Alpes-Maritimes is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France. It has 300 sunny days per year, making it an excellent tourist destination.
Cities
- 1 Antibes
- Beaulieu-sur-Mer
- 2 Cannes — a sea-side city known for hosting the Cannes Film Festival, la Croisette (its waterfront) and its luxury hotels.
- 3 Castillon
- 4 Èze — a small atmospheric perched medieval village with a great view on the coast, and also a sea resort in its lower portion.
- 5 Grasse — famous for its perfume industry is inland but easily reached from the coast by train
- Haut de Cagnes
- 6 La Trinité
- 7 Menton
- 8 Mougins
- 9 Nice — The largest city of the département, its famous promenade, its old town.
- 10 Peillon
- 11 Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat
- 12 Saint-Paul de Vence and Tourrettes sur Loup — both 30 minutes inland but well worth a visit, delightful old villages with narrow streets and picture post card scenes
- 13 Sospel
- 14 Tourrettes-sur-Loup
- Valbonne and Biot
- 15 Vence, famous for the Matisse Chapel
- 16 Villefranche-sur-Mer
Other destinations
Understand
The department can be divided into three parts:
- The coast area, which attracts lots of tourists
- The arrière pays famous for its nice villages
- The mountain area, with its ski resorts
Get in
By plane
- 1 Nice Côte d'Azur Airport (Aéroport de Nice-Côte d'Azur) (6 km east from the centre of Nice; see Nice for details). (NCE IATA) This is the third airport of the country in term of traffic, though it is not the main hub of any company. It offers a good number of national and international destinations, some of them being covered by the lost-cost company Easy Jet. Flying may be a good option if you are not travelling along the Mediterranean coast in which case the train may be more convenient.
Get around
By train
The main lines run along the coast, and allow going either to Italy (east) or Marseille (west). The local trains are following the two following lines:
- Ventimiglia (Italy) - Menton - Monaco - Nice - Antibes - Cannes - Mandelieu
- Ventimiglia (Italy) - Menton - Monaco - Nice - Antibes - Cannes - Grasse
Trains also stop in smaller cities (see time table)[dead link]).
From Nice, high-speed trains TGV runs to Lyon or Paris, with several a few stops in the middle. Note that the portion between Nice and Marseille (2:40) is not operated at high-speed.
The SNCF, the national railway company, also also operates the line train des Merveilles from Nice to the back of the country (Breil-sur-Roya, Tende). This train is often used by tourists.
The region also operated the line Chemin de fer de Provence between Nice and Digne-les-bains in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence departments in the nord. This line is also often referred as Le train des Pignes. It's also serving many small villages as Puget-Thenier, Entrevaux or Annot. Interail cards are not accepted. The trains are not equipped for disable people.
By bus
The Conseil Général (local council) operates a bus network called TAM. It offers to route to almost every town and village within the département. The one-way ticket costs €1 whatever the destination.
The main routes are:
- 100: Nice - Monaco - Menton (every 15 minutes)
- 100X'press: Nice - Monaco, direct by motorway (every 60 minutes)
- 200: Nice - Cannes (every 15 minutes)
- 500: Nice - Grasse
- 600: Cannes - Grasse (every 20 to 30 minutes)
This network also operates (on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and the nights before a public holiday) a night service called NocTAM'bus. The three night routes are:
- NocTAM'bus 100: Nice Côte d'Azur Airport - Monaco - Menton
- NocTAM'bus 200: Nice Côte d'Azur Airport - Cannes
- NocTAM'bus 600: Cannes- Grasse
There are also two special airport routes:
- 110 Nice Côte d'Azur Airport - Monaco - Menton, direct by motorway
- 210 Nice Côte d'Azur Airport - Cannes, direct by motorway.
Warning Special fares apply on the airport routes (110 and 210):
Time tables are available online [1] (in French)
See
