Things to Do in Nice, France
Nice is the city you buy a return ticket to before you have even left, because it keeps calling you back. I have been returning for years, and every visit I am reminded that this place is both a proper city and a seaside escape at the same time. It has history, a serious food scene and a coastline that shows off from the moment you step out of the station. Here is what I genuinely think is worth your time.
Walk the Promenade at the Right Hour
The famous Promenade des Anglais stretches for miles along the pebble beach, and every guide tells you to walk it. The trick is when. Go first thing in the morning, when the light is soft and the joggers own the path, or at dusk, when the sunset turns the whole arc of the bay pink and gold. The full length is a lovely mission, but you do not need to do all of it at once. The pebbles on the beach are not coming to the sand, so bring a proper mat or hire a chair, and you will understand why the locals sit out there for hours.
Climb Castle Hill for the View
Castle Hill, the big green mound at the east end of the bay, is the single most rewarding thing in Nice. The climb is a proper workout, but there is also a lift and a tram stop nearby that do the hard work for you. At the top you get the postcard view over the red rooftops and the sweeping curve of the Promenade. Along the way there is a waterfall and plenty of shade. I sit up there every visit with a drink and just watch the light move, and it never gets old. Go early or late to avoid the worst of the heat, and give yourself time to linger.
Get Lost in the Old Town
The narrow lanes of the Vieille Ville hold the real heart of Nice. Shops sell soap and olives and lavender, bakeries put out socca, and the food market spills across the Cours Saleya in the morning and the evening. If you go looking for the famous colors and terraces of Nice, this is where they live. Let yourself wander without a map. Stop for a coffee, try the local food, and duck into the hidden squares that the crowds miss ten metres off the main lanes.
Eat the Nice Classics
Nice has its own food you should not skip. Socca, the thin chickpea pancake cooked in a huge copper pan, is the local snack and it is brilliant hot. Try it from a proper place near the old town. Then hunt down a good salade nicoise, which in Nice is served with anchovies and olives, not the tinned tuna you have been imagining. Finish with a trip to a patisserie for a real local treat. Sit at the Cours Saleya market stalls that cook the local dishes, order what looks good and watch the city roll past.
Jump Out to the Villages
Nice is a perfect base because the best of the Riviera is a short ride away. Take the little local train along the coast to the villages of Villefranche and Cap Ferrat, or the wider loop that climbs into the hills to towns like Eze for a staggering clifftop view, or Antibes for its market. In half an hour you can be in a completely different mood of the Cote d’Azur. Mix a couple of quiet towns into your Nice days and you will get the balance of city life and coastal calm just right.
Soak Up the Everyday
The best thing in Nice is often doing very little. Sit at a cafe along the old town and watch the world go by, wander the flower market slowly, take off your shoes on the pebbles and let the sea do its work. Nice is a city that rewards the slow pace, and the locals have made an art of it. Match their energy and you will leave calmer than you arrived, which is precisely the point.
