Looking for a complete Nice France travel guide? My youngest daughter and I spent three days in this French Riviera city in May 2023 and I am already hoping to go back someday to explore more of the area ;).

Having flown across the United States as well as the Atlantic Ocean, and being pretty jetlagged, my first impression of Nice France was that my next three days in this lovely city was going to be quite relaxing.

And I wasn’t wrong :).

Nice, France is the perfect place to get over jet lag, adjust to a 9 hour time difference, and start a South of France adventure.

In a rush?

The Little Details

How to Get to Nice, France

The Nice Côte D’Azur airport (NCE) services most major airlines. We flew British Airways from San Diego to London/London to Nice but many US cities have nonstop flights straight to NCE ;).

The airport is literally less than a 15-20 minute drive to the city centre – which makes it one of the easiest drives into town I have done in Europe so far ;0.

If you decide to start your trip in Paris, you can take a 6 hour high speed TGV train (if you decide not to fly that is!).

How to Get Around Nice, France

Nice, France is a super walkable city. All major sights can be seen just by using your feet ;).

In the couple of instances that we didn’t walk, we were able to use Uber or had our hotel arrange a taxi for us.

It is highly recommended to not have a car in the city as parking is extremely limited and to be honest – many of the streets are CRAZY skinny and in my opinion would be quite stressful to drive on ;0.

There is also a public bus and tram system however we did not use them. You can find more information regarding the bus and tram schedules here.

How Many Days You Need in Nice, France

As mentioned earlier, we arrived into Nice straight from Western USA around 6pm local time and found this city to be a perfect place to adjust to the 9 hour time difference between the two regions.

So not including that first arrival day, we spent two full days in Nice before leaving for the countryside and felt that was the perfect amount of time ;).

When to Visit Nice, France

The weather and the crowds in May were absolutely perfect for my daughter and mine’s visit. We were able to wear our cute sundresses and not feel overly warm or cold ;).

If you can, I highly suggest timing a trip in the shoulder seasons of April/May or September/October.

You can explore average temperatures per month/year for the city here.

Money Details in France

The official currency of France is the Euro. There were very few times that Apple Pay on my phone was not accepted.

However, if I wanted to buy something at the antique markets, some of those stands only took cash.

I read a travel advisory once that highly recommended only getting foreign currency out of a bank ATM in the country you are visiting due to bank ATM’s being where you find the best exchange rates.

And it said never ever get money at exchange stands in airports or anywhere for that matter ;0. Just passing that along to all of you ;).

Best Places to Stay in Nice, France

Le Negresco

If you are looking for the ultimate in luxury AND incredible location – this is your place! The public spaces in the hotel are filled with fine art and furniture pieces.

It is also one of the main symbols of the French Riviera. Only hotel or restaurant guests are allowed in the hotel, however you can still enjoy the beauty of this hotel’s exterior from the Promenade if you decide to not stay here.

Hyatt Regency Nice Palais de la Mediterranee

Also on the Promenade with incredible views, is this Hyatt hotel. If you have travel points from Hyatt or a travel credit card, this would be an amazing place to stay!!

Photos courtesy of Hyatt Regency website

La Pérouse

Further down the Promenade across from the #ILoveNice sign is this 4 star hotel (can you tell I am all about location?!).

Photos courtesy of La Pérouse Instagram

Best Places to Eat in Nice, France

Our biggest problem for restaurants in the South of France was that most are closed for dining between 3 and 7pm. So if we slept in or skipped breakfast/lunch and got really hungry for dinner around 5pm – we were challenged to find restaurants that would feed us ;0.

Below is a list of the restaurants we ate at (with some being available for dining early for us ;)).

La Villa Massenet

This was one of the restaurants that serves food all day long and was recommended to us by the concierge at Le Negresco. The atmosphere was perfect and the food/cocktails were incredible – as a picky eater myself – this restaurant is highly recommended ;).

Restaurant Gina

Being as how Nice is literally 15 miles from the Italian border, you will find a heavy influence of Italian restaurants in the city.

Which was okay with us because – seriously – can you ever go wrong with pasta and pizza??

This was another restaurant recommended to us by our concierge and is conveniently located in Place Massena.

Le Plongeoir

Some of my close friends that are lucky enough to visit the South of France yearly, have eaten at this Instafamous restaurant and have said it is worth it – just be sure to make a reservation as soon as you start your planning! It books up months in advance ;0!

Photo courtesy Le Plongeoir website

Les Bains du Castel

A beautiful seafood restaurant with an insane view! Unfortunately this restaurant was not open when we were visiting in May 2023 but it gets incredible reviews and would be worth spending an evening at.

My picture clearly shows them prepping/cleaning for their opening the week after we were there ;0.

Boulangerie Patisserie Jeannot

Seriously THE BEST croissants in all of the French Riviera (research done by me…)!

Do not leave Nice without at least getting a croissant or a baguette from this tiny cafe ;).

Top Things to Do in Nice, France

Walk the Promenade des Anglais

A 4.35 mile walkway between the Nice airport and the United States quay, this is a lovely walk along the French Riviera waterfront that can’t be missed.

