I have 5 days to spare and I'm staying in Nice, France. A friend of mine said that I can do day trips (by train) to Monte Carlo and the Italian Riviera. I would love to see these places. Would someone give me suggestion on how this can be done? If so, which train route should I take and how long will the ride be? Also, have any idea what the cost would be? I tried the EuroRail to see schedule and fare but was unsuccessful. Thanks!

You should look at the website for regional (local) trains as they operate all along the coast. These local trains are not usually included in Eurorail as reservation is neither required nor possible.

The timetables for local French trains to the border with Italy and elsewhere can be found at:

http://www.ter-sncf.com/paca/carte_horaires/index.asp

French only.

The Italian trains from Ventimigila along the Riviera are on the Italian railway website in English at

http://www.trenitalia.it/en/index.html

Hope that helps.

Plenty of trains all day from Nice to Monaco-Monte Carlo. Takes between 13 and 30 mins and costs from 2euros70 to 3euros90 all depending on which train you take.

Hi there,

It is only 20 minutes by train from Nice to Monte Carlo and there are plenty of trains during the whole day in both directions, so you can easily do the Principality of Monaco as a day trip from Nice. I cannot remember how much the fare was, but it was not expensive.

However, as far as I know, you cannot reach Portofino by train. I may be wrong but you would need to get off at Genoa, which is a 3 hour train journey from Nice, and then you would need to take a bus or a boat on to Portofino.

It seems there is a train departing Nice at 10.05, reaching Genoa at 13.06. But the last train back to Nice departs Genoa at 16.55, thus giving you just 4 hrs to make your own way from Genoa to Portofino and back. I think this may be too tight to do Portofino as a day trip from Nice.

For train schedules I usually use the Swiss Railway website, which allows you to create your own personal timetables here:

http://timetable.sbb.ch/bin/query-p2w.exe/en?

Good luck.

You can also take a coach to Monaco from Nice, check the TAM website (Transport Alpes-Maritimes), €2 RTN from Nice Coach station, conveniently located just on the edge of the Old Town.

http://www.cg06.fr/transport/transports-tam.html

Or take a chopper to Monaco, it's not as expensive as it used to be, you can fly Nice-Monaco for €60 or €70.

http://www.nicetourisme.com/GB/som.html

info@nicetourisme.com

Genoa, Portofino etc - too far for a day trip unless there's a very early train.

Monaco is an easy trip, as stated above. So are all the towns along the coast e.g. Cannes or St Raphael. You can easily cross the Italian border by train at Ventimiglia, which is just a few minutes beyond Monaco and Menton. You can easily visit towns inland such as Vence and Grasse by bus from Nice.

Another nice day trip is on the railway that runs north to Turin, over the Maritime Alps. Last year, I spent a day in Sospel. Just a quiet little town with some cafes and scenery. Makes a change from the noise of the coastal towns.

This past March I took the train from Cinque Terre to Nice. As already reported it is indeed to long of a haul for a day trip, however there are other options, like taking the night train for example, which is what I took. I took the train from La Spezia to Genoa, and then Genoa to Nice, roughly about a 8 hour ride. Cinque Terre can be seen in a day, the five villages of Cinque Terre are far more picturesque than that of Portofino, plus the trains run right through Cinque Terre. If your adventurous you could take the night train to Cinque Terre, spend the day and then take the night train back to Nice. Keep in mind though the night train is not a sleeper car and you would have to switch trains in Genoa. To check train schedules use www.trenitalia.com and click on Nice Ville as your departing station and La Spezia as your destination. La Spezia is the starting point for Cinque Terre and has commuter trains that run from there throughout Cinque Terre on a regular basis. If you have any questions don't hesitate to email or check out my Cinque Terre pages for information about activities and the four hiking trails in between the villages!

Thank you so much for the detailed info. I could really use it!

Maria