Nice is a city on the French Riviera, set on the Baie des Anges between the Mediterranean and the foothills of the Alps. The prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department, it is the second most populous French city on the Mediterranean coast after Marseille, and in 2021 UNESCO inscribed it as a World Heritage Site under the title Nice, Winter Resort Town of the Riviera, recognising the city that grew up when European aristocrats came to spend their winters here.
Visitors come for the seafront Promenade des Anglais, the pebble beaches, the lanes of Vieux-Nice, museums devoted to Matisse and Chagall, and the soft light that drew those painters. Nice belonged to the House of Savoy for centuries and became French only in 1860, which explains the Italian look of its old town. Apartments in the old town or near the sea suit couples, while larger flats and villas on the hills give families more room. Monaco, Èze, Villefranche-sur-Mer and Antibes are all within easy reach.
Vieux-Nice, the old town packed into a triangle between Castle Hill, the sea and the former course of the Paillon river, is the tourist heart of the city, with narrow streets, Baroque churches, cafés and the Cours Saleya; flats here suit couples who want to be in the middle of things, though the lanes can be noisy at night. Just west, the streets around Place Masséna and the pedestrian Rue Masséna, two minutes from the Promenade des Anglais, give the easiest access to the beach, the shops and the tram.
East of Castle Hill, the port district around Port Lympia, long a working-class area and now home mainly to pleasure and cruise boats, is a good base near the sea and the slopes of Mont Boron. Cimiez, on the hill north of the centre, is a residential district where Belle Époque hotels have become apartments, close to the Matisse museum and Roman ruins. West of the centre, streets served by tram line 2 towards the airport are practical for longer stays.
The Promenade des Anglais runs for about 7 kilometres along the Baie des Anges, from the airport in the west to the Quai des États-Unis in the east. Its story began in 1820, when English residents proposed that the poor who had come south after a harsh winter be employed building a walkway by the sea, and it was inaugurated in its refurbished form in 1931. Today it is a palm-lined path for walkers, cyclists and skaters.
The beaches of Nice are made of large pebbles rather than sand, and before the city was built up the shore was a deserted shingle strand; early visitors came for the gentle winters, not for swimming. At the eastern end, Castle Hill, the site of the original town, lost its castle in the early 18th century and is now a park with views over the bay and the port. Inland, the Promenade du Paillon, a long garden opened in 2013 over the covered river, links the theatre with the sea.
The clear air and light of Nice attracted painters such as Henri Matisse, who lived and worked here from 1917 to 1954, and Marc Chagall. The Musée Matisse, a municipal museum opened in 1963 in a 17th-century villa in Cimiez, traces his career from his beginnings to his last works, largely through gifts from the artist and his heirs. Matisse and Raoul Dufy are buried in the cemetery beside the nearby monastery. The Musée Marc Chagall, the Musée des Beaux-Arts and the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, which devotes much space to the School of Nice, complete the picture.
Cimiez also keeps the ruins of Cemenelum, capital of the Roman province of the Maritime Alps, including its arena. In the centre, the Russian Orthodox Cathedral and the Sainte-Réparate Cathedral in the old town are among the best-known churches. The Nice Carnival, whose parade takes place in February, and the Nice Jazz Festival are the city's most famous events.
Greeks from Marseille founded a settlement here around 350 BC and named it Nikaia, after Nike, the goddess of victory, while the Romans later built Cemenelum on the hill of Cimiez. In 1388 the town placed itself under the protection of the Counts of Savoy, becoming the County of Nice. Apart from a period within France from 1792 to 1815, Nice stayed with Savoy and then the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia until the Treaty of Turin of 1860, when it was ceded to France, a change ratified by a referendum.
From the second half of the 18th century, English aristocratic families began spending the winter on this mild coast, followed by royalty and writers: Queen Victoria came, and Friedrich Nietzsche spent six winters here. That winter resort, with its villas, hotels and seafront, is what UNESCO recognised in 2021.
