We know this area well (from both on cruises and land). Forget using a taxi as you will need to mortgage your home to pay the fare. There are several reasonble ways to get to St Paul de Vence (we love this place) depending on your budget and preference. You could hire a car/driver and you would probably pay about 300 Euros for the day. Another option is to simply rent a car for the day which would cost you about $100 (divide that by 4 and its the cheapest alternative). We spend a lot of time driving in France and Italy and its a great way to travel (just like in the US) if you are comfortable with this option. If you want to use public transit you can take the train from Villefranche to the Cagnes sur Mer stop (its just past the Nice Cote d'Azur airport). When you get off the train you than catch the local bus that goes to St Paul de Vence. The problem with this scenario is that you will lose a lot of time waiting for trains, buses, etc. As much as I like to promote the trains in the region, the truth is that you may have to sometimes wait an hour for a train and another 45 for a bus. By the way, the bus that picks you up in Cagnes sur Mer, actually starts its route from the Nice bus station. So, if you were to be in Nice, you could simply go to the bus station (its a hike from the center of town) and catch the bus to St Paul de Vence. I should add that if you do rent a car there is an excellent indoor parking garage located right next to the St Paul de Vence entrance, and a car also makes it convenient to stop at the nearby Maeght Foundation and go to some other places in the region. Lastly, you can take the cruise excursion. That is certainly the easiest but its somewhat overpriced...and many of the tours do not give you enough time to truly enjoy St Paul de Vence. We generally spend several hours in the village since we like to browse in the many excellent art galleries and have lunch.
