Bus from Nice to Monaco

Bus #100 (Monaco/Menton) leaves from the main bus hub off Place Massena (bottom center of map) every 15 minutes on weekdays and every 20 minutes on Sunday and French holidays. The 45-minute drive to Monaco is absolutely stunning, so sit on the right side of the bus if you can. Don’t be tempted to take the Monaco Express 100X, as you will save only 10 minutes driving time but will miss all the gorgeous scenery.

The Price:  It’s one thing about going to Monaco that is a deal: just 1.50€ each way!

The Ticket Azur:   Some destinations outside of Nice are on a different ticket system.   This only affects you if you are using a day/week/or ten-day card, or, say, you want to take the tramway and then transfer onto the Monaco bus.  If you are going to Monaco, Menton, Antibes, Cannes, Grasse, or Saint-Paul-de-Vence, the driver won’t let you use your Ligne d’Azur ticket and will make you pay another euro!   The way around this is to go to the Ligne d’Azur boutique ahead of time (at Place Massena or across from the Train Station) and buy a couple of Ticket Azur’s for 1.50 euro, which is good from Monaco to Cannes and far inland, and works for one transfer within 2 1/2 hours, with the added advantage of working on the local Monaco bus.

The Stops:  When you get to Monaco, the stops are:

  • Place d’Armes - this first stop is right at the entry to the tunnel.  Get off here to go to the Palace or the Prince Rainier’s Classic Car Museum.
  • The Port - Get off here for super-yachts, fun bars, the outdoor Olympic-sized public swimming pool (ice skating rink in winter) and reasonably priced shopping.  Also  access to The Rock, or Palace grounds from here.
  • Monte Carlo/Tourist Office - Walk down through the gardens for the casinos, top hotels, opera house, jewelry stores and haute couture, and marble Metropole shopping center.  To catch the bus back from here, cross the street to the left.
  • Place de Moulins -  for Forum Grimaldi exhibits, the Japanese gardens, the Museum Sauber, and the beaches… go right as you get off the bus and take the public elevator down to the seaside.
  • If you stay on the bus you will end up in Menton, which is quite wonderful as well.

Once in Monaco you can take the local bus to get from one end to the other, the color coded lines are really easy to figure out.  Tickets cost 2€ from the driver and are good for 30 minutes; or save some centimes and buy from the machine for 1.50, take a day-pass for 4€ or a ten-pack for 12€.  Monaco even has a floating bus: the bateau bus (boat shuttle) will ferry you across the Port for the price of a bus ticket!

Getting back:  The bus 100 stops running at around 8pm, so after that you have to take the train (last one leaves at midnight), except on Thursday/Friday/Saturday when there is a night bus leaving from Place d’Armes at 11:40pm, 1:10am, 2:40am and 4:10am.

Insider tip:  This is a popular route so it is best to get on at the beginning of the route because at busy times it could be standing-room-only by the time it gets to the Port.  If the bus is already full it will say “Complete” and will blow right past you, but there will be another one in 15 minutes… For this reason, when coming back from Monaco at rush hour (when workers are returning home to Nice), you would be wise to get on at the stop at the top of the Casino Gardens, or even Les Moulins, rather than risk standing-room-only at the Place d’Armes stop.