How to See the French Riviera from Nice Using Only Trains and Trams

Getting from the airport into Nice

Nice Côte d'Azur Airport's own site states that tram line 2 connects Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 directly to the city centre, including the central Jean Médecin stop, running "every 7 to 8 minutes on weekdays." The airport page lists a single SOLO journey ticket at EUR 2, available from ticket machines at tram stations (not inside the terminals themselves), the Lignes d'Azur app, or authorised retailers, with the ride taking "less than 30 minutes" into the centre. Buy the ticket before you board — the airport notes machines aren't available right at the terminal platforms, so plan to get one at the first tram stop or through the app in advance.

The coastal TER line: your main tool for the whole trip

One regional line, run as TER SUD Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, threads the coast from Menton through Monaco, Nice, Antibes and on to Cannes and beyond. Fares run through SNCF's Zou! ticketing brand, with single-journey and 10-trip options plus a regional day pass described on the operator's own site as starting around EUR 20 for exploring the wider SUD region — useful if you're combining several coastal stops with an inland stop in one day, though check the current price and zone coverage before relying on it for a single Nice–Cannes hop, where a normal single ticket is usually cheaper.

Approximate one-way journey times from Nice, drawn from SNCF Connect's own route data on 7 September 2026:

Villefranche-sur-Mer sits closer still, a short hop up the coast from Nice; frequent trains run the route, but check the current timetable on ter.sncf.com rather than assuming a fixed minute count, since the short distance makes scheduled times sensitive to which station the train actually starts from.

Which towns reward a half day, and which need more

Villefranche-sur-Mer and Antibes both suit a half-day visit. Villefranche's small harbour and old town are compact enough to see on foot in a few hours, and Antibes' walled old town and market are similarly sized — both leave room to add a second stop the same day. Monaco fits the same half-day pattern from Nice: at around 22-25 minutes each way, it slots into an afternoon rather than needing its own full day.

Cannes and Menton reward more time. Cannes' Croisette and old town both benefit from a slower pace, especially if beach time is part of the plan, and Menton's lemon-scented old town and gardens similarly reward lingering rather than a quick loop off the train. If you're choosing one full-day stop from this coast, either of these two makes a fuller day than Villefranche or Antibes.

What this guide does not cover

This guide covers the coastal rail corridor and the airport tram; it doesn't cover the bus network into the hill villages above the coast (Èze, La Turbie), which run on separate Lignes d'Azur or regional bus routes with their own schedules, or driving as an alternative — parking in Nice, Antibes and Cannes old towns is limited and this article didn't verify current rates. Confirm same-day fares and timetables on ter.sncf.com and lignesdazur.com before you travel, since regional fare structures are reviewed at least annually.