East of Nice, Villefranche-sur-Mer lies on a deep natural harbour between Mont Boron and Cap Ferrat, with an old town and an 18th-century Baroque church. Èze, about 8.5 kilometres north-east of Nice, is a hilltop village perched on a cliff 427 metres above the sea, nicknamed the eagle's nest. Monaco, about 13 kilometres east, is easy to reach by train or bus, and Menton, near the Italian border, has an old town, several beaches and museums devoted to Jean Cocteau.
West of Nice, Antibes has an old town, a Picasso museum and the Fort Carré, begun in 1550 and later strengthened by Vauban; together with Juan-les-Pins it counts 48 beaches along about 25 kilometres of coast. Cannes lies a little further west along the same railway. Inland, the Mercantour massif rises behind the city, so mountain scenery is close at hand. Coastal trains make most of these trips simple without a car.
Nice Côte d'Azur Airport (NCE) lies about 7 kilometres west of the city centre, at the western end of the Promenade des Anglais, and since December 2018 tram line 2 has linked it with the port. The airport also serves Monaco, about 20 kilometres away. Nice-Ville, the main railway station, has TGV high-speed trains to Paris in under six hours and regional TER trains along the coast between Mandelieu-la-Napoule and Ventimiglia in Italy, stopping at several smaller stations in the city.
The tram network, opened in 2007, has grown to several lines, and buses fill in the gaps. The old town, the centre and the seafront are best explored on foot, and cycling along the Promenade is popular. A car is not needed for a city stay, but it is handy for the hill villages of the hinterland and for mountain trips.
Nice has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate with mild winters and moderate rainfall. In July and August the average maximum is about 27°C at the airport, which sits by the sea, and the city itself is often warmer; rain is rare, with only one or two wet days in a typical July. Autumn begins sunny in September and turns cloudier and wetter in October, while temperatures usually stay above 20°C until November.
Winter days are mild, generally between 11 and 17°C, with cool nights; frost is unusual and snow rare. Spring starts cool and rainy in late March and grows warm and sunny by June. June and September are ideal for the beach without the peak crowds of July and August. Winter, the season that first made Nice famous, is a good time for museums, walks along the bay and the Carnival, and the city stays lively all year.
Vieux-Nice puts you among the old streets and close to the beach, while the area around Place Masséna is central and well served by trams. The port district is near the sea and Mont Boron, Cimiez is a calm residential hill, and western districts on tram line 2 suit longer stays.
June and September offer warm sea weather with fewer crowds than July and August, when average highs reach about 27°C. Spring and autumn suit walking and day trips, and the mild winter, with days of 11 to 17°C, is good for museums and the February Carnival.
Nice Côte d'Azur Airport (NCE) is about 7 kilometres west of the centre, at the end of the Promenade des Anglais. Tram line 2 runs from the airport into the city and on to the port, and taxis and buses are also available.
No. The beaches along the Baie des Anges are made of large pebbles, so beach shoes and a mat make a day by the sea more comfortable. Sandy beaches can be found further along the coast, for example around Antibes and Juan-les-Pins.
No. Trams, buses and walking cover the city, and regional trains run along the coast to Villefranche-sur-Mer, Monaco, Menton, Antibes and Cannes. A car is only useful for hill villages and mountain trips inland.
Yes. Nice has the region's main airport and railway station, and trains and buses reach Monaco, Menton, Èze, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Antibes and Cannes. Three or four days cover the city; a week allows several day trips along the coast.
Yes. Every short-term furnished rental in Nice must be declared online to the Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur, which issues a registration number. Homes that are not the owner's main residence also need a change-of-use authorisation from the mayor, with annual quotas in some districts such as Vieux-Nice under rules applying from 1 September 2026. Check the current rules.
Yes. The long seafront promenade, Castle Hill park, the Promenade du Paillon garden and easy trams suit children. An apartment with a kitchen near the seafront or in a quieter residential district gives a family more space.
Researched and written with AI assistance, then fact-checked against the sources below. Last checked .