Nice snapshot

More city snapshots

Travel planning

Nice is easy to get to with many budget airlines flying into Nice-Cote d'Azur, France’s second busiest airport. It’s a superb resort in summer and winter, thanks to its climate – hot, dry summers and warm winters with, as a bonus, good skiing only an hour away.

Nice is located on the southern coast of France in the French Riviera, just west of the Italian border. The western side of the city is relatively modern with its sea front and large hotels; the eastern side has the atmospheric Old town and the Port.

The famous Promenade des Anglais separates the pebbly beach from the city where world-class galleries, the old town, the famous flower and food market and a huge array of hotels and restaurants, all meaning there’s much to see and enjoy.

Riviera capital

Nearby Riviera attractions such as St Tropez, Cannes, Antibes, Menton and the Principality of Monaco (including Monte-Carlo), are easily reached by train, or by car – albeit traffic and parking difficulties can make this arduous in the summer peak season.

The western side of Nice is an elegant modern city where the majority of hotels are found, with beach restaurants, casinos, and shopping areas featuring stores such as Galeries Lafayette. Eastwards.

In the old city and the port, there are hundreds of small shops, the Cours Saleya market, cafes and bars, old churches, attractive squares and quaint narrow streets.

Popular resort

The city has a long history, dating back to Greek and Roman times. Nice was part of Italy, or more accurately the Kingdom of Sardinia, for much of its modern history. It became French in 1860 when the population voted to be part of France.

Nice has been long popular with the English. Russians have also settled here with the Orthodox Cathedral the largest Russian church outside Russia itself.

The suburb of Cimiez, a short distance inland, houses museums dedicated to the works of Matisse and Marc-Chagall. This was also the site of a large Roman settlement and, today, the Archaeological Museum.

Inland, Alpine ski resorts are an hour's drive from the airport. The single track Provencal railway provides a spectacular two-hour journey through the Alps to Digne.

The SNCF provides regular rail connections from abroad and daily connections with the largest cities in France. The TGV high-speed train links Paris to Nice in under seven hours. Road connections are good and ferries go to Corsica. The Nice Côte d’Azur Airport, 4km outside the city itself, is an ideal gateway to the Riviera resorts.

Make sure you include Booked.net if searching for hotels in Nice. They list a good number of quality hotels, available at competitive prices. Also, you don't have to pay any extra fees for booking, administration or cancellation.

Every month our travel writers comb the web for city break deals to Nice. Visit our Nice holiday shop to browse through the latest offers. For an in-depth tourist guide visit TravelSavvy Nice.