Nice: where to stay, when to go and how to get around the Riviera's largest city

Overview

Nice is a real city, not a resort: the fifth-largest in France by most counts, with a working port, a university, a daily market life and a population that lives here all year. It is strung along the Baie des Anges, a long curve of pebble beach backed by the Promenade des Anglais, with the old town packed in at the eastern end beneath the rocky Colline du Château. Its history shows in the detail: it belonged to the Savoy dynasty until 1860, and the old town’s ochre and red facades, Baroque churches and Niçois dishes feel closer to Liguria than to Paris.

The beach is pebble, not sand, and the sea is deep close to the shore. Visitors expecting soft sand are surprised; bring water shoes or rent a mattress at one of the private beach clubs, and use the free public stretches if you would rather not pay.

Nice works as a base for the whole coast. The rail line runs east and west along the shore, so Monaco, Menton, Antibes and Cannes are all day trips without a car. The cost is that Nice itself is expensive by French standards, and summer prices and crowds are severe.

Where to stay

Nice is long and thin, stretched along the bay, with the hills behind. Most visitors want one of three zones: the old town at the eastern end, the grid of streets behind the Promenade in the center, or the port to the east. The tram and the coastal promenade connect them, and you can walk from the old town to the western end of the central grid in about half an hour.

Vieux-Nice

The old town: narrow, shuttered lanes of ochre and red buildings running from the Cours Saleya flower and produce market to the foot of the castle hill, with Place Rossetti and the cathedral at its heart. Stay here if you want to walk out into markets, bars and the seafront and be in the middle of the atmosphere. The trade-off is noise and compromise: the lanes are loud late at night, especially around the bars near Cours Saleya, rooms are often small and old, elevators are rare, and luggage over cobbles is tiresome. It is also the most tourist-saturated part of town.

Centre-ville & the Carré d’Or

The grid of streets between the Promenade des Anglais and the station axis, including the pedestrianized Rue Masséna and the smarter Carré d’Or, around Rue Paradis and Avenue Jean Médecin, with its shops. Place Masséna, with its chequered paving, is the central hub and the tram crossing point. Stay here if you want good transport, shops, restaurants and easy walks to both the beach and the old town, and a wider choice of rooms. The trade-off is that it is the least characterful zone, more a business and shopping district, and summer prices are high, particularly close to the sea.

Port & Libération-side alternatives

East of the castle hill, the port is a working harbor lined with cafés, with ferries to Corsica leaving from it. The quarter behind, around Rue Antoine Gautier, is considerably quieter and more local, with some of the better antique shops. The trade-off is distance from the beach and from the main sights: expect a short tram ride or a twenty-minute walk to Place Masséna. Stay here if you want a calmer base, better value, and a neighborhood feel.

Gare Thiers & the station area

Around the main railway station, the Gare de Nice-Ville, in the north of the center. This is the practical option for early trains, a late arrival or an onward journey, with the tram running straight down to Place Masséna and the old town. The trade-off is that the streets immediately around the station are the least attractive in the city and a few blocks feel rough at night; it is also about 20–25 minutes on foot from the sea.

Cimiez

The hill to the north, where the wealthy built villas in the Belle Époque, with the Roman ruins and two major museums, the Matisse Museum and the Marc Chagall museum (the latter slightly downhill). Stay here for calm, gardens and quiet residential streets, and if you value a green, elevated base. The trade-off is that you are several kilometers from the sea and depend on the bus, and there is little nightlife.

When to go

May–June and September–early October are the best months: warm enough for the sea, and lighter crowds than high summer. July and August are hot, crowded and the most expensive; beaches are packed and rooms need booking well ahead. Winter is mild by French standards, with pleasant, bright days, though the sea is cold and some seasonal places close. Rain arrives mainly in autumn and can be heavy and sudden. Carnival takes place in the weeks before Lent and is the one big event; book well ahead if you want to be in town for it, as rooms fill. Early in the year the lemon festival in neighboring Menton is an easy day trip.

Getting there & around

The airport is one of France’s busiest and sits right on the western edge of the city, so you are in town quickly. The tram (line 2) runs from the airport terminals to the port, underground through the center by way of Jean Médecin, where it meets line 1, and Garibaldi at the edge of the old town; it is the easiest and cheapest way in. A taxi is quicker but notably more expensive, and worth it only with heavy luggage. Line 1 crosses the city north to south through Place Masséna, and buses fill the gaps, including the hill at Cimiez.

The regional rail line (TER) follows the coast from Ventimiglia in Italy through Menton, Monaco, Nice, Antibes and Cannes, making day trips simple. Fast trains to Paris and Marseille use the Gare de Nice-Ville; the long-distance journeys sell out on summer weekends, so book ahead. Don’t rent a car for the city: parking is scarce and costly, and the coastal roads jam solid in summer.

Ferries to Corsica leave from the port. The best walking is along the Promenade des Anglais and up to the castle hill, reached by elevator or steps from the seafront.

Practicalities

Nice is generally safe, but pickpocketing is common in the old town, at the station and on the trams, so keep bags closed and phones out of back pockets. Cards and contactless payment are accepted almost everywhere.

Local food is worth seeking out: socca, a chickpea pancake cooked on a huge round tray and eaten hot from paper; pissaladière, an onion tart with anchovies; salade niçoise, traditionally made without cooked vegetables; petits farcis, stuffed vegetables; and ravioli and gnocchi from the Italian side of the kitchen. Cours Saleya has a produce market most mornings except Monday, when an antiques market takes its place. Restaurants in the old town range from excellent to overpriced and tourist-trap; look for short menus and places full of locals.

Sunday shutters many smaller shops, so plan for that. Beaches are free in public stretches, and many private clubs charge for a lounger. Carry a light layer in the evenings even in summer, and sun protection year-round.