52 Tips I Wish I Knew Before Visiting Nice, France

These 52 tips to know before visiting Nice are what I wish I knew before my trip to Nice, France. Hopefully these travel tips will help you from making some of my mistakes when traveling through Nice and the rest of the French Riviera!

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I just spent over a month living in nce France and exploring the French riera but there are some things I wish i’ had known before visiting so I’m going to share all that with you today there’s a lot to cover but I’m going to tell you some general tips you’re going to want to be aware of I’m going to tell you how you can save some money on your trip I’m going to talk about some cultural differences that you’re probably going to want to know about I’m going to talk about some of the foods you’re going to want to try and where you can actually test them out I’m going to talk about where you’ll actually want to base yourself depending on the type of trip that you’re looking for I’m going to talk about some of the best and worst day trips and how you can avoid some common mistakes there and of course I’m going to screw up some French words cuz I don’t speak French so if you do and you want to tell me how many French words I’ve mispronounced you can leave it in the comment section down below sorry in advance about that the first thing to note is that nce really is a great place to base yourself in the French Riviera you’re going to have great access to a bunch of other places which we’ll talk about when we discuss some of the day trips but also the airport is really accessible it’s close to downtown and it’s a breeze so don’t worry about that the second thing that you’re going to want to keep in mind is that while their beaches are absolutely beautiful they do not have sand no these are rocky beaches but there is a perk to that and the perk is the sound the sound for some reason when the rocks are getting pulled back by the waves they kind of topple over one another and create this beautiful sound that I just haven’t heard on any other Beach it’s really peaceful definitely something that you’ll appreciate if you are somebody who needs the sandy beaches don’t worry there are some places that you can get to they’re a little bit further outside of n but we’ll get to those a little bit later on in the video but you might be asking yourself do I need a car to get to those other places and the answer is no you don’t really need a car for this nce is a very walkable City and it’s probably the best way to actually see it and you’ll notice that the culture kind of revolves around the walking and one of the places that you’ll notice that is on the prominade and the prominade is absolutely gorgeous you’re going to find people walking there at all hours of the day young and old it’s just the place to be so definitely make sure you save some time to walk up and down that but that’s not the only place to walk in nice you could definitely explore the old Town it is very walkable and a very Charming area you definitely want to make sure you save some time to walk the port the port is gorgeous there’s tons to look at beautiful boats and just wonderful scenery overall so definitely a great place to walk you’ll also notice that there’s a park up on top of the hill you can’t miss it it’s the only Park and I’m going to bot this pronunciation I’m going look at my computer khind shatu I don’t know it’s a beautiful Park great scenery up there some of the best views overlooking all of nce up there and it’s a great place to just wander and walk but while all those are great places to walk I think the most beautiful place to walk in all of N is a place that a lot of tourists end up missing and it’s something called the coastal path it is this pathway that is literally right up against the water it is absolutely gorgeous you’re walking on these just beautiful rocks the scenery is just unmatched so I highly recommend you taking at least one morning to just spend an hour walking up and down the coastal path you’re not going to be disappointed but another place that you definitely should check out out is something that tourists typically end up seeing and it’s on COA which is in the Oldtown it’s the open air markets and they are beautiful wonderful flowers great food it is a spectacular scene it is a bit touristy but definitely not something that you should miss out on do note that on Mondays you’re not going to have food instead it turns into an antique Market but all other days it will be open and we’ll have food but a couple other important things to note there definitely make sure that you have a little bit of cash most places in these you’re never going to need cash but the market is the one exception that’s because some places only accept cash and other places even if they do accept card they might have a minimum payment so it’s just going to be easiest to have some cash on hand speaking of cash let’s talk about some of those money saving tips so it’s first important to note that Uber is a totally fine option here in nice but there is a cheaper alternative called bolt and bolt is the exact same thing as Uber it’s just a different app that a lot of other countries around the world have uh and it’s a great option typically it’s about 20 to 30 % cheaper than Uber so just download that before your trip it works in the exact same way but if you’re wanting to save even more money do note that n has wonderful public transportation options the tram is a great way to get to and from the airport typically an Uber bolt is going to cost somewhere between 20 and 3030 to get to and from the airport from the downtown area the tram is going to cost just a few bucks so uh definitely cheaper option there but do note that if you are going to take the tram it is important to validate your take ticket a lot of Americans freak out cuz they’re like what the heck does this mean validating your ticket all it means is taking the little payment card that they give you and tapping it on this thing when you get onto the tram that’s all you got to do it’s not a big thing to worry about another important thing to note about the trams that kind of trips up tourist