Suggested activities for your stay
Categories : Activities in Nice, published on : 1/4/24
- From the Bellanda Tower (at the end of the Quai des Etats Unis facing the sea), take the lift up to the Castle Hill and see the 360° panorama from the top, then go back down through the narrow streets into Old Nice (or use the lift)
- Old Nice, with the Saint Francois de Paule street, the opera, the Saleya market, the Pénitents Noirs church, Sainte Rita (with an altar for a vow to Sainte Rita, the patron saint of desperate cases), the Rue Droite, the Jesu church, the Lascaris palace, the Rossetti cathedral - Ice cream at Fenocchio. Ravioli at Barale's, chard pie or pistou soup at Rotisserie du Palais, candied fruit at Auer's, cheese at Le Fromage on rue de la Préfecture....
- A walk through Place Masséna, Jardin du Paillon, Place Garibaldi, Port, Rauba Capeu, Quai des Etats Unis, Jardins Albert 1er is very nice and takes about 1h30 to walk. You can also take advantage of the tram to walk part of the way (for example the return trip from Port/Av J Médecin)
- Touristic train ride, departure on the promenade in front of the Albert 1er gardens (which goes up to the top of the Castle Hill)
- Rickshaw ride (electric taxi-bike, 2 adults and 2 children) example guided tour of 30mn 25€ or 60 mn 40€ * Russian Cathedral (for those who want to go to the city)
- Russian Cathedral (to go there, I recommend the rickshaw - otherwise bus but complicated - on foot, neighborhoods without interest to cross) 25€ wait there included
- National Chagall collection, Matisse museum, Cimiez park, Regina Palace, Cimiez Monastery and gardens... (go there by bus 15 - eventually, from the Chagall museum walk down 15m to Liberation if in late morning, to see the Liberation market)
- Libération market, the market of the Niçois, to see the vegetables and fruits from here - don't forget the closed market hall, with a very good cheesemonger, a good butcher in the corner on the left as you enter, a good West Indian delicatessen at the entrance. Apero sympa chez Tintin (with a good pan-bagnat (take the small one) or pissaladiere, with a small glass of rosé in the sun - sometimes you have to wait 5 minutes to get a table) Famous socca (and pizzas) chez Soccatram.
- Cours Saleya market, flowers, fruits and vegetables (a bit expensive as it is in the heart of Old Nice, but nice products - every day in the morning except Monday when it is a second-hand market, also nice!) - the Flore café has a nice terrace in the middle, on the corner of the small square. Take the opportunity to go to the gallery Musée de la Photographie (free access) on the square on the right when you look at the Palais des Rois Sardes, go to the Fragonard shop which has nice products, and try to visit the Chapelle des Pénitents Noirs (with the most famous Renaissance paintings of the region in the Sacristy, by Bréa - personally I don't like this type of work, but it is famous...).
- Walk along the port to Cap de Nice (with a coastal path where you can go back and forth - have comfortable shoes, the path has steps) the view from Coco Beach is nice... possibly have lunch on the small creeks with a pan bagnat bought at the "La Gretta Keka" hut, or lunch at the Yatch Club with a nice view on the port (it's not well signposted, you have to enter the building and the restaurant is on the 1st floor, open to all)
- Palais Masséna Museum next to the Negresco, very interesting, on the history of the development of winter tourism in the Belle Epoque and the development of Nice.
- Museum of Modern Art with a beautiful collection on the Ecole de Nice
- Museum of Fine Arts / Jules Cheret a bit far and with a collection that is not very good - except the Raoul Dufy collection which I think is great
- Take the Riviera Pass which includes entrance to the Museums, hop on/off bus, tourist train, coastal boat trip, but also wine tasting at Biancchi's, glass of champagne at the casino, guided tour of the city, Segway ride... and lots of things outside of Nice (crossing to the Lerins Islands, oceanographic museum, marineland, etc)
- Take a coffee and enjoy a great book at the Negresco, to discover this mythical place of the city (see the Rotonde lounge). Remember, you can't enter the Negresco without being a customer, and being a customer of the bar is enough to allow this beautiful discovery!
- Fragonard shop (come from our hotels with our 10% discount vouchers) on the Cours Saleya
- Drinks: La Movida bar, Wakabar or Babbel with a view of the Promenade/Mer, young and friendly on rue Saint François de Paule (to the right of the Opera), at the Civette du Cour (in the morning opposite the market or at sunset in the summer), in the bars on rue Bonaparte ( les Chineurs, le CCE, le Dandy... ), the terrace of Place Garibaldi, the terrace of the restaurants on the pebbles (Lido and Sporting towards the Palais de la Méditerrannée open all year round when the weather is good), Chez Tintin (pan bagnat and pissaladiere, rosé... or coffee) opposite the Libération market, or Chez Pipo on Rue Bavastro for a glass of rosé and Socca (behind the Eglise du Port, if you arrive before 7pm).
- Use the blue bikes or scooters in self-service "CityScoot" (easy to download application, allow 24 hours to set up) to discover the city more easily
