Earlier this year, I talked a bit about all the things you could do with the French Riviera Pass. Well, I’m back to talk more about it because when my mum and my friend came over, we decided to get a 48hour pass and we ended up doing more things!

Eze

The bus from Nice to Eze has always been very popular and I’ve generally had to stand on my way to Eze. However, this time we went from the Vauban bus interchange and it was a good decision – there is a queue but much fewer people and it’s easier to get seats. You can take the Tram Line 1 to the Vauban stop and walk to the interchange (we walked through the tunnel next to Lidl).

We also bought our French Riviera passes in Eze from the Tourism Office. It was great because that gave us a physical card (unlike when I bought it online and had to show a PDF at every stop). They also gave us a booklet with information on all the activities and the numbers we needed to call if reservations were needed.

Jardin Exotique d’Eze

I’ve been to Eze several times but I’ve never been to the exotic garden there because I didn’t want to pay for tickets. Luckily, entry is included in the French Riviera pass so I got to go! It’s pretty cool, but honestly, we were here for the views, not the cacti because you can find those in Singapore.

The garden is located at the top of the medieval village in Eze and I’d recommend going all the way to the top of the garden to soak in the sun and the views of the ocean!

Galimard

The Galimard perfumery is right next to the bus stop that you get off if you’re taking the bus from Nice to Eze. If you show them the pass, you’ll get to create your own Eau de Toilette! The lady who guided us even wrote down the formula of our perfumes in case we needed it.

I’m not too sure if there are set timings for the workshops – we went on a day they weren’t too busy and they did a workshop for us on the spot.

Fragonard

The Fragonard perfume factory, which is the one that I visited the first time I visited Eze, also provides a free custom Eau de Toilette workshop for the French Riviera Pass! If you want to take the tour in English, it’s available only at certain timings so it’s best to call ahead or visit them and book a spot. The workshop also includes a tour of the factory, though we skipped the tour because we had to catch the bus.

When we went, there were only 2 workshops available in English on that day. I would highly recommend cross-checking this with the bus schedule to make sure you choose the right timing.

Nice

For Nice, we did quite a few things that were done on the previous tour, but there were still a few new things.

Les Trains Touristiques de Nice

This is essentially an electric train tour around Nice. There are two routes: a city route that goes through Old Nice and some of the surrounding areas, and a route that goes up to Castle Hill. We took the city route because it was the next train available so if you want to skip the walk up Castle Hill and take this train, I would recommend checking the schedule in advance and planning your day around that. The stop for the train is walkable from Hard Rock Cafe, so it may be a good idea to have your free cocktail and then take the train.

We also encountered something odd at this stop – apparently, our cards were used for this attraction the previous day! We managed to resolve the problem but it’s something to be aware of if you’re buying the card.

Cave Bianchi 1860

This was billed as an opportunity to sample several local wines with a sommelier, but it was a very underwhelming experience. We had one glass of wine while the sommelier went through the various products in the shop very quickly and there was no mention of terroir or the other basics of wine. I personally felt that the free wine workshop in the Bordeaux pass came with a lot more useful information.

Personally, I’d recommend you skip this.

Trans Côte D’azur

This was a request from my mum and her friend and it was a really good idea! Basically, it’s a one-hour cruise that takes you to Villefrance-sur-Mer and back with live commentary from the captain. We found it to be a very fun trip! If you want to listen to the trip with English commentary, there are two cruises a day departing from Nice.

This is also going to be really popular, so I would advise you to book the day before! We booked the cruise about 30 minutes before it left, but we saw people getting turned away because the cruise was full literally minutes after we got our tickets so I would not advise you to risk it like we did.

48-Hour Pass Itinerary

After having used the pass twice, this is my recommended itinerary if you get the 48-hour pass.

Day 1

Morning: Take the bus to Eze and buy the 48-hour pass from the Tourism Office. The pass is activated the first time you use it and lasts for 48 hours.

Activities:

• Jardin Exotique d’Eze (6€)
• Galimard (15€)
• Fragonard (29€)

We took the bus back around four in the afternoon and arrive in Nice just after 5pm. For lunch, I recommend Le Nid d’Aigle – try to get a table inside next to the window for a view of the ocean!

Activities:

• Palais Lascaris in Old Nice (5€)

Day 2

For the second day, I would recommend staying in Nice and enjoying:

• 1 hour cruise (19€) – I’d recommend taking the morning cruise
• Cocktail and Chips at Hard Rock Cafe (14.10€)
• Les Trains Touristique de Nice (10€)
• Socca at Chez Theresa (3€)
• Le Grand Tour Nice (23€)
• Casino Barrière Le Ruhl Nice (16€) – I’d recommend doing this last, at night, because it opens until late

Cost of 48-hour pass: 40€ (as of June 2022)

Value of all activities: 140.10€

Total amount saved: 100.10€

Notes on this itinerary:

• I suggest Casino Ruhl because it was on our list of things to do but we were turned away for not having our physical passports with us. So if you go, make sure you have that!
• I included the Nice Le Grand Tour bus here but it might be a bit tight depending on the time of the Les Trains Touristique that you take! Even so, if you’re trying to move from the cruise location to Hard Rock Cafe, the most convenient way is to take this bus! Get on at the stop for the Port (It’s on the road opposite Port Lympia station, you’ll be able to see the sign) and the next stop should be right outside Hard Rock Cafe on Promenade des Anglais. If you’re taking the tram, you’d have to walk from the tram station to the Promenade.

I hope both these posts on the French Riviera Pass have been helpful! Part 1 is here if you missed it. If you liked it, please consider tipping me so I can feed my tea habit.