Nice

Nice or how it is named Nice la Belle (Nissa La Bella in Niçard), which means Nice the Beautiful, is the second largest city on the French Riviera. Honestly, we didn’t know much about it before going there. It came on our radar as the closest airport to Monaco. That’s why it was a good idea of combining a visit to Nice and adding a new country to our “portfolio” 🙂 But is it worth going to Nice in January? Spending there just 30 hours? Yes, it is and below we tell you why.

Nice in one day. This is what you can expect in the post below. As always, firstly we start with the program of our trip. This time we chose a Saturday departure for our weekend escape for one day to Nice. We landed before noon and after quick check-in at the hotel, we headed to Monaco. After spending a couple of hours in Monaco, we came back to Nice where we stayed until the time of the flight back on Sunday afternoon.

If you are interested in other nice places to visit in France, you can visit our special section dedicated to the country of love. Check out also the other many weekend escape ideas.

Lili’s good-to-know tips when travelling to Nice:

• The beach in Nice is a stony one. Although the water is quite clean for a city beach, the disadvantage is that there is no sand on the beach. If you plan to visit it, you should bring special shoes with you.
• Most probably you will visit Monaco. Have in mind that it has a specific status, when it comes to EU regulations and relations and be careful with your mobile operator tariffs.

Transportation

• At the airport

  The Nice airport turned out not to be that small. There is also a tram which connects the two terminals.

  

• From the airport

  The easiest for us way was to take buses 99 or 98. Our hotel was close to the old city, but also close to the train station. Bus 99 goes to the train station, while 98 passes along Promenade des Anglais – the seafront promenade. Both buses run every 20 mins (at least in winter) and the ride to the city center takes around 15-20 mins. The ticket costs 6 Eur. The bus stops just outside the terminal (behind the sign I love #nice).

  

• To Monaco

  There are two options (for public transport)- by bus or by train. We took then both and this is what we advise you to do as well. The bus offers amazing views at the French Riviera (as advised on the Internet, take the seats on the right). The ride takes a bit more than an hour though. The Bus N100 is the one you need (not 100X as obviously it had shorter and not so picturesque ride). It leaves just in from of the Church at Port de Nice.

  

  The bus ticket costs 1.5 Eur. Alternatively, the train from Nice Ville takes only 20 mins to get to Monaco. However, most of the time you are in tunnels and you cannot enjoy the view. The ticket costs 4 Eur. Our recommendation is to take the bus on the way to Monaco and then the train on the way back.

  

• In the city

  You can use Uber as well (at least it was available at the time we visited it). The ride to the airport was 14-19 Eur. We also saw some public bikes and here is the website where you can read more info how you can hire them. There was a stand also at the airport, so you can even go by bike from/to the airport. The Nice (Cotê d’Azur) airport is actually at the end of the sea promenade.

  

  What you can see in Nice in one day?

  Basically you can see the whole city in one day. Like we did. Of course if your stay is longer, you can spend more time on the different places of interest. So, here is a list if things we advise you to visit in Nice for one day.

  

• Fountaine du Soleil and Plassa Carlou Aubert

  This actually where our “tour” started. The fountain was installed in the 1950s and it has five bronze statues representing Earth, Mars, Mercury, Venus and Saturn. What captures the attention is the seven meter high statue of Apollo. This is considered the center of the city. One interesting fact is that the “bridge” in front of it used to be the only connection between the old and the new town. We highlighted “bridge” as nowadays it is not a bridge. This is because the river Paillon is covered in the part which passes the city.

  

• The shopping street Avenue Jean Médecin

  This is a pedestrian boulevard on which only trams are passing. There are a lot of shops and cafes where you can have some rest. Our hotel was close to it, so we could even do a bit of shopping 🙂

  

• Basilique Notre-Dame

  It is located on the Avenue Jean Médecin and it is built in the Gothic style. Its construction was motivated by a desire to “frenchify” the city after the County of Nice was annexed to France from Kingdom of Sardinia,. At that time the Gothic buildings were supposed to be characteristically French. You can combine shopping with a bit of sightseeing in this area.

  

• The old town- Nice Vielle Ville

  The old town is located between the harbour on the right and boulevard Jean Jaurés. This place is really magnetic. Cute tiny streets with huge choice of different restaurants, bars, shops. This area definitely reminds of South Italy. Our advice is just to walk around with no specific direction- you will be surprised and adored by its romantic spirit.

  

• Climb to the highest point above Nice

  If we have to be honest, we did not plan to go there. We passed through this place on our way to the Port in order to take the bus to Monaco. That is why we did not spend much time there, but this is a must visit place. Amazing view both to the Nice beach on one side and to the port from the other. There is also a waterfall at the the top of the hill. This is actually the place where I wish we had more time to spend.

  

• Port de Nice

  Yachts: big, small, white, black- this is what you can expect there. It’s not our passion, so honestly this part of Nice was not something impressive for us.

  

• Promenade des Anglais

  This is the long pedestrian streets which extends from the airport to the old city (to be precise to the so called the Quai des États-Unis). It is around 7 km long and you can walk, run or ride a vehicle there. There are so many cafes and restaurants there, some of them are open during the winter as well. We were lucky as we could enjoy a lazy Sunday noon on the beach in Jan.

  

Around the second half of the 18th century, the English aristocracy starting spending the winter in Nice, enjoying the panorama along the coast. In 1820, when a particularly harsh winter further north brought an influx of beggars to Nice, some of the English proposed that they could work on the construction of a walkway (chemin de promenade) along the sea.

