Promenade des Anglais
Seafront along the Baie des Anges
Seven kilometres of seafront for walking, cycling and swimming from the pebble beaches.
SeafrontFreeSea
Nice, France
Ideal: 3 daysBest: May–Jun, Sep–OctPrice: Expensive
In 60 seconds
Nice in 60 seconds
Nice is the capital of the Riviera and the most real of its towns: a pastel old town with a daily market, a long seafront promenade, museums built around Matisse and Chagall, and a cuisine of its own that owes as much to Italy as to France. The old town and the seafront are all on foot, and a tram runs in from the airport. Go to the Cours Saleya market in the morning, eat socca and pissaladière from the stalls, and climb Castle Hill for the view over the Baie des Anges. The pebble beaches are for swimming rather than lounging. Three days lets you add Monaco, Èze or Villefranche by train or bus.
CoastRomantic
Best for
- Food
- Art
- Beaches
Known for
- The Promenade des Anglais
- Vieux Nice
- Socca
Skip if
You want sandy beaches — Nice's are pebbles — or a quiet August; that month is crowded and expensive.
Your match
Choose a few travel interests and we will show how well Nice fits them. Choose interests
See
Must experience
The things that would make the trip incomplete without them.
Musée Matisse
ModerateMatisse in a Genoese villa
Paintings, drawings and cut-outs from the painter's Nice years, in a red villa among the olive groves of Cimiez.
CimiezArtGardens
Castle Hill
Park and view above the old town
Climb or take the lift to a hilltop park with the best view over the bay, the port and the roofs.
Vieux NiceFreeView
Eat
Where to eat
A short list, kept short on purpose. Each entry answers one question: when is this the right choice?
Local
Where to eat the food this city is actually known for.
La Merenda
ModerateNiçois classics · No phone, no cards
Dominique Le Stanc, once chef at the Negresco, cooks the Niçois repertoire in a tiny room in the old town. Cash only.
Vieux NiceCash onlyNiçois
Le Bistrot des Serruriers
ModerateNiçois bistro
A classic bistro with local influences and seasonal market produce, in the old town.
Vieux NiceBistroMarket
Le Canon
ModerateMarket-driven bistro and natural wine
A small bistro cooking from the morning's market, with a list of natural wines.
CentreMarketWine
Casual
No booking, no ceremony, reliably good.
Chez Pipo
InexpensiveSocca since 1923
Socca — the crisp chickpea pancake of Nice — baked in a wood oven near the port.
PortQuickSocca
Lavomatique
ModerateSmall plates in a former launderette
Creative shared dishes and natural wine in a converted laundromat in the old town.
Vieux NiceSmall platesWine
La Pêche à la Vigne
InexpensiveCellar of preserves and small plates
Salads, sandwiches and plates built on fermented and preserved artisan products, near the port.
PortDeliLunch
Special occasion
Worth planning the evening around.
Jan
Very expensiveJan Hendrik's South African-French menu
A small, theatrical dining room by the port from the South African chef Jan Hendrik.
PortBook aheadTasting menu
Flaveur
Very expensiveThe Tourteaux brothers' tasting menu
A long-running fine-dining room in the centre, with bold, spice-led Mediterranean cooking.
CentreBook aheadTasting menu
Le Chantecler
Very expensiveFine dining at the Negresco
The grand hotel's restaurant on the Promenade, with seasonal cooking in a historic dining room.
PromenadeBook aheadGrand hotel
Coffee & fika
Mornings, and the slow hour between things.
Fenocchio
InexpensiveIce cream · Since 1966
Dozens of flavours, from classics to lavender and olive, on the Place Rossetti.
Vieux NiceClassicIce cream
Maison Auer
ModerateConfectioner · Since 1820
Candied fruit and chocolates from a family confectioner opposite the opera.
Vieux NiceHistoricSweets
Blend
InexpensiveCoffee and records
A cross between a record shop and a specialty coffee bar, in a corner of the old town short on good coffee.
Vieux NiceSpecialtyVinyl
Beyond the obvious
Hidden gems
Less obvious, rarely queued for, and usually the part people remember.
Musée Marc Chagall
ModerateChagall's biblical cycle
A museum built for Chagall's Biblical Message paintings, with a garden and his stained glass.
CimiezArtQuiet
Russian Orthodox Cathedral
InexpensiveOnion domes on the Riviera
St Nicholas Cathedral, built for the Russian aristocrats who wintered in Nice before 1917.
TzarewitchArchitectureUnusual
Cimiez
Roman ruins and a monastery garden
Roman baths and arena, and a Franciscan monastery with a rose garden and Matisse's grave.
CimiezFreeGardens
After dark
Bars & nightlife
Rouge
ModerateNatural wine bar
A natural-wine bar with simple seasonal plates to share, by the port.
PortSmall platesWine
Pirouette
ModerateNeo-bistro and wine bar
A lively neo-bistro on Rue Bonaparte, with natural wines and an experimental menu.
PortLivelyWine
Chez Davia
ModerateOld Niçois bistro
A family-run bistro serving Niçois classics and a glass of local wine in the Libération quarter.
LibérationLocalNiçois
Orientation
Neighbourhoods
How the city is actually divided, and what each part is for.
Vieux Nice
Old town and market
Narrow lanes, baroque churches and the Cours Saleya flower and food market.
Cimiez
Villas, museums and Roman ruins
The hill of belle-époque hotels, the Matisse museum and the monastery gardens.
Promenade des Anglais
Seafront and belle-époque hotels
The long curve of the bay, lined with grand hotels such as the Negresco.
Stay
Where to stay
Areas rather than hotels — pick the right one and the rest follows.
Vieux Nice
ExpensiveAtmosphere on the doorstep
Small hotels and apartments in the old town; lively at night, close to the beach.
CentralCharming
The Promenade
Very expensiveSea views
Hotels facing the Baie des Anges, from the grand to the modest.
BeachSea view
Cimiez
ExpensiveQuiet and green
Residential hills of villas and gardens, a bus ride above the centre.
GardensQuiet
Practical
Know before you go
- Getting in
- Tram line 2 links Nice Côte d'Azur airport with the port via the centre.
- Getting around
- Trams and buses are run by Lignes d'Azur; regional trains follow the coast to Monaco and Italy.
- Money
- Euro. Some small old-town restaurants are cash only.
- Beaches
- Most beaches are public and free; private beach clubs rent loungers. Bring water shoes for the pebbles.
Context
History in 5 minutes
Enough to make what you are looking at legible.
- c. 350 BC
Greek settlers from Marseille found Nikaia on the coast.
- 1860
Nice passes from the Kingdom of Sardinia to France.
- 2021
UNESCO lists Nice as the Winter Resort Town of the Riviera.
Further out
Nearby escapes
Worth a day if you have one to spare.
Villefranche-sur-Mer
Harbour village in a deep bay
A pastel harbour and sandy beach, ten minutes by train.
By regional trainEasySea
Èze
Perched medieval village
A hilltop village with an exotic garden high above the sea.
By busHalf dayViews
Monaco
Casino, palace and harbour
The principality's harbour, old town and casino, 20 minutes by train.
By regional trainGlamourHalf day