Nice
Nice is a city and commune, and the prefecture of the department of Alpes-Maritimes, and the administrative region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France.
Nice is a city and commune, and the prefecture of the department of Alpes-Maritimes, and the administrative region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France. The Nice agglomeration extends beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million over an area of approximately 744 km2 (287 sq mi) or about the size of Singapore. Located on the French Riviera, the southeastern coast of France on the Mediterranean Sea, at the foot of the French Alps, Nice is the second-largest French city on the Mediterranean coast and second-largest city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region after Marseille. It is approximately 13 kilometres (8 mi) from the principality of Monaco and 30 kilometres (19 mi) from the French–Italian border. Nice's airport serves as a gateway to the region.
Adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Worth seeing in and around Nice
10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.
- 01Allianz Riviera
Allianz Riviera is a multi-use stadium in Nice, France, mostly used for football matches of host OGC Nice and occasionally for home matches of rugby union club Toulon. The stadium has a capacity of 36,178 people and replaced the city's former stadium Stade Municipal du Ray.
5.9 km · football stadium · Wikipedia - 02Promenade des Anglais
Promenade des Anglais is a promenade along the Mediterranean coast of Nice, France.
2 km · beach boulevard in Nice, France · Wikipedia - 03Nice Observatory
The Nice Observatory is an astronomical observatory located in Nice, France, on the summit of Mount Gros. The observatory was founded in 1879, by the banker Raphaël Bischoffsheim.
3.8 km · observatory · Wikipedia - 04Nice tramway
The Nice tram is a 27.5-kilometre, four-line tram system in the city of Nice in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France. It is operated by the Société nouvelle des transports de l'agglomération niçoise, a division of Transdev, under the name Lignes d'azur.
800 m · tram system of Nice Côte d'Azur métropole · Wikipedia - 05Stade du Ray
Stade Municipal du Ray was a football stadium in Nice, France. It was the home of OGC Nice since it opened in 1927 and had a capacity of 17,415.
2.3 km · football stadium in Nice, France · Wikipedia - 06Côte d'Azur Observatory
The Côte d'Azur Observatory is a network of astronomical observatories throughout southern France. It originated in 1988 with the merger of two observatories: Nice Observatory Centre de recherches en géodynamique et astrométrie Cote d'Azur Observatory tested beam combining technology at CHARA array.
3.6 km · astronomical observatory network in southern France · Wikipedia - 07Nice Cathedral
Nice Cathedral is a Catholic cathedral located in the city of Nice in southern France. The cathedral is the seat of the Diocese of Nice.
1 km · cathedral located in Alpes-Maritimes, in France · Wikipedia - 08University of Nice Sophia Antipolis
The University of Nice Sophia Antipolis was a university located in Nice, France, and neighboring areas. It was founded in 1965 and was organized in eight faculties, two autonomous institutes and an engineering school.
1.5 km · French university located in Nice, France · Wikipedia - 09Notre-Dame de Nice
The Basilica of Notre-Dame de Nice is a Roman Catholic basilica situated on the Avenue Jean Médecin in the centre of Nice, in France. It is built in the Neo-Gothic architectural tradition.
0 m · basilica located in Alpes-Maritimes, in France · Wikipedia - 10Russian Orthodox Cathedral, Nice
The St Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral, Nice is an Eastern Orthodox cathedral located in the French city of Nice. Property of the Russian Federation, it is recognized as a national monument of France, and it currently belongs to the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate.
1 km · cathedral located in Alpes-Maritimes, in France · Wikipedia
Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.
What Wikivoyage says to see
The greatest thing to see in Nice is the views along the Promenade des Anglais, which skirts the seacoast for over 5 km, then ends at Nice Airport. These are the views you will have seen in dozens of postcards and in paintings by the 20th-century artist Henri Matisse, who spent so many years living in Nice, but whether you've seen pictures or not, you owe it to yourself to walk along some of this stretch if you have…
- 01Colline du Château
The castle hill overlooking the Baie des Anges and harbour offers a spectacular vantage point overlooking the city.
- 02Parc Phoenix
405 Promenade des Anglais, fax: +33 492 29 7701, parcphoenix@ville-nice.fr.
- 03Musée des Arts Asiatiques
405, Promenade des Anglais (just across the street from the airport),.
- 04Musée Marc Chagall
Avenue du Docteur Ménard 36, visiteguide-mn06@culture.gouv.fr.
- 05Musée Matisse
164, Avenue des Arènes de Cimiez (Buses 15, 22, 17, 20), fax: +33 4 9353 0022, matisse@ville-nice.fr.
- 06Musée d’Archéologie de Nice
From Wikivoyage: Nice, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Things to do
If you go to Nice for bathing or general lounging on the beach, you may wish to think again. The beaches of Nice consist entirely of large flat stones (gallets). A few private beaches have added a layer of sand, but the free public beaches are a stony experience. Besides towels or mats, you should definitely bring sandals, since walking on the stones can be painful, and a cushion if you want to sit.
- 01Cliff Walk
From Wikivoyage: Nice, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Where to eat
Many restaurants and cafés serve local food. You might consider preparing some simple meals chez vous or take home some local Nice delicacies to enjoy on your balcony. Street food is widely available in Nice. A combination of choices could easily replace a lunch without paying restaurant prices.
- 01Lou Pilha Leva
Locals (and the lots of French tourists) seem to love this place and it is often quite busy.
- 02L'americano
Friendly welcome, fast service, excellent pizza.
- 03Chez Palmyre
- 04Nomad Bar
A welcoming, authentic and pleasant place.
- 05Le Barbecue
In addition to the friendliness and kindness of all the staff.
From Wikivoyage: Nice, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Getting to Nice
- Airports
- Nice-Côte d'Azur (NCE), 6 km · Genoa Cristoforo Colombo (GOA), 148 km · Marseille Provence (MRS), 168 km
- Stations
- Nice Côte d'Azur Airport, 5.9 km · Nice-Ville railway station, 400 m · Nice-Saint-Augustin, 5.4 km · Nice CP Station, 800 m · Nice-Riquier, 1.9 km
- Marignane, Bouches-du-Rhône → Nice168 km · quickest by road, 2h 55m · €20–28
- Bastia → Nice209 km · quickest by ferry, 8h 58m · €52.5–162
- Montpellier/Méditerranée → Nice266 km · quickest by road, 4h 33m · €32–45
- Plan a tripFrom anywhereThe planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.
No local-transport research exists yet for Nice
Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Nice. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.
- Get inYou can either follow the road and hope to hitch a ride up, or choose the path up through the forest.
From Wikivoyage: Peillon, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us; that article was last edited 2026-03.
- 01201 km
- 02260 km
- 03749 km
- 04802 km
- 05837 km
If you know how people move in Nice – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.
Next door to Nice
- Cimiezneighborhood of Nice in France1.7 km
- Villa La Léopoldavilla in the French town of Villefranche-sur-Mer on the French Riviera4.5 km