The locals, intrigued by the prospect of a pleasant promenade, greatly increased the scope of the work. The Promenade was first called the Camin deis Anglés (the English Way) by the Niçois in their native dialect. It was later renamed to La Promenade des Anglais as is its name nowadays.

• Go to Monaco

  Yes, we are not joking. Even if you have just 30 hours in Nice, it is worth going to Monaco for a couple of hours. Further below you will see what we recommend to see in Monaco.

  

• Marché Cours Saleya

  A local market on a street just a couple of meters away from the sea. It’s open every day besides on Mondays when it becomes a flea market. You can find everything there- from handmade things to flowers, fish and other stuff.

  

• Villa Massena Musée

  It is located right next to the iconic Hotel Negresco on Promenade des Anglais. Unfortunately for a day you will not have enough time to enter the Villa which is nowadays a museum. Although it is located on the busy boulevard, the garden offers tranquility which you might need in the busy sightseeing agenda 🙂 The Massena family had close connections with Napoleon and that is why there are some of his stuff in the house. Next to the house you can see another landmark of Nice- hotel Negresco.

  

• St. Nicolas Orthodox Russian Cathedral

  It is considered a national monument of France, and it is the largest Eastern Orthodox cathedral in Western Europe. Located very close to the Nice Train Station, the Cathedral was built in the beginning of the last century. After long quarrels about its property, it was finally admitted as ownership of the Russian Federation.

  

• Cathédrale Réparate

  This Baroque-style cathedral is located in Vieille Ville and it was built in the 16th century on the place of its predecessor. The cathedral has 10 chapels and 3 organs. We were quite lucky as while passing by it in the evening we could hear the organs. 5 mins later the cathedral was closed.

  We were at the right time, the right place. The patron of the Cathedral also comes from the same legend that you will find at the end of the post. We highly recommend you read it.

  

• Park and Garden Colline du Château

  You can also hear the name Castle Hill, although at the moment there is no castle. As we mentioned before, we went there a bit by chance- on our way to the Port de Nice. We walked some stairs from the Old Town to the Hill, but honestly it is not that bad (as I have heard a lot of complaints that Nice is very steep).

  

  Besides the access from the Old Town, there are also stairs from Place Garibaldi. The lazy ones can also take the Art-Deco lift (‘escalier Lesage’) at the end of Quai des États-Unis, or the Little Tourist Train. One of the highlights of the park is the waterfall which is also visible from the Promenade des Anglais.

  

• Try Socca

  Other names for the same meal are farinata, torta di ceci or cecina- in the different parts of the Mediterranean sea. It is a type of thin, unleavened pancake or crêpe of chickpea flour originating in Genoa and later a typical food of the Ligurian Sea coast, from Nice to Elba island. The best place which was recommended to us by a local is Chez Rene Socca, but unfortunately it was closed when we went there. We tried socca in some other place in the Vieille Ville and we really like it- it is a must try.

  

Monaco

Actually this was not the highlight of our trip, however you might need some tips what to expect from it. Besides being quite expensive, Monaco has some landmarks you cannot miss.

• The Palais of Princess of Monaco

  This was the part which we liked most. Amazing view to bigger part of Monaco. The Palace is located on a hill and as the whole Monaco is located on hills, it offers really spectacular view. You can see the change of the guards in front of the house, but this is nothing spectacular.

  

• Old Town Monaco

  Pretty much this area is exactly the same one as the Old Town in Nice. Which should not be surprising having in mind its proximity, but it was quite strange for me.

  

• The promenade by the sea, the yacht club and Jetėe Lucciana

  We decided to talk from the Palace to the famous casino. We took the road by the city. Yachts, yachts and again yachts- this is what you will see around you.

  

  Very close to Monaco Ville, just by on the yachts harbours, you can see an old bolid bronze car. Most probably you know that the Formula 1 piste is actually within the city.

  

• The famous Casino Monte Carlo

  We had always thought that the casino is located on a Promenade by the city. Well, we were wrong. We found it almost by chance. Of course, expensive cars, a lot of people and luxury buildings around is what you will see. Not surprising, given that Monte Carlo is one of the most expensive areas in the whole world.

  

• Eglise de Sainte Devote

  On the way to the train station, we spotted one very nice church. Roman Catholic chapel dedicated to Saint Devota, the patron saint of Monaco. We read later on that in Monegasque tradition, the bride of the Sovereign Princess of Monaco lays her bridal bouquet at the chapel after the wedding ceremony.

  

We hope we were useful with our recommendation with what you can do in Nice in one day. Nice is an amazingly charming French city and as Dimo said- “the good thing about France is that it has many romantic places). Nice is definitely a romantic city.

The Legend about the name “The Bay of Angels”:

The bay of Nice has its name from a miracle which happened during the 3rd century (the people say). A young Christian was arrested for her faith, across the Mediterranean in Palestine. Her torturers tried their worst, but nothing could convince her to renounce her faith, and so she was finally beheaded.

The tradition after such executions was that her body was put out to sea on a raft to be desecrated by sea birds. But the angels took over and guided the raft across the Mediterranean to the bay of Nice, where her body arrived. The body was pristine and untouched- a miracle had happened. The bay has the name of the angels, and the young martyr became Saint Reparate- the patron saint of the Cathedral in Old Nice.