The numerical simulation of seismic wave propagation in realistic heterogeneous media, as sedimentary basins, is a key element of seismic hazard estimation. Many numerical methods in two dimensions are based on unstructured triangular meshes and explicit time schemes. However, the presence of thin layers and tangential stratigraphic contacts in sedimentary basins entails poorly shaped mesh elements: some triangle heights are extremely small compared to the edge lengths, which requires small time steps in the simulations and thus leads to prohibitive computation times. We compare manual and automatic geological model simplification techniques to modify problematic areas of the domain, so as to improve the quality of the triangulated mesh. We modify the shape and the connectivity between rock units in the basin, with the objective to reduce the computation time without significantly changing the physical response of the geological medium. These simplification techniques are applied in an investigation of site effects in the lower Var valley, a densely urbanized area located near the city of Nice (southeast of France). Numerical simulations of plane wave propagation in a heterogeneous 2-D profile are carried out with a discontinuous Galerkin finite element method. Five simplified meshes are generated and the impacts of the simplifications are analysed in comparison to the reference model. We compare the time solutions and the transfer functions obtained on the surface of the basin. The results show that the simplification procedures, in particular automatic modifications of the model, yield a significant performance gain, with a ratio higher than 55, while having a negligible impact on the ground motion response.