Nice Day Trips by Train and Bus
Nice-Ville station is the launchpad: from here the whole Riviera opens up on the TER Zou! rail line and a couple of key bus routes run by Lignes d’Azur , and you can be back for dinner every single time. No rental car needed; skip the parking headaches and the Basse Corniche traffic altogether.
Villefranche-sur-Mer, 8 minutes
The TER train from Nice-Ville gets you there in 7-9 minutes for €2.30, running every 15-20 minutes all day. Once you’re off, head for the Citadel of Saint-Elme (free to wander the grounds), the 14th-century covered Rue Obscure, and the Chapelle Saint-Pierre, decorated by Jean Cocteau in 1957 (€4 entry). This is also where the region’s rare sandy beach is, Plage des Marinières, if you want an actual sand day after Nice’s pebbles.
Monaco and Monte-Carlo, 20 minutes
TER again, €4.40 each way, 20-22 minutes into the underground Monaco-Monte-Carlo station. Time it for 11:55 to catch the Changing of the Guard at the Palais Princier (state apartments €10), then decide between the cliffside Musée Océanographique (~€19) and a walk through the Casino atrium, which is free to enter even if you skip the gaming rooms (€18, passport required, smart dress after 19:00).
Èze: take the bus, not the train
This one trips people up: Bus 82 from Nice (board at Vauban or Boyer) reaches Èze village directly in about 35 minutes for the standard €1.70 fare. Do NOT take the TER train to Èze-Bord-de-Mer expecting a quick trip up: that station sits at sea level, and reaching the village means climbing the steep Chemin de Nietzsche, roughly a 400m vertical gain over a full 90-minute hike in direct sun. Once you’re up top (the easy way), the Jardin Exotique d’Èze has cactus and succulent terraces with views running from Saint-Tropez to Italy, entry €8-10, plus a free guided tour at the Fragonard perfume factory near the village entrance.
Antibes and Juan-les-Pins, 20 minutes
TER train, €5.10, 18-22 minutes. The Musée Picasso, in the Château Grimaldi right over the sea, holds paintings and ceramics Picasso made in Antibes in 1946 (€8 entry). Walk the ramparts (Promenade Amiral de Grasse), then browse the daily Marché Provençal on Cours Masséna for lunch.
Saint-Paul-de-Vence and Fondation Maeght, the long way
This is the one day trip that takes real effort: TER to Cagnes-sur-Mer (12 minutes), then Bus 655 up to Saint-Paul Village (15 minutes), or skip the transfer and take an Uber for about €40. Worth it for the Fondation Maeght, a modernist art foundation set in pine woods with a Giacometti courtyard and Miró labyrinth (€18 entry), plus Marc Chagall’s grave in the village cemetery. Guided day tours pairing Saint-Paul-de-Vence with Èze are bookable on Viator if you’d rather not manage two transfers yourself.
The verdict
If you only have one free day, make it Villefranche, cheapest and fastest, and it delivers a sand beach the city of Nice itself can’t. If you have two, add Èze by bus, never by train.
Before you go
Compare a base hotel near Gare Thiers on Booking.com so every one of these trips starts and ends a five-minute walk from the platform, and pair this list with the Nice sightseeing guide for what to do on days you stay in the city.