The Original Guide to Nice

Pre-trip culture checklist

READ: Death on the Riviera 
Reissued by the British Library after a 60-year hiatus, Death on the Riviera by John Bude is a classic crime caper that plays on a South of France stereotype: it’s a sunny place for shady people, stocked with playboys, artists, forgers and eccentric Englishwomen.

LISTEN: Hyphen Hyphen
Hands-in-the-air techno-pop group Hyphen Hyphen met at Lycée Masséna high school, opposite Nice’s Promenade du Paillon public park. Their soft, sunny track ‘We Light the Sunshine’ transports listeners to a Riviera beach bar.

WATCH: The Transporter
The Transporter features a young Jason Statham bending luxury cars around every Nice landmark, from the airport to the Old Town. A high-octane thrill. 

A LOCAL’S VIEW

“Every establishment in Nice is super-specialised. So, when I wake up, I go to Cafés Indien, an old-school roaster that has ground eco-responsible beans for three generations. For pâtisserie it’s another two minutes’ walk to Marinette, which has a laser focus on breakfast: expect yoghurt, granola, pineapple bowls and hot brioche. For an aperitif, I take friends to Pane & Olio, inspired by the owner’s Sicilian nonna (you can also order its fiori di latte mozzarella platters directly to the beach with Uber Eats). When Niçois want to get out and about, we climb up to the Colline du Château, high above the Old Town. There’s nothing commercial. Just playgrounds, fountains, trees and a cool breeze. After working in water sports for 30 years, I wanted to give visitors a different view of my city, so I purchased my own speedboat called SuperFly. I tow parascenders at heights of 100m alongside Nice. It’s a memory of a lifetime.”

NEW VIEW

The monks in Cimiez Monastery, in a ritzy northern suburb, enjoy a unique panorama. Ride the number 15 bus from central Nice uphill (€2) past rococo villas and Normandy-style châteaux for views over terracotta roofs, hilltop parks and the topaz sea beyond. Alight at the Matisse Museum, then follow the monastery signs. 

RAINY DAY SAVIOUR

You’re joking, right? Nice welcomes 300 sunny days per year. Rain is for Paris. On occasional dull days, try the Musée Masséna. It’s a seafront palace turned history museum that highlights vintage Riviera glamour. Find 1920s ball gowns, banqueting menus and street maps showing which prince, duke or bon viveur was staying where. 

THE ORIGINAL LONG-DISTANCE HIKING ROUTE

Strap your Birkenstocks on for the first GR de Pays trail in the Alpes-Maritimes region. The Camin Nissart is a 42km-long roller-coaster walking trail that completely encircles Nice, while zigzagging through its fancier quartiers. The hiking path starts on the Promenade des Anglais and hits every hotspot, including the antique port, Mont Boron and AOC Bellet vineyards, by way of olive groves, abandoned railways and well-signed archaeological wonders. The trail was pioneered by 8,500 volunteers from the Fédération Française de la Randonnée, who hiked with pruners, paintbrushes and GPS trackers. Even walking a quarter of the route (you can bus back to the coast at various junctures) is a fine way to see the city.

BIRD’S-EYE VIEW

The Promenade des Anglais ends at Nice Airport. It's a 7km-long seaside esplanade that welcomes rollerbladers, strollers and bikers by day, then fire eaters, tango dancers and bongo drummers by night. In 2021 ‘the English promenade’ (as the name translates) became part of a Unesco World Heritage Site that marked the world’s first winter vacation resort – in this case one frequented by holidaying British aristos escaping stuffy Victorian London.

AS SEEN ON SCREEN

Tawdry, tacky and totally addictive TV drama Riviera sees Julia Stiles and Poppy Delevingne escaping sticky Nice situations in high heels. The Hôtel Negresco stars in The Day of the Jackal alongside fabulous Riviera scenery. The most hair-raising tribute to Nice is Ronin. Starring Robert De Niro and Jean Reno, the heist movie features car chases through city streets on a par with those in The French Connection.

ACCESS ALL AREAS

The wheelchair-friendly Le Grand Tour sightseeing bus ranks among the best bargains in Nice. Hop on and hop off at 12 prime points of interest including MAMAC and the Old Town. Château de Bellet, the top vineyard in one of France’s smallest AOC regions (it’s sited within Nice city limits), is adapted for wheelchairs and has fully accessible bathrooms.

THE SENSORY SIX

THE ONE THING

EAT
Salads Niçoise, the city’s eponymous dish, is a meal in itself, with hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes, tuna and little black Niçoise olives. Traditionalists will cry if you mix green beans or a potato into it. Stick the salad in a floury white bun to create a pan bagnat.

SEE
The #IloveNICE selfie sign above the Promenade des Anglais. It’s become a tourism board success story with more than 750,000 tags.

DO
Swim off Nice’s long public beach. The water’s vivid blue colour is caused by the beach’s limestone pebbles, which give the Côte d’Azur its moniker. 

WHERE NEXT?

If you liked Nice… try Palma in Mallorca. It also delivers strikingly blue waters, sandy beaches and an atmospheric Old Town. Take in the stunning architecture of Palma’s cathedral, which looms over the city rooftops and is home to an Antoni Gaudí-designed high altar and more than 60 stained-glass windows. Foodies will love taking a tapas crawl through Palma’s labyrinthine streets for plates of jamón and potatoes with aioli washed down with vermouth, and the city also offers some of Europe’s best shopping, from slick Spanish designers to offbeat independents, many of which can be found on Avenida de Jaume III. Palma is bathed in almost year-round sunshine and fringed by the sparkling Mediterranean. No wonder visitors head to Playa de Palma, the area’s largest beach, for sandy strolls and buzzing cafés.