have and what you love, and we will build your Riviera day trips around them.