Nice, France-5-day-itinerary

Five days is the sweet spot for Nice: enough time to do the city properly, add two real day trips, and still have a slow afternoon or two where you do absolutely nothing but sit near the water. Here’s how I’d carve it up, corrections and opinions included.

Day 1: Arrival and First Steps in the Old Town

Land at Nice Côte d’Azur Airport and take Tram Line 2 into the city center rather than a taxi. It runs every ten minutes from 5:30am to nearly midnight, takes about thirty minutes to reach Jean-Médecin, and costs 1.70 EUR. Board toward Port Lympia, not the Centre Administratif branch. If you’d rather take a taxi, the flat rate into central Nice is officially 32 EUR for up to four people with luggage; confirm that number before you get in, since some drivers try to run the meter up toward 45 or 50 instead. Uber sidesteps the whole issue.

Once you’re checked in, walk the Promenade des Anglais, a free seven-kilometer seafront path with free blue lounge chairs if you want to sit and watch the water. Then head to Cours Saleya, where the flower and produce market runs every morning except Monday, when it becomes an antiques and brocante market. For dinner, avoid the restaurants sitting directly on the square itself; walk a street or two back for food that’s both better and cheaper. Order socca if it’s on the menu, a wood-fired chickpea pancake that’s genuinely Niçois rather than a tourist invention, with Chez Pipo the classic spot since 1923.

Day 2: Museums in Cimiez

Cimiez sits on a hillside north of downtown and isn’t walkable from the center, so take bus 5, 16, or 18. The Matisse Museum lives here in a seventeenth-century villa, open 10am to 6pm, closed Tuesdays. It’s easy to assume the Chagall Museum is the same building or somehow located downtown, but it isn’t either; the Musée National Marc Chagall sits in its own separate building on avenue Docteur Ménard, also near Cimiez, also closed Tuesdays. Entry runs 12 EUR during exhibitions or 10 EUR outside of them, and it’s free on the first Sunday of the month. Bus 5 connects the two, and while you’re up there, take in the Roman ruins and the Regina Palace as well.

Back down in Old Nice for the afternoon, wander past Palais Lascaris, a handsome seventeenth-century palace, and the Cathédrale Sainte-Réparate. For dinner, find a place serving genuine Niçois cooking, daube or stuffed vegetables rather than a generic bistro menu, and settle in for a proper meal rather than something rushed.

Day 3: Beach Day, Pebbles Included

Set expectations correctly before you head to the water: Nice’s beaches are stone, not sand. It’s a detail that surprises a lot of first-time visitors and ruins more than a few bare feet. Pack water shoes and the whole day gets much more comfortable.

Spend the morning swimming or just lying out, then use the afternoon for a boat trip around the Baie des Anges if that appeals, or simply keep walking the coastline toward Port Lympia, the working harbor east of Castle Hill with its own colorful, quieter character compared to the Promenade. For lunch, order a proper salade niçoise and check the plate: raw vegetables, tuna or anchovies, egg, olives, no cooked potatoes, no green beans. Getting this one right is a small but reliable sign you’ve found a kitchen that isn’t just cooking for tour groups.

Day 4: Day Trip to Monaco

Take the train to Monaco rather than driving; it’s roughly 20 to 25 minutes and costs 4 to 6 EUR, which is both cheaper and far less stressful than parking in a principality built on tight hillside roads. Spend the day at the Prince’s Palace, the Casino de Monte-Carlo if you want a look at the interior even without gambling, and the Oceanographic Museum, which has a genuinely excellent collection given its age and founding by Prince Albert I. Monaco runs noticeably more polished and pricier than Nice, and that contrast alone is worth the short train ride.

If Monaco doesn’t appeal, Antibes is a similar distance for slightly less money and swaps the casino glamour for an old town, the Picasso Museum, and the Marché Provençal, my pick for a mellower alternative day trip.

Day 5: Castle Hill, Markets, and Departure

Start your last day at Castle Hill while it’s still cool out. There’s no actual castle standing here; it was demolished in 1706, leaving a hilltop park and ruins with what I’d argue is the best panoramic view in the city, for free. Climb the stairs or take the public elevator from the eastern end of quai des États-Unis.

Spend the rest of the morning back at Cours Saleya for one last look at the market, and pick up a jar of local honey or herbes de Provence if you want something to bring home besides photos. Browse Jean-Médecin’s shops in the afternoon if you need a proper mall fix, then head back for a final walk along the Promenade before your evening flight or train.

Transportation

Lignes d’Azur runs Nice’s trams and buses; a single ticket is 1.70 EUR with 74-minute transfers in the same direction, and a day pass is 7 EUR if you’re covering a lot of ground. SNCF trains connect Nice to Paris, Marseille, Lyon, and all the coastal day-trip towns covered above. The old town, Promenade, and Jean-Médecin are entirely walkable without transit.

Tips and Essentials

• Nice runs warm in summer, average highs around 28°C, and mild the rest of the year, with May, June, September, and October offering the best balance of weather and lower crowds.
• Watch your bags closely at the Grand Arenas tram stop, crowded old town alleys, the Promenade, and the market; these four spots see the most pickpocket activity.
• French is the main language, but English gets you through most tourist interactions without issue.
• Standard French voltage is 230V at 50Hz, so most modern device chargers won’t need an adapter, just a plug shape converter if you’re coming from outside Europe.

Other Things to Consider

Villefranche-sur-Mer is a seven-minute train ride if you want to add a sixth day, and Èze is worth the climb from Èze-sur-Mer in cooler months or early mornings, though the midday summer version of that walk is genuinely unpleasant. Boat tours along the coves near Nice are widely available if you’d rather see the coastline from the water than the shore.

Where to Stay

Vieux Nice keeps you closest to the market and the food but runs smaller and noisier given its age. Jean-Médecin, near the train station, trades a bit of charm for transit convenience and tends to run slightly cheaper per night. Villefranche-sur-Mer or Beaulieu-sur-Mer are reasonable budget alternatives if you don’t mind a short train ride into Nice each day, and both are quieter than staying in the center itself. Book ahead if any part of your trip lands in July or August, when rooms across the whole coast sell out weeks in advance.