Your complete guide to Nice, France. Discover the Promenade des Anglais, Old Town, the best hotels, how to get there, and insider tips for the French Riviera.
Nice Uncovered: Your Essential French Riviera Guide
Nice (French: Nice, Italian: Nizza, Latin: Nicaea) is a city in the southeast of France, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region. It is the most famous resort of the French Mediterranean and a major port. Nice is a picturesque city, filled with sun and stunning seascapes, making it the perfect place to explore the French Riviera. It’s a city with an Italian temperament and an energetic Mediterranean atmosphere, literally created for relaxation and enjoying life. Nice is all about charming old streets and beautiful promenades, stunning architecture and wonderful museums, glamorous nightlife and luxurious hotels.
Geography and Climate
Nice is located at the mouth of the Paillon River on the shores of the Baie des Anges (Bay of Angels), which is part of the Mediterranean Sea. The city is situated in the far southeast of France, close to the border with Italy, about 960 km from Paris, 230 km from Marseille, and 200 km from Genoa. Nice has a mild Mediterranean climate, characterized by moderately hot and dry summers. Winters are mild and relatively warm with cool nights. The tourist season lasts from May to October.
Although Nice is considered the main French resort, the beaches here are exclusively pebbly and stony. If your main goal is a great beach holiday, it’s better to look at the towns of Villefranche-sur-Mer and Cannes.
The best time to visit Nice is September. This month is characterized by warm sea, comfortable weather, and a relatively smaller number of tourists. The high season is July and August. May and June are not the best times for a beach holiday. The seawater, although clear, is quite cool.
Practical Information
- Population – over 340 thousand people.
- Area – 71.92 km².
- Language – French.
- Currency – Euro.
- Visa – Schengen.
- Time – Central European Time UTC +1, in summer +2.
- For beautiful views, we recommend climbing the Mont Boron hill, where the old fort is located.
- The main shopping street is Avenue Jean Médecin.
- Traditional food: Socca (chickpea pancake fried in olive oil), Pan Bagnat (salad sandwich), Soupe de Poisson (fish soup with croutons and grated cheese), Salade Nicoise (vegetable salad with tuna or anchovies), Pissaladiere (similar to pizza with fried onions and anchovies).
How to Get There
Nice Airport is one of the largest in France and connects the city with most European countries.
There is regular train service from Paris, as well as from major Italian cities: Rome, Milan, Venice, Genoa.
From Kyiv, you can also get there with connections – fly with “UIA” to Zurich or Amsterdam, and then transfer to other planes (from €220 round trip in winter).
Another option is a trip via Milan: fly there with RyanAir (from €29 one way), and then – 5 hours by train or bus (ticket from €30 one way).
[one_quote type=left]Please note: flights are more expensive in summer![/one_quote]
Getting from the airport is not difficult at all. Bus 98 goes to the Lycée Masséna stop (city center), bus 99 will take you to the main railway station. A one-way ticket costs €6 and is valid for 74 minutes (we have no idea where such a “round” number comes from). With it, you can make one transfer to any transport in the Lignes d’Azur network. Check the bus schedule on the website www.lignesdazur.com.
Transportation
How to get around the city? All information on schedules and routes is on the website, www.lignesdazur.com. Here you can also find the most convenient route from point A to point B. A single-journey ticket costs €1.50, unlimited travel for 24 hours will cost €5. Both of these tickets can be purchased from the driver. The 24-hour ticket – at ticket offices or special machines at stops. By the way, we recommend taking a trip from Nice to Cannes and Marseille, since you’re already in this region.
Accommodation and Hotels
It’s better to choose accommodation close to the Old Town, but definitely not in its very heart. Options near Place Masséna or Jardin Albert I are suitable. For example, Hôtel de Verdun (49 Rue de l’hôtel des Postes) with a double room from €49 or Hotel Villa Rivoli (10 Rue de Rivoli), where the price for a double room starts from €52.
History
Nice is an ancient city, founded by Greek settlers from Phocaea in the 4th century BC. The name is dedicated to the goddess Nike and the victory over the Ligurians. The city quickly became one of the most important trading centers on the Ligurian coast and prospered until the Lombard invasion in the 6th century. In the 7th century, Nice joined the Genoese League, which united the major cities of Liguria.