sometimes is if you are taking the tram to get back to the airport don’t end up getting on the tram that is called can Dam that one will end up getting you close to the airport but it won’t actually take you into the airport terminal so wait for the tra that actually says it’s going to Airport Terminal 1 or two that’ll save you a lot of time and confusion one last money-saving tip for you and that’s that most tourists end up making the mistake of thinking that they can only visit nice and experience the French Riviera in the summer and that couldn’t be further from the truth if you book in the off season like we did we spent the whole month of February here and everything was so much cheaper flights were cheaper accommodation was cheaper there weren’t nearly as many tourists and it was still wonderful no you’re not going to have as many warm days at the beach but it was still beautiful weather we did get in the water a few times and there was still plenty to explore so definitely don’t sleep on those offseason trips if you’re looking to save some money but let’s talk about some of those local dishes that you should try and some of the best places in town that I found to eat now while of course you can find wonderful panach chocolate lots and so many other French pastries all over the country one thing that is specific to this region is a dish called Saka and it’s a chickpea flour dish that it’s tough to describe you really have to try it for yourself but it is really really good think of it as kind of a bread with just a little bit extra flavor you can find it at some of the local markets but if you do want to try it at a restaurant there’s a place called chzo that is really popular for it it’s definitely something that you shouldn’t miss when you’re visiting but another place that I would highly recommend if you’re into coffee there’s a place called Cafe Indian and it is wonderful I think it’s run by a husband and wife they’ve got some great products they really care about coffee and it shows they have some wonderful specialty coffee they’re located in Oldtown so definitely don’t miss them if you are looking for specialty coffee in the area but if you’re over near the port and are looking for coffee there’s a cafe called Full Bloom Cafe it’s actually where I got this hat they are some awesome people animal friendly just a really cool Vibe definitely check them out some great people over there as well now if you’re looking for some great dinner spots I have three recommendations for you the first is a wonderful Italian joint called La cusina the nicest staff it is family run it is a really small intimate Italian restaurant only a couple of tables but oh my gosh their food is to die for we were packed there constantly say hello to Lao for me he is the main waiter running the show he is spectacular but do note that there is always a line by about 6:00 p.m. they don’t open till 6:30 but they don’t take reservation so if you are going to get in there make sure to show up line up it is well worth the wait if you’re wanting more of small bites and kind of tapa Styles try a place called Rogue over near the port a great spot if you’re wanting to try small portions of a lot of of different things we had a really good experience there so I would recommend them and there’s another place called Lil alchy I don’t know probably counted on the list of a mispronunciation but another wonderful place definitely need a reservation at that one and probably the good one if you’re looking for a fancier night out you can also do lunch and it’s a little bit more casual but definitely would recommend them but if you’re looking for pastries I’ve got two places I scoured the city looking for what I thought was going to be the best pan of chocol lot and I think I found it it’s a little bakery called jenark bordinat I don’t know probably count it as a mispronunciation but wonderful panach chocol Lots great stuff really cool place and always packed with locals but my personal favorite where I was always going for more of sandwiches and just a variety of breads all kinds of good things was a place called pains at Patisserie carabo I don’t know again probably count it but great stuff there wonderful staff they were really patient with my terrible French as you’re now seeing Go and show them some love they’ve got some awesome stuff now I’ll go over the areas of that you want to stay in in just a minute but I want to tell you about some of those cultural differences that you’ll probably want to be aware of and the first one to note is that it’s a slower pace of life in these and do expect a lot of restaurants and stores to be closed in the early to midafternoon range they’ll be open in the morning they’ll take a quick break in the afternoon and then they’ll reopen for dinner so expect that but also expect that on Sundays most things are closed and the things that are open are going to close early and that includes grocery stores so if you’re you’re planning on getting anything on a Sunday make sure you do it realistically before like 2 p.m. because if you wait till after that you’re probably going to be out of luck again I know it can seem inconvenient but embrace the culture of that slow pace of life and learn to appreciate that side of the culture another thing that is a bit harder to appreciate is you’ll notice that a lot of stores and restaurants they just have inaccurate times listed on their websites I have never gone anywhere on planet Earth where so many times I’ve walked to a place cuz it says it’s open online and I get there and I’m like oh man this place isn’t open and they just are really bad at updating their Times online so don’t feel discouraged that is just a reality of living in nice or at least it was for me maybe you can avoid it by just calling the place before walking there so yeah hopefully you have better luck than I did and one other really big cultural event that ends up happening actually in February if you’re there for one of those offseason trips is the nce carnival and it is this huge Festival it basically happens for like 2 or 3 weeks and there are parades that are all kinds of things happening around the city so if you are going to book around that