Day 3 of Celebrity Equinox Mediterranean cruise - Nice, Eze, and Monte Carlo

Trip Index

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Celebrity Today for Monday, June 30:

On Monday, we arrived into the port of Villefranche in the French Riviera. I purchased a Viator excursion for our group, a private day tour to Monaco, Eze and Nice. (went through a Mr. Rebates link to get some cash back) The tour documentation instructed us to meet our guide at 9am at the port. Villefranche required riding a tender from the Celebrity Equinox to the port.

sitting on top of the tender, waiting for departure

we're off!

13-second clip of our ride on top of the tender:

our floating home in the distance

picturesque port of Villefranche

Our group of 8 split up after breakfast so we agreed to meet at the port. Unfortunately the port building had two exits and some of our group took the right-hand exit towards the buses and taxis versus the left-hand exit towards the parking lot, where our tour guide was waiting. We didn't find everyone until around 9:30am, so I think part of our excursion got cut to make up the time. (we never made it to the perfumery listed on the itinerary)

Our tour guide was also our driver. The first stop was at a vista point with a breathtakingly scenic panorama of the area. When we arrived, a prime parking space opened up and she deftly parallel-parked the large minivan with mere inches to spare on front and back in one pass. I was very impressed.

Arriving in Nice, we had a little bit of time to walk around parts of Cours Saleya in "old town" and browse an outdoor market. Today (Mondays), it was full of antique and flea market vendors; on other days, it'd be more like a farmers market. Kaleb was in search of ancient Roman or Greek coins, but there were none to be found.

antique/flea market

wow, a late 20th century American nickel!

We then hopped back in the van and drove on the Middle Corniche Road (Moyenne Corniche) with spectacular views along the way to the medieval village of Eze, including a stop to peek into the backyard of the world's most expensive private residence, Villa La Leopolda.

Celebrity Equinox way out there

Villa La Leopolda

Our guide dropped us off at the base of Eze and gave us free time to explore. We walked up the hill to reach the quaint little village, with shops, galleries, restaurants at every turn along the steep narrow stone paths and stairs. There was even a hotel! Kaleb and I paid 5 euro per person to enter the cactus garden at the top of the hill to get a panoramic view.

castle-like corridors

open windows with views to the sea

cute shops at every turn

picturesque village

strange to find cactus up here

beautiful coastal view

Afterwards, we hopped back in the van and headed to Monaco. There was no border patrol, nothing to signify that we had left France and entered another country. (I wasn't carrying a passport anyway...) We parked in an underground garage, then made our way to Avenue Saint-Martin where our tour guide pointed out various sights, including Jacques Cousteau's "Yellow Submarine", the inspiration for the Beatles song of the same name. Our walking path went through the beautiful Jardins de Saint-Martin and into Monaco-ville. The prince's palace looked very accessible to the public.

we all live in a yellow submarine...

filtered view through the Jardins de Saint Martin

Monte Carlo harbor

Palace of Justice

Prince's Palace: let's drop by to say hello!

It was lunchtime, so our tour guide dropped us off at Fredy's for an al-fresco meal. Their "menu complet" was a nice 3-course prix fixe for 16.50 euro.

Fredy's

what's a meal without crusty bread?

nicoise salad

caprese salad

fillet of sole with butter sauce

pear delight

We walked back to the parking garage, got in the van, and headed to Monte Carlo, driving on a portion of the Grand Prix route, including the famous hairpin turn. We had free time to walk around Avenue de Monte-Carlo. Lots of exotic cars were parked all around the Casino Monte Carlo. There was no fee to enter its lobby, though no photography or large bags were permitted inside. Doormen were stationed to enforce this rule. I thought they would also check for dress code and I wasn't sure if I would pass muster or if my tote was too big, but I strode on in anyway and wasn't stopped. Too bad I don't have any pictures to share, but the lobby was nice and there was a clean (free) restroom on the lower level. The actual entrance to the casino was further inside; the fee to enter was 10 euro with a strict dress code enforced...maybe another time! We bought some yummy gelato across the street instead...perfect on this warm afternoon.

large yachts in the harbor

Casino de Monte Carlo

Ferraris and other exotic cars parked outside

ah, my beloved Bentley Continental

That was the end of our tour...our tour guide got us back to the port in plenty of time. She was great and I recommend taking this Viator tour as it cost much less than the ship's excursion for a group of 8 and we got our own private vehicle and guide. (purchase the tour through Mr. Rebates or similar site for additional savings!)

It was nice of Celebrity to hand out cold towels as we were waiting for our ride back to the ship.

in case you didn't know what it was

When Kaleb and I boarded the tender, there were no more seats left up top, so we along with a hundred others were packed like sardines inside, not very pleasant on a hot day but at least we were able to get on board without waiting too long.

What's for dinner!? By the way, I've been having escargots almost every night as an appetizer! I didn't take a picture as it is a repeat. Escargots are listed on the "Celebrity Favorites" side of the menu, available every night.