Taking the bus in Nice is one of the best bargains of the Riviera: tickets cost only 1.50€, but if you buy a 10-pack you can go almost anywhere for just 1€, making the ride the least expensive in France.
Table of Contents
Buying a Ticket
- Normally, you buy your ticket or day pass from the driver, but for the 10-pack bargain it’s a little bit different (see below)
- Your ticket entitles you to change buses/trams as much as you like within 74 minutes. Don’t forget to VALIDATE your ticket in the little yellow machines each time you board.
Best Deals for Taking a Bus in Nice
- The insider tip is to buy a 10-trip ticket for 10€
- You can’t buy these from the bus drivers, but you CAN buy them in the machines at the tram stops (have 10€ in coin, or a chip-and-pin credit card: the machines can’t swipe or take bills), or in the Lignes d’Azur boutiques across from the train station, or on Blvd Jean Jaures on the edge of the Old Town.
- You can also buy a Day Pass for 5€, a Week Pass for 15€, or a Month Pass for 40€. These passes don’t include the bus to airport or ski bus and won’t get you to Monaco, Menton or Saint-Paul-de-Vence (see Ticket Azur below).
- The day pass can be purchased from the driver or tram ticket machines (again, have a coin or a chip-and-pin credit card), the ten-trip card and week-pass only from the machines and Lignes d’Azur boutiques, and the month pass only from the Lignes d’Azur boutiques. For the month pass, you’ll need your passport plus a copy of your passport for them to keep.
The Ticket Azur
- If you are going to Monaco and beyond (like Menton), to Saint-Paul-de-Vence, or anywhere past Cagnes-sur-mer (like Antibes, for instance), your regular Nice bus ticket/pass/10-trip card will not be accepted. But you can simply buy your 1.50€ ticket from the driver as you board
Bus/Tram Schedules
- The tramway comes every 3-5 minutes by day and every 12-20 minutes by night until around 1am. The bus timings vary, but you can check the schedules here for local Nice buses, and here for the schedules of buses that go outside of Nice (like Monaco)
Smartphone App
- Download the Ligne d’Azur app which gives you itineraries, maps, and will tell you when you can expect the next bus.
Night Buses
- Most regular buses stop running around 8 or 9ish, but then the Noctabuses take over, departing every half hour for the 4 corners of Nice, until 1am. They all leave from the JC Bermond stop, in front of the Aston La Scala Hotel, just off Place Masséna.
Going to and from NICE AIRPORT
Taking a local bus from the Airport
Walk out to the Promenade des Anglais to catch a local bus for just 1.50€. Walk through the parking lot in Terminal 1 to the Promenade des Anglais then look for the bus stop.
- Catch bus #23 Bella Vista to go to Boulevard Gambetta and then the train station
- or bus #52, #59 or #70 for the Promenade hotels, Place Masséna, and the Old Town
Going back to the airport from town:
- the bus #23 Centre Commercial is the only one that actually takes you into the airport, dropping you off at Terminal 1 (where you can catch the free shuttle/navette to Terminal 2)
Airport express buses:
- The Nice Airport Express Bus costs 6€ and you can either buy your ticket from the desk at the airport or from the driver on board, and you can catch it from either terminal.
- Take number #98 ‘Promenade des Arts/Lycée Masséna‘ if you want to go to the beach hotels or Old Nice: it leaves every 20 minutes until 10 pm, and then there are two last runs at 10:50 pm and 11:50 pm. The bus goes along the seaside, then turns inland at the Old Town, and finishes in the vicinity above Place Garibaldi. Your ticket is good for one transfer on trams or buses within an hour and 15 minutes so you can hop on the tram for one or two stops to get closer to your destination.
- Take number #99 ‘Gare SNCF’ if you want to go to the main Train Station: it leaves every 30 minutes until 9 pm and takes the seaside until it turns inland at the Boulevard Gambetta, to finish at the main Nice-Ville Train Station.
The airport buses run every day of the year, except May 1st, which is French Labor Day.
BUS FROM NICE TO DIRECTION MENTON (MONACO)
The ride from Nice to Monaco on Bus #100 (Monaco/Menton) is one of the most beautiful bus rides!!
Where to Catch the Ligne d’Azur 100 to Monaco?
You can catch number 100 at the top of the Port, on the little side street next to the church.
Timing
The bus leaves every 15 minutes during the week, and every 20 minutes on Sundays and French holidays, and the drive takes 45 minutes.
What’s the price? Just 1.50€!
It’s one thing about going to Monaco that is a deal: just 1.50€ each way! You can buy your ticket from the driver as you board, but note that if you are using a Ligne d’Azur day pass/week pass/or ten-trip card, they are accepted on this bus only for destinations up to Monaco, so for Monaco and Menton, you will have to buy a new ticket.
If you want to pop up to Eze
- If you want to visit Eze on your way back from Monaco, go back up to the Tourist Office/Casino bus stop; this is the Casino bus stop going in the other direction (towards Nice), and this is where you catch #112 for the 20-minute drive to the perched Medieval village of Eze.
- The bus only runs Monday-Saturday and goes only every couple of hours (roughly around 10 am, noon, 3ish and 5ish, but pop into the Monaco Tourist Office to get the flyer with the exact times.
- To get back to Nice from Eze, you can take either number #112 or Bus #82 from Eze, which between them leave approximately once each hour for the 30-minute drive back down to Nice. Again, drop into the Eze Tourist Office when you arrive for printed schedules to make it easy
BUS FROM NICE TO DIRECTION ANTIBES AND CANNES
Bus #200 to Antibes and Cannes it’s just 1,50€, but between the traffic and all the stops along the route, the trip takes 2 to 3 times as long as the train. Especially if you’re going from Nice to Cannes, I recommend spending a couple of extra euros to take the train and saving a lot of time.
Journey
- number #200 leaves from the Albert 1ere bus stop, which is between the Meridian Hotel and the start of the Promenade du Paillon gardens.
- The bus goes down the Promenade des Anglais, passing by the Cap 3000 Shopping Center, Saint Laurent du Var, Cagnes-sur-mer, Villeneuve Loubet, Antibes, Vallauris, Golfe Juan/Juan les Pins, and finally Cannes, finishing at the Port.
Timing
- number 200 leaves every 15-20 minutes daily, and every 30 minutes on Sunday and French holidays, click here for the schedule.
Tickets
- The ticket costs 1.50€ and you can buy your ticket from the driver as you board, but note that if you are using a Nice day pass/week pass/or ten-trip card, they will only be accepted on this bus for destinations up to Cagnes-sur-mer; if you are going farther you will have to buy a new ticket.
Upon your stay in Nice, don’t miss out on walking tours, fun parties and top activities organized by Riviera Bar Crawl & Tours.
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