Nice Day Trips by Coastal Train
The single best thing about basing yourself in Nice is that you do not need a car to see the rest of the coast. One cheap, frequent regional train line (the TER) runs right along the shore from Menton in the east to Cannes in the west, with 50-plus trains a day on the busy stretches. Rent a car and you inherit parking and traffic for no real gain. Buy train tickets instead and the whole Riviera opens up as a series of easy half-days out of Nice-Ville station.
Villefranche-sur-Mer, the closest and easiest
Eight to fourteen minutes east by train drops you at Villefranche, so close it almost works as a Nice neighborhood. A steep, stepped old town runs down to a deep natural harbor with calmer, clearer water than central Nice, plus a 16th-century citadel to wander for free. Good for a lazy swim-and-lunch morning when you do not want to commit to a full day away.
Eze, the hilltop village
Eze village sits at 427m, well above the coastal line, so there is no direct train. Take bus 82 or the regional 602 from the Vauban bus station (on Tram Line 1), roughly 30 minutes, though Sunday service thins out, so check before you go. The alternative is the train to Eze-sur-Mer, then bus 83 uphill, or the steep Chemin de Nietzsche footpath if your legs are willing. For most first-timers Eze edges out Monaco: it delivers the postcard hilltop-village experience in less time and with fewer crowds.
Monaco and Monte-Carlo
Seven to twenty-five minutes by train, about 6.50 to 7.50 EUR one way if you book ahead. Monaco is a separate sovereign country, not part of France, and the whole principality is walkable in an afternoon. One detail people miss: to go inside the Casino de Monte-Carlo you need a passport or national ID, there is a dress code, and it is strictly 18-plus. If you only want the photo of the facade and the harbor, none of that applies.
Antibes and Cannes, best doubled up
Antibes is 16 to 23 minutes west, roughly 7 to 8 EUR, with a daily Provençal market, the ramparts, and the Picasso Museum in the Chateau Grimaldi where Picasso actually worked. Cannes is another short hop down the same line, about 35 minutes from Nice and around 10 EUR, for La Croisette and the Le Suquet old town. Because they share the line, many people do both in one day. Note that from January 2026 Cannes caps cruise arrivals, part of the coast’s live overtourism debate, so the port area feels less swamped than it used to.
Menton, the quieter one
Thirty to thirty-five minutes east, about 7 EUR, right by the Italian border. Menton is gentler and less crowded than Nice or Cannes, with a pastel Belle Epoque waterfront and a famous lemon festival every February that pairs neatly with a Nice Carnival trip in the same window.
Into the Alps: the Train des Merveilles
For something completely different, the Train des Merveilles climbs 120km from Nice-Ville up the Roya Valley to Tende, past hilltop villages and over 1,000m of altitude, in about two hours. It runs daily June to September 2026 (reduced service otherwise), and the morning departure is narrated by a bilingual guide. It uses the same regional TER network, so it is genuinely a day trip, not an expedition.
Practical notes
A regional multi-day pass (Pass Sud Azur Explore) runs roughly 35 EUR for 3 days and covers TER trains plus local buses, worth it if you are stacking several trips. Buy single fares through SNCF Connect, the app, or station machines. Keep bags zipped and in front of you on the trains: a well-documented distraction scam has someone insist you are in “their” reserved seat to create a crowded, hands-busy moment. None of this needs a rental car.
Read more: the full Nice travel guide covers the city itself, and the 7-day Nice itinerary shows how to fold a couple of these trips into a longer stay.