Nice, France 5 Day Itinerary
Nice is not French in the way Paris is French. The city was part of the Kingdom of Sardinia until 1860, and the local cuisine, architecture, and dialect (Nissart) reflect that mixed identity. Most visitors spend five days eating the wrong food in the wrong part of town. This itinerary starts with the things locals actually do.
Day 1: Vieux-Nice and Cours Saleya
Drop your bags and walk directly to Cours Saleya, the main market street in the old town. Tuesday through Sunday mornings it sells cut flowers, olives, cured meats, and fresh produce in a covered lane that has been operating in roughly the same form for centuries. Monday it converts to a flea market. Buy a paper cone of olives for two euros and eat them while walking.
The Cuisine Nissarde label appears on restaurant windows across Vieux-Nice. It is a city certification for restaurants serving authentic traditional recipes from the region. The things to look for: socca (a thin, smoky chickpea flour pancake, baked in a wood-fired copper pan, served hot and eaten standing at the counter), pissaladière (bread dough covered in slow-caramelised onions, anchovy, and black olive), and pan bagnat (a pressed sandwich of tuna, egg, tomato, and anchovy on round bread, the Niçois answer to the baguette).
Chez Thérésa at Cours Saleya has been serving socca for generations from a wood-fired oven. Chez Pipo on Rue Bavastro near the old port is the other serious socca address. Both are cash-only, under 5 euros per serving, and better than most sit-down restaurants.
Afternoon: Walk up to Colline du Château (Chateau Hill) from the eastern end of the promenade. The lift (ascenseur) runs from near the beach and is free. The castle itself was demolished in the 18th century but the park on top has a waterfall, expansive views over the Baie des Anges and the old port, and enough shade to make the midday heat manageable.
Dinner: Chez Acchiardo on Rue Droite in Vieux-Nice has been run by the same family since 1927 and still produces the kind of honest Niçoise cooking (daube niçoise, stuffed courgette flowers, mesclun salad) that barely appears on tourist menus. It is small, fills quickly, and does not take reservations. Arrive at 19:00.
Where to Stay: Hotel La Pérouse on Quai Rauba-Capeu sits at the eastern edge of the promenade at the base of Chateau Hill. Rooms on the upper floors have direct sea views and the rooftop pool is one of the best in the city. Rates from EUR 200-350 per night in summer. For a mid-range option, the streets immediately behind Cours Saleya in Vieux-Nice have several small hotels in the EUR 100-160 range.
Day 2: Promenade and Beaches
Nice’s beaches are pebble, not sand, which surprises most first-time visitors. The public sections of the Promenade des Anglais beach are free and uncrowded in the early morning. By 10:00 in July and August they fill up. The private beach clubs along the promenade charge EUR 20-35 for a sunlounger and parasol, which buys you access to showers, a bar, and significantly more space.
Castel Plage at the eastern end, adjacent to Chateau Hill, is among the most pleasant of the private beaches. The restaurant attached serves fish of the day and salade niçoise (the genuine article has no cooked vegetables; it is tuna, anchovy, hard-boiled egg, tomato, radish, and green beans, all raw or tinned).
Afternoon: Musée Matisse in the Cimiez neighbourhood, about 20 minutes north of the centre by bus (line 15 or 17), holds the most comprehensive collection of Matisse’s work anywhere. He spent the last 37 years of his life in Nice and is buried in the cemetery 200 metres from the museum. Entry EUR 10, free on the first Sunday of each month. The Roman ruins of Cemenelum adjacent to the museum are included in the entry ticket.
Evening: Walk the Quai des Etats-Unis (the eastern extension of the promenade, smaller and quieter) and continue into the port area. The restaurants around the old port serve moules marinières and grilled sea bass at prices noticeably lower than the promenade-facing establishments. Le Comptoir du Marché on Rue du Marché is a good mid-range option.
