Wondering what the best way to get from the port/tender in Villefranche to Monaco is and how long it takes to get there. Also curious about an adorable litte town called Eze that is apparently nearby. Anybody been there?
You are right that Eze is "adorable." It takes about 20 minutes to get from Villefranche to Monte Carlo on the train. You can actually walk to the Villegranche train station in about 10 min (just keep the water on your right and walk until you see the steps on your left that go up to the station). Of course you could wait a half hour for the train depending on your timing. As to Eze, its not as simple. You can get there by a public bus from Monte Carlo. Or you can get off the train at the Eze-Bord sur mer station which lies below the hilltop town. You than need to wait for the bus to take you up to town, or you can cross the road to the cafe and ask them to call a taxi. Eze is a small walled village with some cute artsy shops and galleries and a few decent restaurants and cafes.
Thanks for the info, Hank! We'll be hiring private drivers/guides for 3 other stops (Naples, Livorno, Civitivecchia)on the cruise and wanted to have at least 1 or 2 ports that we could do buses/taxi/walk on our own. Any advice on Livorno or Rome? 12 hours in port.
I always have "advice" but not sure anyone ever listens (or should listen). Rome is a very large sprawling city. It is probably the only city in Europe that I recommend first time visitors take a tour. Ideally, it should be an all day tour whether by the cruise line or a private company. I particularly like the tours that take you through the Vatican and use various schemes to avoid the long lines (and thus save a valuable hour of the day). And of course you should see the Palentine Hill area, Collosseum, the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain. That being said, it is very easy to get to Rome on your own via the train. So, if you have some travel smarts, do your pre-trip homework, and have the spirit of adventure, you can save a lot of money by taking the train to Rome.
Livorno is different. I think Florence is where first-time visitors should spend their day, and Florence can easily be done on your own with a simple guide book/map. Whether you use the transportation provided by the cruise line (usually about $65 - $80 pp) or take the train (about $20 pp) is a matter of choice. The biggest hassle is getting a taxi to take you from ship to train station, but a little persistence with the taxi drivers will usually get you a driver. In Florence, everything is pretty much within walking distance except for the Academia. Many go to Academia just to see David (we have done it) but the truth is that it takes some time to get out to that museum, you have to normally wait in line (it is possible to buy tickets in advance on-line), and all this to see a great statute that happens to have a darn good copy sitting in the piazza Della Signoria. Many also like to spend half their day at the famous Ufizzi Gallery, and my only comment about this is that if you were making your first visit to New York City, and only had one day, would you spend it in the Metropolitan Museum of Art? Personally, we find the renaissance art of the Ufizzi to be dark, dreary, and somewhat boring (I will get flamed for this comment). However, we do think the Ufizzi building is a beautiful structure. On the other hand, when we are in Paris we skip the Louvre in favor of the Musee d'Orsay. Its a matter of taste, but the impessionists make me smile, and the dreary dark renaissance art makes me feel dreary and dark. Imprssionism got its start because even the artists were bored with the old style.
Thanks for al the tips! I love both the Lourve and the Musee d'Orsay. My husband is the world traveler and has been to Florence but I have never been to Italy at all so I will be happy with whatever I see
friends have said that when tendered in Nice, do Eze and Monticarlo...
we would like to do these on our own....does it make sense to do all three in a day and make it back to the ship on time...and if yes, how would one go about doing that?
