Nice to Monaco and Menton by train along the Riviera

Along the way

1. Nice
2. 1

   7 minutes from Nice-Ville, 4.6 km

   The bay of Villefranche

   The first long view of the trip. The train comes out above one of the deepest and most dramatic natural harbours in the Mediterranean, with Cap Ferrat across the water. Five minutes on foot from the platform you are on the Quai de l'Amiral Ponchardier among the bars and restaurants, with the vaulted Rue Obscure and the Chapelle Saint-Pierre that Jean Cocteau decorated in 1957 behind.

3. 2

   4 minutes after Villefranche

   Beaulieu-sur-Mer and Villa Kérylos

   The Baie des Fourmis is five minutes on foot from the station, and by it stands Villa Kérylos, a house built in the style of ancient Greece at the start of the 20th century by a keen archaeologist. Leaving Beaulieu the line enters the tunnel under Cap Roux, which SNCF Réseau is strengthening in 2026.

4. 3

   15 to 16 minutes from Nice-Ville

   Èze-sur-Mer and Nietzsche's path

   Two hundred metres east of the station along the coast road the Chemin de Nietzsche begins, climbing close to 400 metres through pine and rock to Èze village; the regional tourist board allows an hour to an hour and a half. Nietzsche first wintered on this coast in 1883 and came back every year until 1888. Walk it up in the morning and take the train back from the bottom.

5. 4

   20 to 21 minutes from Nice-Ville

   Cap-d'Ail

   The last station in France before Monaco, among villas and gardens running down to the sea. From here the Sentier du Littoral follows the shore past Belle Époque villas and the Plage de la Mala, a walk the regional tourist board puts at three and a half hours.

6. 5

   22 to 26 minutes from Nice-Ville

   Monaco's station inside the rock

   The train runs into the tunnel and stops in a station built beneath the principality, opened in December 1999. Four exits rise to the city by lifts, escalators and passages: Monte-Carlo on the Pont Sainte-Dévote, the Parvis Sainte-Dévote for Port Hercule, La Condamine, and Fontvieille/Le Rocher for the palace on its rock. The tourist office has a desk on the first floor, open Monday to Saturday, 09:00 to 17:00.

7. 6

   after Monaco

   Roquebrune-Cap-Martin and Cap Moderne

   The line comes back into the light along Cap Martin. From the station you can walk to the three buildings of Cap Moderne: Le Corbusier's Cabanon, where he spent his summers, the Étoile de Mer, and Eileen Gray's villa E-1027 on the rocks above the sea. Until 11 December 2026 only about two trains in five stop here; from 13 December every train on the line does.

8. 7

   41 to 55 minutes from Nice; Ventimiglia about 1 hour

   Menton, and over the border to Ventimiglia

   Menton's old town is orange and ochre with green shutters, a short walk from the station, and the garden of the Palais Carnolès grows 137 varieties of citrus. From 13 to 28 February 2027 the town holds its 93rd Fête du Citron. About every second train runs on past Menton-Garavan into Italy and ends at Ventimiglia, about 15 minutes further, where Italian trains leave for Genoa, Turin, Milan and Rome.

9. Monaco

Ways to do it

• The TER, ticket by ticket

  From€7 Nice to Monaco, €8 Nice to Menton (SNCF Connect, October 2026)

  The ordinary regional train is the only train on this line, and it is the one to take: there is no premium service and no supplement. Fares are fixed, there is no reservation, and a ticket is valid on any train that day on the route you bought. For a day of stops at Villefranche, Èze or Cap-d'Ail, buy a ticket for each leg, or the pass below. Buy on SNCF Connect, in the Région's Zou app or from the station machines before you board.

• The Pass Sud Azur Explore

  From€35 for 3 days, €50 for 7, €80 for 14 (2026)

  The tip if you are staying a few days and want to hop. One card gives unlimited trains, trams and buses across the Alpes-Maritimes and Monaco for 3, 7 or 14 days, which covers every station from Nice to Menton-Garavan, the trams in Nice and the coast buses; it covers the Alpes-Maritimes and Monaco only, so not the last stretch into Italy. It is sold on a smart card at the Lignes d'Azur machines at Nice's tram stops (with a €2 refundable deposit for an anonymous card), at the Espace Zou in Nice-Ville station, the Zou agency in Menton and the CAM agency in Fontvieille, Monaco. Under-18s travelling with an adult pay €30, €40 and €65.

• The grand version: Paris to Nice by TGV, then the coast

  FromTGV INOUI second class from €25.50, OUIGO from €19 (SNCF published fares, 2026)

  The long way in, and the classic one. SNCF's TGV INOUI runs five trains a day direct from Paris Gare de Lyon to Nice-Ville on the October 2026 timetable (six on Fridays), in 5 h 42 to 5 h 56, and OUIGO adds two more. After Marseille or Aix it calls at Toulon, Saint-Raphaël, Cannes and Antibes, and the last half hour, from Cannes, follows the coast into Nice. At Nice-Ville the TER to Monaco leaves from the same station. For the slow version, the Intercités de nuit leaves Paris Austerlitz on most nights at 20:57 and reaches Nice at 09:09 the next morning.

When to go

• WinterAt its best

  The trains run all year, and winter is the quietest time to ride. With the new timetable from 13 December 2026 the late-night closures for works end, weekdays get 57 trains from Nice to Monaco, every train stops at Roquebrune-Cap-Martin and Nice to Menton drops to about 38 minutes. In February Menton fills for the Fête du Citron, 13 to 28 February 2027, with day and night parades, and the trains with it.

• SpringAt its best

  Good light, long days and room on the trains outside the commuter hours. Saturday trains run until after midnight, which makes dinner in Monaco or Menton easy from a Nice base.

• SummerAt its best

  The sea at its bluest and the beaches by the stations at their busiest, Villefranche, Beaulieu and Cap-d'Ail above all. Trains run roughly every 15 minutes at the busiest times. The summer 2027 timetable is not yet published; on the current one, the evening service is longest on Fridays and Saturdays.

• AutumnAt its best

  Warm sea, fewer people. Until 11 December 2026 the line closes for works from 22:00 to 06:00 on the nights from Sunday to Thursday, so plan the day around the last train; Friday and Saturday evenings are unaffected.