Nice is nice. That’s something I said at least a few times a day during my month in the unofficial capital of France’s Côte d’Azur. But the reality is that Nice is more than just nice. It’s a really lovely city with natural beauty, good food, and some surprisingly cool history and culture.
The odds are that you won’t have a month to spend in Nice. But even with a couple of days, you can do some wonderful things, and come away with the feeling that, yeah, Nice is pretty nice.
Today, let’s talk about the city, and about the region centered on it. Please click the links throughout this guide to read more detailed articles on specific aspects of Nice and the entire French Riviera. And if you like this guide, please click here to search our Ultimate Guides from all over the world.
Getting There
Whether by plane, train, or boat, Nice is relatively easy to reach since it is such a popular tourist destination. If you fly, the Nice airport is fairly small, although it handles flights from all over Europe. (I am not sure if there are any directly from North America as of this writing, but with the takeoff/landing going basically over the beaches where I spent a lot of time, I didn’t see any American carriers or wide-body aircraft.)
From the airport, it is a simple trip on the L2 tram, which goes from the airport itself (one stop for each terminal) into the heart of the city. It is roughly a half hour.
If you come in by train, you will probably end up at the central station, Nice-Ville. From there, it is either a 20-30 minute walk (flat and with pretty good sidewalks) to the waterfront area where you’re probably staying, or the L1 tram into Old Nice. (There are also buses, so if you’re staying other than Old Nice, you’ll need those if you don’t want to walk or Uber.)
If you come in on a cruise ship, it will depend where you dock, or where your tenders dock. It will probably be one of two places: Port Lympia or Villefranche-Sur-Mer. If you’re going directly into Port Lympia, you are an easy walk into Old Nice or a trip on the L2 or L3 tram. If you come into Villefranche, you’ll need to take a bus or train if you don’t want to Uber. (It’s only a few minutes by train from the Villefranche station, though it will take you to Nice-Ville and you’ll have to get into the city, so it won’t necessarily save you time if you only have that one day.
Getting Around
Nice has three tram lines (although with the exception of the airport terminals themselves, L2 and L3 traverse the exact same route through the city), and a myriad of bus lines. Tickets are €1.70, but require you to tap a card that costs €2 to buy and then can be refilled. So if you’re just going in and out of the city once each, it’s €5.40 total, which seems a bit high. But it’s still a bargain for the airport.
If you are planning to mostly be in the center (Old Nice and the waterfront extending west from there), walking is probably your best option. The waterfront itself is wide, flat, and not open to vehicles, and other streets at least are relatively flat and have sidewalks.
If your transit plans include going outside of Nice to another town on the Côte d’Azur, let’s talk about the train for a minute. There is basically one line that runs along the coast from east (either Menton, France or Ventimiglia, Italy at that end) to west (ending in one of Cannes, Les Arcs-Draguignan, or Grasse). If you buy your tickets at machines inside the train station, the tickets are open ended, meaning as long as you specify a day for each direction (obviously the same day for a day trip), you can board any of the regional (non-high-speed) trains that you want to make that journey, so you don’t have to pick an exact time. Tickets will run anywhere from €5-20 or so for a round trip depending on where you want to go.
What to Do
Any list of things to do in Nice has to start with the Mediterranean Sea, which is really as beautiful here as people say. If the weather holds, spend time along the promenade. The closer you get to what used to be Nice Castle the better the view for sunset, but the sea is amazing from basically anywhere.
Speaking of Nice Castle, it and Old Nice are worth exploring. (Click here to read more about the history you’ll be seeing.) Hiking up to the castle is steepish, but there is an elevator if needed from the water side of it. Don’t miss the views from the top, but beware the cannon at noon every day.
If you like art, Nice is a city you’ll love. The Musee des Beaux Arts has a solid collection, but I recommend visiting either the Chagall Museum (read about Marc Chagall here) or the Matisse Museum (read about that here) if you are a fan of one of those artists.
If you want to explore history, next door to the Matisse Museum are the remains of the Roman city of Cemenelum. It is small, since most of it is still covered by the modern city, but if you go to Matisse anyway, it’s worth a peek. (Click here to read about Roman Nice.) Or if you want to explore some more modern French history, check out Musee Masséna, especially for Napoleon’s death mask. (Click here to read about that.)
Ok, let’s talk about day trips. Click on each of them to read my specific takes. To the east, toward Italy, you have Monaco and Menton, or by bus you can go to Cap Ferrat. To the west, Cannes is for luxury shopping, while Antibes offers some cool history and a Picasso museum, and Cagnes-Sur-Mer shows us Renoir’s home. And there are more!
Finally, if you happen to be in Nice during February, you’ll get lucky to be part of Carnaval here, one of the oldest and largest in the world. (Click here to read about Carnaval.)
Where to Stay
Stay as close to the water as you can. That has to be said. You’ll want to see the blue of the sea, and to watch sunset as often as possible. If you’re in a hotel, prices can range from reasonable-adjacent (Nice is a fairly expensive city) to exorbitant, so just decide what criteria mean the most to you.
If you’re an Airbnb person, there are some great options for a bit cheaper within Old Nice. That is where I stayed, and while it’s a bit louder than the more modern waterfront, and a bit more chaotic, I loved it.
Basically, try to stay within the triangle formed by the castle, Musee Massena, and Nice-Ville station and you’ll be less than a 20 minute walk from most things you’ll want to do. (Matisse, Chagall, and the Roman ruins are the non-day-trip exceptions.)
What to Eat
I wrote an introduction to Nicoise cuisine, which you can read here, but let’s talk about some basics to look for during your time.
First, there is the Niçoise salad. I don’t like them (although the sandwich version, called a pan bagnat, is a bit better), but if you do, this is where it is from, and yeah, it’s a thing here. For my favorite local treat, go for socca, a thin almost pancake (served either soft or crispy depending on the place) made of chickpea. It is delightful.
Seafood is the star here, which isn’t unexpected given the location of Nice on the water. Find some mussels (moules frites means mussels with fries) or a nice piece of fish along the touristy but solid Cours Saleya in Old Nice.
If you want to go out to a nice meal and not break the bank, my two favorites in the nice were Les Sens and Maison Pelegrino.
Other Useful Information
There are a lot of expats here, and a lot of tourists. That is wonderful in that there’s a huge variety of food options and an easy access to English. It is also a bit frustrating if you want to experience typical France.
Speaking of typical France, with Nice being so close to Italy – and part of an Italian kingdom until the 19th century – there is a lot of Italian culture here: coffee, food, fashion. But if you want to travel to Italy via train, you’ll have to change in Ventimiglia. Buses go direct to Genoa and then on from there.
Shockingly for a beach destination, Nice is just outside the Alps. So while there isn’t snow in the city, you may find your winter weather updates give avalanche advisories. It’s a bit weird to see, but there’s a reason Nice is hosting the 2030 Winter Olympics.
Finally, especially when on the waterfront promenade, watch out for the bike lanes. While they are supposed to stop for pedestrians, it can be hairy at times. Just look both ways before crossing them.
Conclusion
Nice is nice. I said it at least once a day, and you will too. Yes it can be crowded during the peak season (and even in February there were a decent number of tourists, but it didn’t feel overwhelming at all), but it’s a great place with a lot going on. You’ll enjoy your time.
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