Tips for a holiday in Nice - what to do and where to eat

[RoseTulips2023]

We're going to Nice for a week at the beginning of August - staying in an AirBnb Rue de Massingy. If anyone has any tips as to what to do and where to go that would be great. It's me, my husband and our 18 and 15 year old daughters. Thanks.

Also going to Nice this summer so following with interest! I’ve booked the Rivera electric car trip for one of the days and plan a trip to Cannes.

We loved the Marc Chagall museum and a trip to Saint Jean Cap Ferrat.

Following

Stroll along the bay and then climb the Castle Hill, there's a lovely park at the top. Wander round the old town.

I don't know Nice very well but there are lots of places you can easily get the train out to if you want day trips from there. Cannes/Ile Sainte Margarite, Menton, Eze for example.

I went with my husband a few years ago and we went to a restaurant called Jan, it was fab and I would highly recommend it but check the menu as to whether it would appeal to your daughters or better just for adults.

Get the bus to Monaco. Such a beautiful bus ride if you sit on the correct side of the bus. I will check later after work which side it was if your interested!

Presumably you would need to sit on the right-hand side of the bus going there and the left-hand side back. Personally I prefer the train line along the coast, which is above ground everywhere apart from Monaco itself.
BTW if you have EU roaming included on your phone do bear in mind that Monaco is often excluded from this.

Antibes and Menton are both lovely day trips from Nice and the train journey along the coast is beautiful

Definitely train to Villefranche sur mer, fifteen mins away and the most gorgeous warm swimming beach, absolutely stunning.

Oooh good to know thanks.

Make the most of the train line. So many nice places to visit. You can buy a ticket for so many days (I think you need to validate it before each journey), that gives you a lot of freedom to explore. I love Antibes - I worked in the area many years ago and went back last month. There’s a lovely restaurant next to the outdoor pool
in Monaco- reasonable prices for the area too.

I second taking a trip to Menton - it's lovely and has a very "local" feel. A day trip up to Sainte Agnes hilltop village is definitely worth doing too!

A day in Monaco definitely. If you like a bit of pomp and ceremony, then the changing of the guard is outside the Prince's Palace at 11.55 am every day. The Oceanographic Museum and Princes Car Collection are also worth a visit. Also, a walk round the harbour to look at the fancy boats is always an eye opener!

Train into Ventimillia (first stop on Italy) on a Friday, for the excellent indoor and outdoor markets.

In Nice, the Mattisse museum.

In Monaco, there's a Carrefour in "the rock" for sandwiches and cold drinks at Supermarket prices.

You can get a 3 day or 5 day pass from the metro machines that cover you for trams, busses and trains along the Cote d'Azur - we used those to go to Antibes and Monaco.

I loved Antibes. There's also an amazing Provencal food market outdoors that does the most incredible fruit and vegetables - we shopped there and took it back to our air bnb. The set lunch menus in the bistros in the town square there are great value too.

Go to the Flower Market in Old Nice on the Friday morning.

Agree with this! And book a table at the restaurant Alma there for lunch or dinner afterwards, lovely place with a great view and fab food!

The train is a great way of exploring the coastal towns but be aware that they get very packed in August!

I love Antibes and Villefranche. Less keen on Menton tbh. Also like Eze for a day trip. If you go to Antibes can recommend Cafe Brun.

In Nice itself there is lots to choose from around Cours Salaya. Had a nice meal at Le Safari. Also on Rue Massena though it's a bit touristy there. But handy if you want family friendly.

Be aware that trains and buses can be horrendously busy. Avoid rush hour.

Oh wow. Thanks so much for all your recommendations. Will read through them later:)

A few more things to do along the coast between Nice and Menton:
-Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, train stop Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, also a lovely walk around rhe peninsula.
-Get out at Eze and take a bus up to the village, then walk down the Nietsche path (trainers needed). Eze is an utter tourist trap but a very cute one.
-Monaco is bonkers, but the Oceanographic museum and Jardins Botanique are great. Tip for eating cheaply with a view is the terrace at Starbucks, not the one by the station.
-Menton has a lot going for it if you scratch beneath the surface - it’s just more well known among French and Italian tourists. But the history is fascinating; in the 19th century it declared independence from France and still has its own language/dialect (Mentonasque) and a chickpea based cuisine. The guy who invented rugby is buried on the hill in the Protestant cemetery, because it’s where sick English people went to die of consumption.

If you go to Cannes, get the ferry across to the Lerins Islands, Sainte Honorat is the nicest, it has a monastery and a restaurant and a lovely walk. I think the tower is also open now. Antibes is worth a visit, there's a Picasso museum and lots of wandering around and taking in the culture, lots of places to eat and good prices too. Villefranche-sur-mer is also worth a visit, a bit like little Italy, you can sit on the quay side and have lunch. Eze is also wort a visit, a medieval place, right on top of the mountain. All accessible by train and get a day ticket as it will take you anywhere along the coast from Italy to almost Frèjus.

Loads of great ideas here. I recommend the Matisse museum on Nice. And the guided tour bus around town. Antibes and Monaco both lovely. We enjoyed eating at Le Plongeoir (booking is required) and Uinku for 'asian tapas'.

Or the train. It travels along the coast and you can see some lovely places. Monaco is very steep. Get the Hop on Hop off bus.