time do note that the center of the city is going to be a little bit packed people get really into it it is a ticketed event and it is a really unique part of the culture definitely something to embrace and learn about definitely make sure you check that out but let’s talk about where you should actually base yourself in town depending on the type of trip that you’re looking for so there’s a few different areas of town and the first one that a lot of tourists are going to ask about is Oldtown should I stay in Oldtown and to be honest short answer is no Oldtown is a beautiful place it is charming but in my opinion you don’t really need to stay there because it’s really easy to access Oldtown from just about everywhere else and there’ll be a lot of tourists everybody wants to come and see Oldtown and the accommodations aren’t going to be quite as nice so don’t worry about staying in Oldtown itself the next area you probably want to know about is something called Lor probably mispronounced it add it to the list but this place is really really attractive for a couple of reasons one it’s really close to the beaches it’s a little bit more upscale so there’s going to be awesome restaurant shopping everything is really close proximity to this place but because of that it does come at a premium price so there are a lot of people that want to be there you probably will too but if you’re looking to save some money probably not the place to be now the next place is the Old Port and the port is great for a couple of reasons one it’s not as expensive as the place that I just mentioned two you’re going to get a little bit less tourism over in the port yes there will still be tourists but not quite as many but you’re also going to have closer access to things like the coastal path and some of the more residential areas where tours just aren’t going to wander but another place is n Cent kind of the center of N and to be honest there’s nothing wrong with this area but also there’s just nothing special about it it’s going to feel kind of commercial there are going to be plenty of restaurants and shops around but there’s nothing that like stands out to me in this area prices are totally fine again nothing wrong with it but it’s probably not the place that I’d be looking to stay if I had the choice now the next area is the quarter of the musicians and this is actually where I stayed the entire time and I loved it for a few reasons so this is just to the north of that really fancy schmancy area and it’s a great area for two reasons one it provides you easy access to the fancy schmancy stuff and it’s about a 10-minute walk to the beach but if you walk the other direction about 10 minutes you’ll find yourself at the main train station so we f that the qut of musicians was kind of perfect for allowing the easy day trips gave us close proximity to everything but also there weren’t a lot of tourists it did feel pretty residential but we felt like we could access everything so it was a great option for us the one thing I’d note is that while it is definitely cheaper than that fancy schmancy area it is not the cheapest area either if you are looking for kind of the cheapest area that I could realistically see tourists wanting to stay in it’s actually up in The Liberation District which is to the north of that main train station and a lot of tourists make the mistake of never venturing up there at all and I think that’s a mistake that people make because it’s a really unique area you can have really great deals on accommodations up there because most people just aren’t looking to stay up there there are some wonderful Street Markets up there big movie theater just really local experience up there so if you are looking to Save A Buck maybe look up there but if saving money doesn’t really matter to you and you’re looking to spend a little bit for a fancier experience there is a place called Mount boron I’m probably saying that wrong but this is an area that I did not spend much time in but the vibe that I got was that this was a richer fancy area with kind of big residential homes probably an area that you’d want a car and kind of Cliffside living you’re going to have great views of the ocean but you are further out uh of like downtown nice you’re kind of in between nce and V France which we’ll get to in just a minute with the day trips but there are probably some great properties over there if you’re looking for that sort of vacation but like I said probably expect to spend a lot and probably going to want to have that car now let’s talk about some day trips because it would absolutely be a mistake if you visited nce and didn’t explore the rest of the Riviera so three really important things to note before I jump into these specific destinations the first thing to note is that all the places I’m about to mention are easily accessible by the train you’re not going to need any other form of public transport to get there second important thing to note is that there are two main train stations in Ni the big one is called n vill and that’s where the vast majority of people are going to be going going in and out of and it is a great option but if you are staying in the port there is another stop called nce I think it’s rer and that one is actually a little bit closer both totally fine options but just keep that in mind depending on where you’re staying and where you’re trying to get to but the third and most important thing I’d say here to note is that if you’re traveling west sit on the left side of the train and if you’re traveling East sit on the right side the reason for that is those are the sides that will have the window view hugging up against the ocean you don’t want to end up being on the other side of the train having to look over and say man why didn’t I pick that other side so now you know that but let’s talk about some of these specific destinations so I’m going to first start with my absolute favorites the ones that I think you should not miss and then we’ll go into some of the ones that ah I think can be skipped so the first one that is a must must visit that we’ve already touched on is V France V France is really close to nice in fact you can even walk it and