Alpes-Maritimes - French department

Alpes-Maritimes is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France. It has 300 sunny days per year, making it an excellent tourist destination.

Cities

• Antibes
• Beaulieu-sur-Mer
• Cannes — a sea-side city known for hosting the Cannes Film Festival, la Croisette (its waterfront) and its luxury hotels.
• Castillon
• Èze — a small atmospheric perched medieval village with a great view on the coast, and also a sea resort in its lower portion.
• Grasse — famous for its perfume industry — is inland but easily reached from the coast by train
• Cagnes-sur-Mer
• La Trinité
• Menton
• Mougins
• Nice — The largest city of the département, its famous promenade, its old town.
• Peillon
• Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat
• Saint-Paul de Vence and Tourrettes sur Loup — both 30 minutes inland but well worth a visit, delightful old villages with narrow streets and picture postcard scenes
• Sospel
• Tourrettes-sur-Loup
• Valbonne and Biot
• Vence, famous for the Matisse Chapel
• Villefranche-sur-Mer

Other destinations

• La Pointe de l'Aiguille — a departmental park
• Mercantour National Park — a good place for hiking and skiing

Understand

The department can be divided into three parts:

• The coast area, which attracts lots of tourists
• The arrière-pays famous for its nice villages
• The mountain area, with its ski resorts

Get in

By plane

• Nice Côte d'Azur Airport (Aéroport de Nice-Côte d'Azur), 43.665278°, 7.215°. (IATA: NCE) This is the third airport of the country in term of traffic, though it is not the main hub of any company. It offers a good number of national and international destinations, some of them covered by low-cost company EasyJet. Flying may be a good option if you are not travelling along the Mediterranean coast in which case the train may be more convenient. 2015-03-29

Get around

By train

The main lines run along the coast, and allow going either to Italy (east) or Marseille (west). The local trains are following the two following lines:

• Ventimiglia (Italy) - Menton - Monaco - Nice - Antibes - Cannes - Mandelieu-la-Napoule
• Ventimiglia (Italy) - Menton - Monaco - Nice - Antibes - Cannes - Grasse Trains also stop in smaller cities (see time table).

From Nice, high-speed train TGV runs to Lyon or Paris, with a few stops in-between. The portion between Nice and Marseille (2:40) is not operated at high-speed.

The SNCF, the national railway company, also operates the line train des Merveilles from Nice to the hinterland(Breil-sur-Roya, Tende). This train is often used by tourists.

The region also operated the line Chemin de fer de Provence between Nice and Digne-les-Bains in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence departments in the nord. This line is also often referred as Le train des Pignes. It's also serving many small villages as Puget-Théniers, Entrevaux or Annot. Interrail cards are not accepted. The trains are not equipped for disable people.

By bus

The Conseil Général (local council) operates a bus network called TAM. It offers to route to almost every town and village within the département. The one-way ticket costs €1 whatever the destination.

The main routes are:

• 100: Nice - Monaco - Menton (every 15 minutes)
• 100X'press: Nice - Monaco, direct by motorway (every 60 minutes)
• 200: Nice - Cannes (every 15 minutes)
• 500: Nice - Grasse
• 600: Cannes - Grasse (every 20 to 30 minutes) This network also operates (on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and the nights before a public holiday) a night service called NocTAM'bus. The three night routes are:
• NocTAM'bus 100: Nice Côte d'Azur Airport - Monaco - Menton
• NocTAM'bus 200: Nice Côte d'Azur Airport - Cannes
• NocTAM'bus 600: Cannes- Grasse

There are also two special airport routes:

• 110 Nice Côte d'Azur Airport - Monaco - Menton, direct by motorway
• 210 Nice Côte d'Azur Airport - Cannes, direct by motorway. Warning Special fares apply on the airport routes (110 and 210):
• Nice - Monaco: €16.10
• Nice - Menton: €18
• Nice - Cannes: €14.20

Time tables are available online (in French)

See

Do

Eat

Drink

Stay safe

The Alpes-Maritimes are moderately safe from a tourist standpoint. Rural areas are very safe for the most part, whereas Nice and its immediate suburbs have their share of crimes, both petty and serious. Being street-smart and avoiding areas off-the-beaten-track are enough to avoid trouble. If you ever feel unsafe, calling the police or seeking help from hotels will help.

Politically-speaking, this is one of France's most conservative regions, and far-right parties perform exceptionally well here. People who lean left or are of African origin are much more likely to face resentment than in other parts of France.

Go next

• Monaco