How to spend a day in Nice: Nice France Itinerary

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Have you got a trip to France coming up and want to know the perfect way to spend a day in Nice?

Whether you are spending a day in Nice as a stop along your French Riviera road trip or staying longer, this guide will give you everything you need to plan a one day itinerary for Nice.

We spent 4 weeks travelling the French Riviera and used Nice as our base so we have all the information you need including: hotels in Nice; where to eat & drink; best things to do and how to get around the city.

SUMMARY MINI GUIDE

How to spend a day in Nice

Where to Stay

• La Perouse Hotel (€€€)
• Aparthotel AMMI Nice Lafayette (€)
• La Riviera Collection (€)
• Palm Boutique Hotel (€€)

Must do Activities

• French Riviera in One Day
• Monaco & Monte Carlo Half Day trip
• Hop On/Hop Off Tour

When to visit Nice

The best time to visit Nice is either May or August/September where you will get great weather, more affordable accommodation and smaller crowds than June/July

Is a day in Nice enough time?

Although a day in Nice won’t be enough time to see everything, you can still plan your itinerary to get the best highlights. Quite often, Nice will be used as a base for exploring the French Riviera and if not, will be passed through as a day trip along this route. If you are visiting Nice as part of a broader tour of the region, our French Riviera guide includes everything you need for planning your trip.

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How to spend 7 days in the French Riviera

This guide will take you through everything you need for planning the perfect trip along the French Riviera. The guide includes how to get around, where to stay and the best day trips to take along this coastline.

read here

Ideally, if you want to fully enjoy Nice, we think it is the best place to use as a base for the French Riviera and there is easily enough to enjoy here for a 3-4 day trip in itself, if not longer. If you are planning to do this, our French Riviera Guide covers everything you need to explore this amazing region.

If you are spending more time in Nice but want to take a day trip, we would highly recommend the French Riviera in a day tour, which includes some of the coastlines most iconic locations. This trip includes stops at Villefranche Sur Mer, Eze, Saint Paul du Vence, Monaco and Cannes so you can get a real view of everything the French Riviera has to offer.

How to get around Nice

Hop On/Hop Off Tour

If you only have a day in Nice and want an easy way to explore the city, the Nice hop on/hop off tour is the best way to see the city for the first timers.

Public Transport:

The easiest way to get around the city is by using the public transport system. There are 3 tram line routes so the system is not complicated to navigate:

– N° 1 line provides a north/east connection via the city centre by Avenue Jean Médecin and Place Masséna

– 2 provides a west-east connection from the airport (or CADAM) to the city centre (Jean Médecin station) ending at the Port of Nice

– 3 provides a connection between the airport and Saint-Isidore via the Allianz Riviera Stadium

You can purchase multi trip/day passes depending on your length of stay using a la carte/ma carte pass, which will give you access to the public transport network in Nice. Alternatively, if you plan to take trips along the coast you could also purchase a Sud Azur pass, which will let you use the local network, as well as trains along the coast. You can purchase the passes at ticket machines, train stations and multiple shops and newsagents throughout the region.

Note: If you are travelling with young children, use of public transport is free for under 4 year olds.

How much does public transport cost in Nice?

More information can be found here.

Where to stay in Nice

If you are planning to stay overnight in Nice, the best way to choose where to stay in Nice is it’s proximity to the tram line. You don’t necessarily have to get a hotel in Old Town Nice or along the Promenade des Anglais to be really central.

The hotels we recommend below are either in Nice city centre or else within a short walk of the tram stops to get you to the main attractions really quickly. In terms of the best areas to book a hotel in Nice, we would suggest either hotels in Old Town Nice, Jean Medecin area, Garibaldi, Promenade des Anglais or Port Lympia.

We have also included a map of Nice below to let you see where these hotels are in relation to the main attractions in Nice.

Featured hotel in Nice

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Swimming Pool

On site Restaurant

€200+ per night

La Perouse

If you are visiting Nice on a special occasion, this is definitely the hotel we would recommend – La Perouse. Not only does this hotel have stunning views overlooking the sea but it has one of the nicest restaurants in Nice too, the Patio.