Day 3: Monaco and Eze
Take the train from Nice-Ville station to Monaco-Monte Carlo. Up to 80 trains per day make this 22-minute journey; tickets cost EUR 4-7 each way and no reservation is needed. The train runs along the coast through Beaulieu-sur-Mer and Cap-d’Ail with good sea views.
Monaco is worth a morning. The Palais du Prince (Prince’s Palace) on the rock hosts a changing of the guard ceremony at 11:55 daily and charges EUR 13 to enter the state apartments. The Oceanographic Museum, also on the rock, was directed by Jacques-Yves Cousteau for 32 years and holds one of the best Mediterranean marine biology exhibits in Europe. Entry EUR 20.
The Monte Carlo Casino charges EUR 17 entry to the main gambling rooms. Dress code is enforced (no trainers or shorts). It is more impressive as architecture than as a gambling experience, but the Belle Epoque interior is extraordinary.
Eze in the afternoon is the better sequence: visit Monaco first, then catch bus 600 or 612 from Monaco to Eze-Village. The bus stops at the foot of the hill; walk 20 minutes up or take a taxi (EUR 10). Eze Village is a medieval perched village at 427 metres above the sea. The Fragonard perfume factory at the top does free tours explaining the manufacturing process. The Jardin Exotique at the very summit costs EUR 7 and has cactus gardens with one of the best cliff-edge views on the Riviera.
Bus 82 from Eze-Village drops back to Nice-Ville in about 45 minutes (EUR 1.50 on the TAM network). The last bus is around 21:00; check the timetable before you go up the hill.
Return dinner: Da Enzo in Vieux-Nice does honest Neapolitan pizza (thin crust, San Marzano tomatoes, proper mozzarella) at EUR 12-16 per pizza. It is better than most pizza in Italy.
Day 4: Matisse, Chagall, and Carré d’Or
This day is for art and the upscale end of Nice. The Musée National Marc Chagall in Cimiez (near the Matisse Museum) holds the largest permanent collection of Chagall’s work in any museum, including the 17 monumental paintings from his Biblical Message series commissioned for the building. Entry EUR 10, Tuesday to Sunday. Stained glass windows in the concert hall are usually open to view.
Lunch in Carré d’Or: The Carré d’Or (Golden Square) neighbourhood between Rue de France and Boulevard Victor Hugo is where Nice’s money lives and eats. Lunch prix-fixe menus at good bistros here run EUR 18-25 for two or three courses and represent serious value for the quality. Le Bistrot d’Antoine on Rue de la Préfecture is a Niçoise bistro classic with a short, daily-changing menu based on whatever was at the morning market.
Afternoon: Opera Plage beach club below the Nice Opera House is relaxed and slightly less crowded than the main promenade clubs. The building facing it (the Nice Opera, completed 1885) has an ornate facade that most people walk past without noticing.
Dinner: For a special evening, Le Chantecler inside the Hotel Negresco on the Promenade des Anglais is Nice’s most celebrated restaurant and holds a Michelin star. Tasting menus run EUR 120-180 per person. It is the kind of place to go once, for dinner, and then not return to because you cannot afford to.
Day 5: Markets, Lingering, and Departure
Final morning: the Cours Saleya flower market opens at 06:00 and is at its best before 09:00 when it is predominantly local buyers rather than tourists. Buy a paper cone of socca from Chez Thérésa for the last time.
Nice Airport (NCE) is four kilometres west of the city centre. Tram line 2 connects the airport directly to Nice-Ville and Vieux-Nice in about 25 minutes for EUR 1.70. Taxis charge EUR 25-35 depending on traffic.
Transport note for the whole trip: The TAM network (buses and trams) covers the entire city. A single ticket is EUR 1.70; a 10-trip carnet costs EUR 15. The tram line 1 runs east-west through the city and is the most useful for tourists. The train from Nice-Ville to Cannes (40 minutes), Antibes (25 minutes), or Villefranche-sur-Mer (10 minutes) opens up the entire Riviera for day trips without a car.