I did walk it it takes about an hour hour to an hour and a half to walk it depending on where you’re walking from but it is a beautiful walk the entire way or you can just hop on that train it’s going to be one of the first stops you’re not going to spend more than 10 15 minutes on the train and V France is this really cute small town it is beautiful it is charming beautiful beaches there it’s a wonderful place that if you’re niece it’s probably the easiest place to go and check out but another place that I think is a little bit better than V France is a place called EZ and for Sarah and I we thought EZ was by far the most magical day trip that we could have taken and EZ is still really really close but there are a couple important things to note here one as is kind of this like medieval like Mountain little town and it is really really tiny like think of kind of a castle up on the hill type thing they have this beautiful garden on top that just overlooks like everything it is incredible the views are unmatched it is a spectacular experience and I would definitely say you have to get up there but keep in mind that if you take the train to EZ the stop SZ is at the bottom of the mountain and like I just mentioned the town is at the top you can hike it and it is a very real hike like it will take you over an hour it is an intense hike I wouldn’t recommend it unless you are young fit and looking for an adventure so what you can do instead is you can take the bus from nice over to EZ taking the bus will get you really close to that Oldtown in E and then you can walk the rest of the way it takes like maybe 5 minutes at most so what we did is we actually took the bus up and then on the way back down we hiked down it was a very beautiful Scenic path that you’re seeing right now hiked down instead of up and then caught the train from EZ back to ni so keep in mind that there are a lot of different options there but as it is definitely worth seeing another of my favorite day trips was on tees it is a great little place lots to do like a really cool Old Town they’ve got a port themselves they’ve got like these walls that you can kind of walk along outside of the kasum Museum like just stunning scenery everywhere and they do have some sand beaches and again it’s really close to KN so plenty to do there so definitely go and check that out but if you’re wanting a more adventurous day trip I’d highly recommend going to ventia miglia which is actually over in Italy but it is a stunning Little Italian town now no don’t think like the almafi coast kind of town but it is still Italy and they have these markets on Friday which are just absolutely massive you can find anything you could possibly think of there but one of the coolest things to do is if you do go on a Friday when those markets are happening if you go to their Old Town well everybody else is at the market which means you have the Oldtown to yourself it is such a cool experience to just walk the streets by yourself cuz literally it feels like a ghost town when everybody else is at the market so definitely check that out but do make sure to bring your passport when going on these day trips if you’re going to go to Monaco which we’re going to touch on in just a minute or Italy it is very important to make sure you always have your passport cuz I think that’s something that a lot of tourists unfortunately just forget it’s an easy mistake to make but hopefully you don’t make that now but let’s talk about some of those ah overrated day trips in my opinion the first one which I just mentioned is Monaco it is also very close to nice and I’m not saying you shouldn’t do it it is a beautiful place definitely something to see and hey it’s a whole country that you get to check off a list right but to be honest unless you have a bajillion dollars to spend I just don’t really see what the appeal is if you do want to go and see the Monte car Casino I get that do note that you do have to have your passport to actually enter the casino they will actually scan it and you’ll have to pay entry to get into the casino so keep that in mind but overall I could probably do without Monaco the other place that I think a lot of tourists end up trying to get to because everybody says you got to go check it out is cans and I get it right big Film Festival a lot of notoriety internationally there but to me it was kind of like a Monaco a little bit less less fancy but mostly just really high-end shopping not that much to see or do compared to some of those other places that I’ve talked about not saying that you shouldn’t go and see it but just know what to expect there which is high-end shopping and a lot of wealthy folks the other place that isn’t necessarily the high-end shopping and Wealthy folks but a lot of people said yeah you got to go check out is Menton and for me I just didn’t get the appeal of mitton I’m probably missing something again not saying that it was bad but there was no nothing that stood out to me like some of the others and to me I think that was kind of the point is vent miglia was unique because I was in Italy I was getting to have a pizza in Italy and the old town was Charming EZ was by far the most beautiful place on the French Riviera in my opinion and was worth going out of the way for the anti was also really beautiful had a lot to offer so those places that I said are kind of maybe overrated from my perspective they just didn’t have as many unique things that I was interested in but that doesn’t mean that they won’t have appeal for you and of course there are so many other places that I didn’t get to hit so there are plenty of other places to check out as well also if you’ve made it this far I assume that you found something a little bit helpful so if you want more helpful travel tips like this I started a newsletter where I send out a weekly travel tip every single Tuesday so if you want to sign up for that the link will be in the description but if you’re watching at home on a TV this QR code right here whip out your phone scan that and you can sign up there as well but I hope all this was helpful if you have any questions leave them in the comments comment section and we’ll catch you guys next time