Prices at this hotel will be fluctuate quite a lot throughout the year but we would suggest contacting them directly to try to negotiate the best rate.

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Book This Hotel

How to spend a day in Nice

Morning

Sunrise swim in the ‘Gatorade Water’

One thing Nice is renowned for is their bright blue ‘Gatorade Water’. So while you are here, start your day off with a sunrise dip in this beautiful sea, watching the planes pass overhead as they arrive into the city.

The water here can have a pretty strong tide so we would only recommend doing this if you are a comfortable swimmer. The beaches here are also very stoney so make sure to bring a good pair of water shoes with you to make it a more pleasant experience.

This is a really refreshing and unique way to start your day and the sunrise here is spectacular.

Old Town (Vieux Ville) breakfast

Just a short walk from the Promenade there are two great cafe’s for breakfast, Marinette or Maranna. Marinette is down a side street that’s a little deceptive at first but has a real courtyard feel to it.

They have lots of seating both inside and outside and beautiful views of the cathedral in the background. They also do a great iced coffee, which always comes in handy in a sunny climate.

Alternatively, Maranna is quite modern and offers lots of popular brunch options like avocado toasts etc. A really nice setting for a relaxed breakfast.

Afternoon

Explore Cours Saleya

After breakfast, take the short walk over to Cours Saleya, a beautiful street market between Vieux Ville and the Promenade des Anglais. The Cours Saleya runs throughout the day, selling food and flowers during the day before switching to handmade crafts and jewellery in the evenings.

Additionally, the area around the market is really popular with lots of bars and restaurants, as well as being a short walk from the beach.

Promenade des Anglais

No day in Nice would be complete without taking a walk along the famous Promenade des Anglais. This strip stretches for 7km along the water and has stunning views of the region. We wouldn’t necessarily advise walking the full distance but a walk along here really gives you that Mediterranean feel.

Along the walk, stop off at Villa Massena, a beautiful museum with a stunning interior, as well as snapping a photo of Le Negresco hotel. After all that, grab a seat on one of the famous blue seats that run along the Promenade or head to one of Nice’s beach clubs along the route, such as Bocca Mar.

Evening

Sunset at Castle Hill

Our favourite thing to do in Nice is to watch the sunset. You can easily get a great view from the promenade des Anglais, with the plane passing overhead and the shadow of the palm trees it is a beautiful setting. But for a slightly different perspective, we would suggest heading up to Coline du Chateau (Castle Hill) to get the best viewpoint.

One thing to note with this, is that the elevator that can take you up finishes running at around 5:30pm so it does limit anyone with accessibility issues or if you have a pram etc.

On a side note, if you are visiting Nice with kids, there is a great playground at the top of Castle Hill that you can access via the elevator during the day. You still get to enjoy the 360 views of the city and there is a train running around the grounds as well so it’s a great place to spend a morning with your family.

That being said, the climb up the stairs in the evening is worth it when you get to the viewpoint. This panoramic view of the water below against the mountainous backdrop is really stunning and a must see view on your day in Nice.

Dinner at Cose Cosi or Le Plongeoir

After the sunsets, it’s time to enjoy dinner. There are a lot of great restaurants in Nice, for this day trip we are going to stick with the Promenade des Anglais.

One of our favourite places to eat in Nice, was a small Italian restaurant called Cose Cosi. The restaurant is down a side street just off the Promenade but it is packed with flavour and the owners were great. If you are travelling with young kids, they have high chairs etc. and they actually gave us a portion of food for our toddle for free.

Alternatively, if you are only in Nice for a day and want to do something special, try out Le Plongeoir, a beautiful seafood restaurant perched atop the water, a really scenic place for a special occasion.

If you would like to go for a drink after dinner, we have two recommendations. For wine lovers, try our La Treille, which has a great selection of wine and a nice atmosphere. Or if you would prefer cocktails with a view, try out Movida or Waka Waka.

Both of these bars are set along the Promenade des Anglais and have great views looking out over the water – the perfect way to end a day in Nice.

Thank You!!

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