Nice, France: the guide that tells you what to skip

Everyone gets three things wrong about Nice before they even land: they expect sand, they expect a castle, and they expect lemons. None of that is true. The beaches are pebble and stone, so pack water shoes or your feet will hate you. Castle Hill has no castle standing on it; it was demolished in 1706 and what’s left is ruins, a park, and a view. And the lemon festival everyone photographs? That’s Menton, forty minutes down the coast, not Nice. Get those three facts straight and you’re already ahead of most guidebooks.

Getting in from the airport without getting fleeced

Skip the taxi rank unless you enjoy watching a meter climb past what you were quoted. The flat rate from Nice airport to the city center is officially 32 euros for four people plus luggage, but plenty of drivers start the meter running anyway and let it drift to 45 or 50 before you notice. Confirm the flat rate before the doors close, or just use Uber, which is cheaper and skips the negotiation entirely.

The better option is tram Line 2, heading toward Port Lympia, not the Centre Administratif branch. It runs from about 5:30am to just before midnight, every ten minutes or so, and gets you to Jean-Medecin in around half an hour for 1.70 euros a ride (a rechargeable card costs 2 euros, refundable at tabacs) or 10 euros for an airport round trip from the ticket machine. One warning: the Grand Arenas tram stop where you buy tickets is a known pickpocket spot. Keep your bag in front of you, and if you’re traveling with someone, have one person watch the bags while the other deals with the machine.

What’s actually worth your time

The Promenade des Anglais is free, seven kilometers of seafront, and the blue chairs along it don’t cost anything to sit in. Do it at sunrise before the crowds if you can.

Castle Hill, again, has no castle, but the free public elevator from the east end of quai des Etats-Unis (or the free stairs if you want the workout) gets you to a panoramic viewpoint that beats most paid attractions in the city for the price of your time, which is nothing.

Vieux Nice, the old town, is where you should spend most of your wandering hours. Pastel baroque buildings, narrow alleys, and at its southern edge, the Cours Saleya market, which sells flowers and produce Tuesday through Sunday mornings and swaps to an antiques and brocante market on Mondays.

If you care about art, know that the Matisse Museum and the Chagall Museum are two separate buildings, both up near Cimiez, and neither is downtown. Matisse is in a 17th-century villa, open 10am to 6pm, closed Tuesdays, reachable on bus 5, 16, or 18. Chagall (officially the Musee National Marc Chagall) is on avenue Docteur Menard nearby, also closed Tuesdays, and costs 12 euros during special exhibitions or 10 outside of them, free on the first Sunday of the month. A multi-museum pass covering both plus others exists if you’re doing more than one.

The Russian Cathedral, Saint-Nicolas, with its onion domes, sits near the train station and Jean-Medecin, not in Vieux Nice as some guides imply.

Where to eat, and where not to

Socca, the chickpea pancake that’s basically Nice’s culinary flag, is done best at Chez Pipo on rue Bavastro, wood-fired since 1923, or at the Chez Theresa stall on Cours Saleya. Expect to pay 5 to 8 euros. Pan bagnat, the salade nicoise stuffed into a bun, runs 6 to 9 euros from a boulangerie or market stand and travels well for a beach lunch.

Speaking of salade nicoise, the traditional version has no cooked potatoes and no green beans. It’s raw vegetables, tuna or anchovies, egg, and olives. If a tourist menu serves you potatoes and green beans, that’s not wrong exactly, but it’s not the local version either.

For a proper sit-down Nicois meal, daube, ratatouille, stuffed vegetables, head to Lou Balico or Acchiardo in Vieux Nice, mains around 15 to 25 euros. And here’s the opinion: skip the restaurants with terraces directly on Cours Saleya. They’re overpriced and the food is mediocre because they’re coasting on the view. Walk one or two streets back and you’ll eat better for less.

Beach club restaurants along the Promenade deserve the same suspicion: premium prices, often no posted menu, so ask what a drink costs before you order it.

Day trips that actually work by train

Villefranche-sur-Mer is seven minutes away and 2 to 3 euros, the closest option, with a deep natural harbor. Monaco is 20 to 25 minutes and 4 to 6 euros. Antibes, with its old town, Picasso Museum, and Marche Provencal, is a similar ride time for 5 to 6 euros. Cannes takes 30 to 40 minutes and 7 to 9 euros if La Croisette is on your list. Menton, the actual lemon town, is 35 to 40 minutes and 6 to 7 euros, with an Italian-border feel worth the trip.

Eze is trickier: the train only gets you to Eze-sur-Mer, and from there it’s a steep uphill walk or bus 83 to reach the perched village itself. It’s worth doing, but only in cooler months or early morning. Climbing that hill at midday in August is miserable, not charming.

Saint-Paul-de-Vence and Grasse don’t have train service; you’ll need the Ticket Azur bus option or a car.

When to go and what to know

May, June, September, and October are your best months: warm enough to swim, thinner crowds, lower prices. July and August bring peak heat, packed pebble beaches, and hotels charging whatever they want, so book early if that’s your window. Nice Carnival happens in February around Place Massena, with flower parades by day and lit-up parades at night.

Get around the city on Lignes d’Azur trams and buses: a single ticket is 1.70 euros with a 74-minute transfer window in the same direction, or get a day pass for 7 euros. The Ticket Azur, at 2.50 euros, covers one trip within Nice plus an onward bus to Monaco, Antibes, Cannes, or Saint-Paul within two and a half hours. You genuinely don’t need transit inside the city center, though: Vieux Nice, the Promenade, Jean-Medecin, and Cours Saleya are all walkable from each other. Save the tram for Cimiez, the port, or the airport.

One last thing: watch your bags in the Old Town alleys, on the Promenade, and at the market, same as any popular coastal city. Nice rewards people who show up with reasonable expectations and a pair of water shoes.