France’s two most visited destinations are Paris and the renowned French Riviera, which means that there are plenty of people who look for the best way to travel from Paris to the South of France. Luckily, France is laced with not only a well connected and high speed train system, but also boasts a well connected and maintained highway system and has many flights that leave from Paris and fly to various airports in the south of France.
For those traveling from Paris to Nice (which is a good home base for those wanting to check out Cannes and nearby Monaco), here are the best ways to get from the capital to Nice:
By Plane
While I am always one to recommend taking the train over taking flights in France, Nice is actually home to France’s second largest airport in France (airport code NCE) and there are many daily direct flights from Paris to Nice. There are direct flights into the Nice airport from 90 destinations and 50 airlines fly into Nice.
For those coming direct from Paris, it should be easy to get a direct flight on either Air France or discount carrier EasyJet.
While flying is certainly is easy way to get between Paris and Nice and is both affordable and fast, it is also important to keep in mind that you have to take into consideration transportation to and from both airports. Since airports are not located in the center of cities and towns like train stations often are, you’ll have to figure out how to get to and from the airport.
Transportation to/from the Nice Airport:
There are two buses that have frequent service from the Nice airport into town.
Bus 98 runs from the airport to the center of Nice and costs €4. It runs every 30 minutes 6 am-midnight.
Bus 99 runs from the airport to the Nice Ville train station and costs €4.
By Train
Train is by far the easiest and fastest way to travel around France. While taking the train can seem more expensive then some of your other options, it is the fastest, most convienent way to travel around the country.
From Paris, you can take the TGV Mediterranee (a high-speed train). There are several trains leaving from Paris each day and the journey takes about 5.5 hours. You will need to make reservations in advance, and the trip costs anywhere from €50-€100.
>>Visit the SNCF website for more schedules and to book your travel.
If you are continuing your travels from Nice and hoping to explore more of the Mediterranean coast, there are many trains that connect Nice to Cannes, Monaco (only 40 mins away) and the Italian Riviera.
If you are traveling to Italy from Nice, Trentalia trains also connect Nice by rail to Milan, Genova and Rome.
By Car
If you are renting a car in France and want to drive (perhaps with some stops along the way), the journey from Paris to Nice takes about 8-9 hours and is approximately 950 km. Because gas costs more in Europe than in the U.S., it is important to take fuel prices into consideration before you decide to drive from Paris to Nice.
Directions:
From Paris, take the A6/A10 towards Bordeaux/Nantes/Lyon
Take Exit for A6 towards Evry/Lyon/Chilly-Mazarin
Take A8 towards Aix-en-Provence/Toulon/Nice
Exit 50 to Nice Centre.
By Bus
Although taking the bus can save you some money if you are traveling in Europe on a tight budget, there is simply no easy way to take the bus from Paris to Nice. Unfortunately, big European bus company Eurolines only offers routes from Paris to international destinations (if you are traveling from Paris to London, the bus is a good option).
If you are determined to take the bus, you’ll probably have to change buses several times or opt to take a bus tour that has stop in Nice. However, the journey could take as much as 15 hours, compared to just 5.5 hours via train. (In other words, buy a Eurail pass and take the train).
>>If you are headed to Spain from the French Mediterranean, check out how to get from Nice to Barcelona
Photo from Chris230 flickr
