Nice 2 Day Itinerary

Tram 2 runs from Nice airport straight into the city center for 1.70 euros and takes about thirty minutes, which makes the airport taxi line an unnecessary expense for anyone traveling light. Skip it, save the money for lunch, and start your two days properly.

Day 1: The coast and the old town

Get breakfast near the Promenade des Anglais, the sweeping seafront walkway that curves along the Baie des Anges and gives Nice its postcard shot. Walk it in the morning before the heat and the crowds arrive, then cut inland into Vieux Nice, the old town’s tangle of narrow ochre-colored streets around Place Rossetti and Place du Palais. This is the part of Nice that feels genuinely lived-in rather than staged for tourists, so wander without much of a plan.

Climb Colline du Château, the hill at the old town’s eastern edge, for a panoramic view over the bay and the red rooftops below; the castle itself is long gone, but the ruins and the waterfall at the top make the climb worthwhile, and it’s free to walk up. For lunch, look for a no-frills spot serving socca, the wood-fired chickpea flour pancake that’s the closest thing Nice has to a signature street food, best eaten hot and slightly charred with a grind of black pepper, standing up, off wax paper.

In the afternoon, the Musée National Marc Chagall holds one of the largest public collections of Chagall’s work anywhere, built around a series of paintings on the Old Testament that he specifically donated to be shown together. Afterward, walk through Cours Saleya, home to the flower market and a stretch of stalls selling Provençal soap, herbs, and produce; it’s touristy by now but still worth a pass for the color alone.

For dinner, if the budget allows, Le Chantecler inside the Hotel Negresco holds a Michelin star and is currently run by chef Virginie Basselot, a Meilleur Ouvrier de France; book well ahead since tables run Wednesday through Sunday only. One caveat for 2026: the hotel’s iconic pink-domed facade has been under renovation scaffolding since late 2025, expected to run through spring, so don’t be surprised if the famous exterior photo isn’t available even though the restaurant inside is operating as normal. If that’s outside your budget or your dates don’t line up, a straightforward seafood taverna in the old town will do the Niçoise coast just as much justice for a fraction of the price.

Close the day with a walk along Quai des Etats-Unis as the sun drops over the water; it’s less crowded than the Promenade proper and gives you the same view without the bike traffic.

Day 2: Into the hills

Rent a car or book a driver for the day and head up into the hinterland. Eze, about thirty minutes from Nice, is the postcard hilltop village everyone photographs for a reason: medieval stone streets climbing a rocky outcrop above the Mediterranean, capped by a botanical garden at the summit with genuinely spectacular sea views. The Fragonard perfumery here runs free tours explaining how Grasse-style perfume is made, worth twenty minutes even if you’re not buying.

Have a Provençal lunch in Eze itself before continuing another thirty minutes to Saint-Paul-de-Vence, the walled hilltop village that’s drawn artists for a century. Fondation Maeght, just outside the village walls, is one of the most important modern and contemporary art museums in the south of France, with a permanent collection spanning Miró, Giacometti, and Chagall displayed as much in its gardens as its galleries; give it at least ninety minutes.

For dinner, La Colombe d’Or in Saint-Paul-de-Vence has hosted enough painters over the decades that the walls are lined with original works left in lieu of unpaid bills, an origin story that’s become part of the restaurant’s identity. It’s not cheap and it leans on reputation as much as menu, but it’s a genuinely different evening from anything you’ll find back in Nice.

Head back into the city afterward for a quiet last evening, a beach chair if the weather holds, or a craft beer at a bar in the old town.

Practical notes

Nice runs on the euro and takes cards nearly everywhere, though carrying some cash smooths things over at smaller old-town stalls. English is widely spoken in tourist zones but a few French basics go further than you’d expect, this is still a French city first. Tipping isn’t obligatory since service is built into the bill by law, but rounding up or leaving a few euros for good service is normal and appreciated.

Don’t leave without trying pissaladière, the onion and anchovy tart that’s as central to Niçoise cooking as socca, and daube niçoise, the red wine beef stew studded with olives that shows up on menus across the old town; skip anything billed with an unfamiliar name you can’t find corroborated on a real Niçoise menu, since a few itineraries floating around online invent dishes that don’t actually exist in local cooking.