It’s a conundrum: you want to visit Nice’s Bellet wine region, tour the picturesque wineries and taste lots of wine, but the vineyards are spread out in the backcountry, necessitating a car, and driving the windy roads isn’t exactly compatible with the tasting, sampling, and savoring that is the whole point of the trip…
Nice Weekend Wine Bus to the rescue!
Every Saturday in June and September, and Fridays and Saturdays in July and August, catch the Vignobles de Bellet Navette Wine Shuttle which runs a continuous 80-minute circuit, starting from just across from the Magnan tram stop in Nice.
After a scenic 20-minute bus ride up to the hilly vineyards, the first stop is maybe the most famous, Chateau Bellet (pictured).
An hour and 20 minutes later the shuttle passes again, taking you to the Pylones stop, for access to two wineries, Domaine de la Source and Domaine de Vinceline (but both of these are also walkable from Chateau Bellet).
When the shuttle passes again, it’s for a 15-minute drive to the other side of Bellet, to the Tennis de Cremat stop for the Collet de Bovis winery, then a short hop (or both walkable) to the spectacular Chateau de Cremat and then Clos Saint-Vincent from the Raiola stop, which is where the shuttle picks you up (hopefully not from off the floor…!) for the 30-minute drive back into town, and drops you off right where you started, across from the Magnan tram stop.
The cost to take the wine shuttle is just the price of a regular bus/tram ticket (1.70€) but since you need to validate a voyage each time you board, it makes the most sense to just get the bus/tram day pass for 7€.
Here’s all the info in English and timetable… Pace yourself!
See related page: Best Wine Bars in and around Old Nice
- Back up to main Buses in Nice page
Photo credits: Une grappe de Grenache by Magnetto and Chapelle by Chateau de Bellet, both licensed under Creative Commons