Sit on the Iconic Blue Chairs and People Watch

You would be hard pressed to not notice the iconic blue chairs along the Promenade.

Or on a majority of Nice postcards and tote bags.

They are that iconic ;). So take a few moments to relax on the chairs (not super comfy but 🤷‍♀️) and do some people or ocean watching (depending on which way you are facing!).

Wander the Streets of Old Town

Don’t even get me started on how fun this is for me!

Those skinny little European streets get me EVERY.SINGLE.TIME!

But seriously – get lost in the streets of Old Town – you won’t be disappointed ;).

My favorite streets for photos were Rue Saint Hospice, Place Saint Francois, Rue Centrale, and Rue Droite (but all of them were so worth stopping and snapping!).

Take a Photo at the #iloveNice sign

At the eastern end of the Promenade right before a bend in the road is a fun #IloveNice sign. You might have to wait a few minutes but no one takes that long to snap a quick photo.

Plus it’s on your way to the next attraction below anyway ;).

Catch the Views at the Top of Castle Hill Park

A .2 mile walk (UPHILL THOUGH!) from the sign above will bring you to the Benoit waterfall in the Castle Hill park or Parc de la Colline du Château in French.

There are multiple ways to go up to the park however I enjoyed the coastal views the most while walking up the stairs on the opposite side of the street from the above #ilovenice sign.

You can also get a snack (ahem frozen lemonade) at the lovely park concessions stand…

Visit the Cours Saleya Market

This lovely pedestrian only street is a flowers and fresh produce market on Tuesdays through Sundays and an antiques market on Mondays!

I was lucky enough to be there to wander both options and while I didn’t buy anything – it sure was fun to “window” shop and see all the fun things.

In fact – I cannot tell you how tempted I was to come home with a brand new set of silver ;0 (I didn’t btw but there were plenty of options with great prices to do so at the antique markets on Monday!).

Shop (or Window Shop) on Rue Paradis and Ave de Verdun

The “Rodeo Drive” part of Nice with plenty of designer shops to either window shop at or if you are lucky – shop at ;).

Relax at a Beach Club

If you stay at Le Negresco, use of their beach club is included in your rate (and there is a nice restaurant attached for cocktails/food).

If you are not staying at Le Negresco, Castel Beach Club is quite centrally located and appears to be one of the nicest clubs on the waterfront.

You can rent chairs, towels, umbrellas and more right at the club. Since it is a private club your personal belongings are safe and there are no beach peddlers around you.

Our friends who frequent the area (as mentioned above) say their favorite beach club is Opera Plage with the same perks as most of the clubs along the water.

One thing to note though is that French Riviera “beaches” are actually rocks so bring your water shoes to save your feet!

And while you can enjoy these rocky beaches without paying for a beach club, you won’t get the perks of clean bathrooms, food/drink services, as well as comfortable lounge chairs that these clubs provide.

Walk Around Place Massena

This is where the above mentioned Gina Restaurant is located so our people watching in the plaza was easy enough while we sat and ate our pizza ;).

If you don’t eat at any of the restaurants in the area, be sure to at least walk by and take note of the Seven Statues of the Massena Square.

Some call them Buddhas but they represent the seven continents and the communication between the different communities in today’s world ;).

If you visit the plaza in the evening, the Buddhas light up and change colors…

There is also a fountain with the Greek god Apollo in the center at Place Massena.

Visit a Museum

While this is not actually an activity we participated in while visiting Nice, they do have some worthwhile museums – especially if you are an art lover.

Centrally located right next door to the Le Negresco Hotel is the Villa Massena which houses Napoleon’s death mask as well as other multiple other collections of art from French history.

Another museum worth mentioning in Nice, France is the Marc Chagall National Museum located about 1.5 miles away from the Promenade…

What to Wear in Nice, France

As mentioned above for best time to visit Nice, France, the temperatures for our May 2023 visit were perfect in the lower to mid 70’s.

This allowed us to wear our cute sundresses while sightseeing with light sweaters once the sun went down ;).

Our Full Itinerary in a Nutshell

After our two days in Nice, France, we headed to the Provence countryside for a week and flew home out of the Marseilles airport.

Here is our full 12 day/10 night itinerary:

1. Fly San Diego to Nice, France on British Airways via London
2. Arrive in Nice, France at 6pm
3. Nice, France
4. Nice, France
5. Train to Avignon, France (3.5 hours)
6. Tour Provence, France via a private tour
7. Day trip from Avignon to Saint Remy de Provence
8. Explore Avignon
9. Train to Aix en Provence (25 minutes)
10. Aix en Provence
11. Day trip from Aix en Provence to Cassis
12. Fly Marseilles to San Diego on British Airways via London

I hope you found this post helpful in planning your own Nice, France adventures!

This destination offers picturesque alleys, glistening waters, and delicious food. It is a perfect starting point for your French Riviera vacation!

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Life is short, the world is wide.

I want to make some memories.

~Mamma Mia

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