Nice travel guide: where to stay and how many days
Sea on one side, Alps not far behind, and a dense old town wedged between them. Most of what you came for can be done on foot.
The city in brief
Think of Nice as a long seafront with a compact centre at its eastern end. The Promenade des Anglais runs for nearly 7 km from the airport to the harbour, and the airport tram gets you downtown in under half an hour, so no taxi is needed.
Three things decide a good stay here. Base yourself near a tram stop, not in the hills. Do the market and the lookout in the morning, because both lose their charm once the day heats up. And treat the coast as an extension of the city: frequent regional trains put Monaco, Antibes and Cannes within a short ride.
Plenty of the best things cost nothing at all. The promenade, Castle Hill and the Paillon park are free, so the budget can go on lunch.
How many days
- 2 days: old town, Castle Hill and the seafront, with one museum in Cimiez.
- 3 days: add one coastal train trip. This is the length we would pick.
- 4 days or more: a second trip inland to Saint-Paul-de-Vence, and slower beach afternoons.
A three-day plan
Market, lookout, sunset
Start at Cours Saleya before the crowds thicken, then lose an hour in the lanes of Vieux-Nice. Climb Castle Hill for the view, come down towards Port Lympia for a late lunch, and finish with an evening walk west along the bay.
Cimiez and the park
Take the bus up to the Musée Matisse in the morning and pair it with the Chagall museum on the way down. After lunch, walk through the Promenade du Paillon to Place Masséna, and swim if the sea is warm enough for you.
A day along the coast
Catch an early train east to Monaco or Èze, or west to Antibes. Our pick for a first visit is Èze in the morning and Villefranche-sur-Mer on the way back, because the two sit on the same railway line and make an easy pair.
If it rains
Autumn is the wet season here, and October and November bring the most rain days. Showers rarely wreck a whole trip, since the two best museums sit close together on the Cimiez hill. Both are shut on Tuesdays, so plan wet days around that.
- Morning: Musée Matisse, €10 or included in the €15 four-day pass for municipal museums; open from 10 am.
- Afternoon: Chagall museum, home of the 17 Biblical Message paintings; €10, or €12 during exhibitions, and it stops for lunch.
- Evening: dinner under the awnings of Cours Saleya, which stay lively in light rain.
- Any time: the crypt museum of the Russian cathedral, a small and quiet stop near the station.
Where to stay
- Vieux-Nice
- Atmospheric and close to everything. The lanes are narrow and the evenings loud, so ask for a room away from the street.
- Jean Médecin
- The practical choice: shops, a tram stop for both the airport and the port, and a level walk to the train station.
- Port Lympia
- Local feel, harbour views and the end of the airport tram. Good for a longer stay.
- Promenade des Anglais
- Sea views and big hotels, at big-hotel prices. Check how far it is to the tram before you book.