[FRANCE] Nice Travel Recommendation

15:35 Travel Bunny 0 Comments

Nice is famous for its beautiful beachfront, Promenade des Anglais. It is also close to others famous French town such as Cannes and Saint-Tropez to its west and close to Monaco and Menton to the east if you decided to do a day trip there.

Getting there:

1) By plane: Nice Cote d'Azur Airport is an international airport. Tram line 2 conveniently connects the airport to the city. There are also two shuttle bus #98 & #99 which connects the airport to the city.

2) By train: Gare De Nice Ville is the main train station. It is where I departed to Monaco by train.

3) By bus: This was how I arrived in Nice from Marseille. Visit Flixbus website for more information: https://global.flixbus.com/bus/france

Getting around:

By tram: Tram is a convenient way to get around in Nice. You can buy the ticket from the ticket machines at every station. Single fare was about EUR 1.50. If you ride the tram more than three times, then you should consider buying the day pass at EUR 5.

The most frequently used tram stations on Tram line 1 are Gare Thiers (near to the Gare Nice Ville), Jean Medecin, Massena, Opera-Vieille Ville and Cathedrale-Vieille Ville.

The most frequently used tram stations on Tram line 2 are Aeroport, Centre Universitaire Mediterraneen (get down here to reach Promenade des Anglais) and Jean Medecin.

Jean Medecin and Garibaldi are two main tram stations where you can interchange between the two lines.

By foot: I get around Nice mainly by walking. From Nice Ville train station, it takes about 20 minutes walk to reach the old town and beachfront via Avenue Jean Medecin.

Accomodation:

I stayed in Nice for one night and did a day trip to Monaco during the day time. The hotel I chose is Hotel Belle Meuniere which is near to the Nice Ville train station. A night stay cost about EUR 57 back in October 2019.

What to see:

Map of Nice.

1) Avenue Jean Medecin

Avenue Jean Medecin is the main shopping street in Nice where you find designer brand stores lining this street. If you want to shop till you drop, then this is the place to be in Nice.

2) Notre Dame de Nice

While you are strolling along Avenue Jean Medecin, don't forget to drop by this pretty Roman Catholic basilica. It is the largest church in Nice. At night, the basilica is lit up with lights.

3) Place Massena

Place Massena is an old square which is distinguished by its black and white floor tiles. I was curious about the seven statues of kneeling man on top of poles lining the street. Apparently they are meant to represent the seven continents coming together in harmony and are called "Conversation in Nice".

Fountain of the Sun. The white marble statue in the middle is Apollo. This Apollo is quite controversial because he is usually portrayed as riding a chariot with four horses, but instead the four horses were on top of his head in this version.

Promenade du Paillon is a green walkway through the city. At the edge of Place Massena, you can enter the park where it has a large area of water features with 128 water jets. The park is open from 7am - 9pm (Oct - Mar) and 7am - 11pm (Apr - Sep).

4) Vieux-Nice (old town)

Vieux-Nice is the city's old town area where you'll find many pastel-hued buildings on narrow streets. It is famous for its busy and vibrant Cours Saleya market during the day. It consist of four markets: flower market (everyday except Monday), fruit and vegetable market (everyday except Monday), flea market (only on Mondays) and evening market (only opens from June to September). Unfortunately, I had missed the Cours Saleya market as I did the day tour to Monaco. I would recommend to dine here as the choices of restaurants are plenty in this area.

5) Place Garibaldi

This square was a military parade ground in the late 18th century. It is named after Nice-born Italian nationalist and military hero, Giuseppe Garibaldi. It is also surrounded by cafes, bars and restaurants.

6) Castle Hill

The Castle Hill is the best place to overlook the bay of Nice. It used to be a military citadel but it is used as a park now. If you don't want to walk up the hill, you can take the elevator, it is free to use. 

7) Rauba-Capeu Memorial

This is a World War I memorial which is dedicated to 4000 Nice people who lost their life during the war.

8) I-Love-Nice sign

If you miss this one near the memorial, fret not, there's still another one at the Nice Airport. 

9) Promenade des Anglais 

Last but not least, don't forget to stroll along the bay, Promenade des Anglais.

Where/What to eat:

Before you leave Nice, I must recommend a visit or more to Fennochio's to try their world famous sorbets and ice cream. You'll be spoilt with choices of sorbets and ice cream here. They have rare and exotic flavours such as cactus, rose and beer just to name a few. 

They have two shops in Nice. One in Place Rossetti and another on rue de la Poissonerie. Both shops open from 9am till midnight. Picture above is the shop on rue de la Poissonerie, it is closed on Tuesdays.

I visited the store twice on same day as I simply couldn't had enough of their delicious ice creams and sorbets. 

As with all towns nearby the sea, seafood features prominently in Nicoise cuisine. I had dinner in one of the restaurants in Vieux-Nice area. The restaurant is called Restaurant Campo di Fiori. The food was good with generous portion. 

I also bought some macaroons at LAC Patissier Chocolatier as I couldn't leave France without trying any French macaroons.  

With that, Nice marked my perfect last stop in France.