The Best NICE, FRANCE Travel Guide For The Most Relaxing Vacation

The French Riviera is one of the most glamorous destinations in Europe, so here I’ve put together the best Nice France travel guide for you. I love how many people reach out to us when we’re traveling, asking tons of questions about the details of our travels and how I plan it, etc. (I wrote a whole blog post on how I typically plan my travels here.) Keeping this in mind, I try to create the best travel guides for you with all my top tips so that you can plan the best experience for yourself:) As always, if you have any questions or comments, let me know in the comment section below or shoot me a DM on Instagram @amy_marietta.

Nice is a great destination if you’re looking for a relaxing, glamorous & easy going vacation. In this guide & sample itinerary I will cover what we did each day and then share some useful tips at the end.

The Best NICE, FRANCE Travel Guide For The Most Relaxing Vacation

Day 1

We took the express train from Paris to Nice which took about 6 hours. We had a bit of a rough start on this leg of the trip so learn from my dumb mistakes lol… The hotel I originally booked was not exactly accurately portrayed online, so we booked another hotel last minute on Hotel Tonight only to find out once we arrived, that they were actually at full capacity. So at midnight we were lugging our suitcases around & scrambling to find another hotel on the water because we we’re celebrating Joe’s birthday there and wanted to stay somewhere nice. (He’s acquired super bougie taste since we started traveling together. I take full credit, but also fml.)

We ended up staying at the Hotel Mercure Promenade des Anglais which had a great view, but the rooms could definitely use some updating. Overall, the hotels in Nice are rather dated and overpriced for what you get in my opinion. And in summer there’s almost no availability, so moral of the story is make sure to book a luxury hotel ahead of time. And also I highly recommend avoid traveling here during peak season unless you’re going to be on a yacht or you have a house there.

But hey, these things happen. I’m a pretty good planner and I’ve always been an easy traveler so these mishaps don’t bother me, but I do feel bad & responsible when traveling with other people. Story time over, and back to the fun stuff.

Day 2

Day 2 was much better. We woke up, ate breakfast, and then hit the beach right in front of our hotel to relax. There are beaches that cost 40 Euros per person, and then there are free beaches right next to them. The only difference is you get a towel and umbrella at the private beaches. We just bought towels and hung out at the free beach because we like to soak up the sun & jump in the water. Also, because like wow what a waste of Euros when you can have access for free.

Some popular beaches in Nice are Castel Plage, La Reserve, and Coco Beach. Honestly, I think the beach in front of our hotel was the best because it was central, safe, and clean.

Pro tip: the beaches in Nice are very rocky, and not your average sand beach. Make sure to buy a matt as well. Also if you want a good spot, get to the beach early because it fills up fast.

Handy info: plage is French for beach.

Day 3

We took a 30 minute train ride to Monaco for Joe’s birthday, which I wrote a whole post on here.

Day 4

We took a 15 minute train to Villefranche Sur-Mer because I read a blog that said it was beautiful and worth going to. Honestly, I’d recommend skipping this place and going to St. Tropez or Antibes instead. There wasn’t really anything to do besides eat, so we went to La Terrasse which actually had some vegan options.

Then we came back to the hotel, chilled, went to Casino Barrière, and then had dinner at Le Quebec on Rue Massena – one of my favorite streets in Nice. Le Quebec has outdoor seating so it’s great for soaking in the culture & people watching.

Day 5

We checked out Old Nice and the port. Both of these are undergoing a lot of construction now so I recommend skipping this area. Then we took a train to Milan!

More places to see

Antibes – go to Hotel du Cap Eden Roc
Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, – go to Villa Et Jardins Ephrussi de Rothschild
St. Tropez – Pampelonne Beach, Plage de la Bouillabaisse, Plage de l’escalet, Vieux Port
Eze
Menton
Cannes – check out La Croisette, Promenade des Anglais, Le Suquet, & the Castle of Nice
Beaulieu-sur-Mer – Villa Kerylos

Places to skip

Old Town Nice, Villefranche Sur-Mer

Restaurants in Nice:

Le Plongeoir, Le Petite Maison, Keisuke Matsushima , Cafe Marche, O’quotidien, Le Chantecler
Vegan restaurants – Utopia, Vegan Gorilla, Copper Branch, Koko Green, The Healer

Overall, Nice is nice. It’s a great place to be based in the French Riviera due to it’s convenient & central location. Is it my favorite town? No, but if you want to explore multiple towns, then this is the best place to be based during your travels. Take advantage of the train system them to go explore more towns along the Riviera. Bon voyage!