In 729, the city repelled a Saracen attack. However, in the 9th century, they repeatedly sacked and burned Nice. Later, both French monarchs and rulers of the Holy Roman Empire attempted to capture the city. But Nice maintained its independence. In the 13th-14th centuries, the city was conquered by the Counts of Provence, and at the end of the 14th century, Nice came under the protection of the Savoyard state.
Nice was effectively part of Savoy until 1860 when, by the Treaty of Turin, it was ceded to France. This is why the city has Italian architecture and character.
Sights and Landmarks
The Old Town of Nice, also known as Vieille Ville, stretches from the castle hill to Place Masséna. It is filled with charming narrow streets with bright facades and tiled roofs of old houses, interspersed with wide promenades and squares. The historic core of Nice dates from the 16th to 18th centuries. Italian architecture predominates here. Most of the old buildings have been converted into shops and restaurants, and the streets are filled with the smell of pizza and baked goods.
Promenade des Anglais – the symbol of Nice. This is a wonderful pedestrian area with palm trees that follows the curve of the Baie des Anges. This promenade was founded in the 1820s and is one of the most popular places for walks.
Colline du Château (Castle Hill Park) – a pleasant oasis of greenery, shady trees, and steep waterfalls, offering a beautiful panorama of Nice. This is the oldest area of the city, settled by the Greeks over two thousand years ago. In the Middle Ages, an impregnable citadel stood here, destroyed by the French in 1706. In addition, you can see the ruins of two old churches here. You can get here on foot, or by lift or escalator from Place Garibaldi.
Mont Boron – a 200-meter hill with beautiful views of the surroundings, located between the port and Cap-Ferrat. A notable feature of this place is the semi-ruined 16th-century bastion.
Notre-Dame-de-Cimiez – an ancient Benedictine monastery, surrounded by beautiful gardens. In the 16th century, it was taken over by the Franciscans and expanded in the 17th century. The monastery has been restored in the Gothic style and offers insight into the life of the Franciscan monks in Nice from the 13th to the 18th centuries. It is located right above the ancient ruins of the Roman city, where you can see fragments of an amphitheater and baths.
Not far from the monastery is the museum of the famous artist Matisse. The museum is located in a historic Genoese villa, surrounded by lovely Italian gardens.
St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral – one of the largest and most beautiful Orthodox churches. The building was constructed at the beginning of the 20th century, modeled on Moscow churches. The cathedral has a richly decorated interior with many decorative icons, paintings, and wood carvings, as well as an iconostasis of embossed metal. You can also see historical and religious objects that were brought out of Russia during the Revolution.
Marc Chagall National Museum – one of the most famous museums in Nice, housing the most important collection of works by the famous artist.
Place Garibaldi – one of the largest squares in Nice, surrounded by majestic Baroque buildings. The square was created in the 18th century. In the center stands a statue of the famous resident of Nice and Italian revolutionary – Garibaldi.
A few minutes from the square is the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.
Place Masséna – the cultural center of Nice and the city’s largest square. This large urban space links the historic center with the new business districts. The square features beautiful 17th-century architecture. In its center is the Grand Fountain with a statue of Apollo.
Musée des Beaux-Arts (Museum of Fine Arts) – one of the most interesting in Nice. It offers collections of paintings by French, Italian, and Flemish artists from the 15th to the 20th centuries.
Promenade du Paillon – a wide boulevard from the Promenade des Anglais to the National Theatre. An interesting feature of this place is the huge pool equipped with 128 water jets and fountains that spray water randomly.
Notre-Dame-du-Port – a Neoclassical church, completed in 1853 and declared a historic monument.
Cathédrale Sainte-Réparate – a beautiful Baroque church dating from the 17th century. It was built on the site of an older 11th-century religious structure.
Notre-Dame – a Catholic basilica located in the center of Nice and built in the Neo-Gothic architectural tradition. The church was completed in 1868.
Église Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur – a Catholic Church in the Baroque style, built by the Jesuits in the early 17th century.
Clock Tower – a Neoclassical tower from the 18th century, located on the Palais de Justice square.
Video
Nice on the Map of France
