What can I do in Nice in France?

What is the cheapest way to get from Venice, Italy to Nice, France?

• In May I will be traveling to Europe for the first time. I have been doing extensive research in order to find the most cost effective ways to travel from city to city. In most cases I have found that a cheap flight on an airline like RyanAir has been the cheapest option, but I haven't been able to find any reasonably priced flights from Venice, Italy to Nice, France. Maybe somebody can help me find cheap flights that I'm just missing. Perhaps it's cheaper to fly in and out of nearby surrounding cities as opposed to flying directly from Venice to Nice? Or perhaps a train is the smarter travel option between these two cities? Or maybe by bus? I'm hoping somebody can offer some helpful information here. I just want to know the cheapest way to get from Venice to Nice. Any advice will be greatly appreciated, and links would be very helpful as well. Thank you in advance.

• Answer:

  Unfortunately, there is no direct train service from Venice to Nice. The direct night train was a good and cost effective option before it was discontinued, but it has not run in a few years now. There will be a trade-off between cost and speed with the train. The cheapest possible option on the train is to take regional trains all the way. A regional train from Venice to Milan costs 14.55 euro and takes 3 hr 31 min. From Milan to Ventimiglia on the border with France costs 16.30 euro and takes 4 hr 59 min. Ventimiglia to Nice takes 45 to 50 min and costs 6.70 euro. The actual travel time on the train is almost 9 hours at a cost of 37.55 euro. However, you'll need to add in time for layovers at each of the connection points and you may need an additional connection from Milan to Ventimiglia since there are limited options that go all the way. There are faster trains at higher prices. From Venice to Ventimiglia on the faster trains takes 6 hr 30 min to 8 hours including the connections and costs 57 euro in 2nd class. From Ventimiglia to Nice is another 6.70 euro as mentioned above. For travel within Italy, you can find schedules and prices here: http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=ad1ce14114bc9110VgnVCM10000080a3e90aRCRD The regional trains do not take reservations here in Italy. To see prices, you need to be looking at a date close to the current date. For schedules and prices from Ventimiglia to Nice, see: http://www.tgv-europe.com/en/?tduid=c4d8424f61d0c501627f56cefa1b1182