Nice for couples: things to know before you go (2026)

Why Nice for two

Nice combines what the Riviera splits apart elsewhere: a big city, with a market from 6 a.m., ocher lanes and museums, and the sea at the end of every street. For two, a day fits on a pebble beach, a bench on the Promenade des Anglais and dinner in Old Nice, with no taxi and no car.

The rest of the coast is a train ride away: Villefranche-sur-Mer in ten minutes, Monaco in twenty, Menton in forty, for $1.70 to $4.50 a ticket. Coming back to sleep in Nice each night avoids the far pricier hotels of Monaco and Cannes, and leaves time for dinner on a terrace when you return.

When to go

Two events change the city. Nice Carnival, two weeks from mid-February to early March, fills the streets: float parades in the afternoon, where flowers are thrown to the crowd (the Bataille de fleurs), and a lit-up evening parade, with paid grandstands around Place Masséna. Menton's lemon festival falls at the same time, forty minutes away by train. The Monaco Grand Prix, in late May or early June, doubles hotel rates as far as Nice: if you are not coming for the race, pick another weekend.

Paperwork: passport, visa, health

Entering the Schengen area

On your first entry, border police record your fingerprints and a photo (the EES system): allow a little extra time at passport control in Nice. Check before you leave whether the ETIAS travel authorization is required on your dates: it is applied for online on the European Union site (travel-europe.europa.eu), costs a few euros and is valid for three years. British travelers go through the same checks as Americans.

Getting there

By plane from North America

From the United Kingdom and Ireland

From Australia and New Zealand there is no nonstop: count on 22 to 25 hours with one stop in Singapore, Dubai, Doha or Abu Dhabi, then a short hop from Paris or Rome.

Nice Côte d'Azur (NCE), the biggest airport in France outside Paris, is 7 km (4 miles) west of the center, with two terminals linked by tram. Getting to your hotel is covered below, in "From the airport to your hotel".

By train from Paris and Italy

Nice-Ville station is a twenty-minute walk from Old Nice and ten from Place Masséna; the coastal regional trains leave from the same platforms. Arriving by train saves the airport transfer: hotels in the center are on foot or a tram stop away.

By car

Practical things to know before you leave

Phone

US, Canadian and Australian plans charge roaming at full price unless you turn on a daily travel pass, and most UK plans now charge for Europe too: check yours, or install an eSIM before you leave. Download your train tickets and the tram map in advance.

Money and tipping

• Cards and contactless payment work everywhere, even for a coffee at the counter; keep a few coins for the stalls at the Cours Saleya market.
• Service is included in the bill by law: there is no 15 to 20 percent to add. Leave a few coins on the table, $5.60 to $12 after a good dinner for two; nothing is expected.
• Tap water is safe, and a carafe is free in any restaurant: ask for une carafe d'eau.
• The plat du jour costs $20 to $28 in Old Nice; the same meal costs more at dinner on a Cours Saleya terrace.

Plugs, beach and dress

• Type E outlets, 230 volts: US, UK and Australian plugs all need an adapter. UK and Australian appliances already run on 230 volts; American ones need to accept it (nearly every phone and laptop charger does, hair dryers often do not).
• Beach shoes: the pebbles burn at noon, and the seabed drops away two meters (6 feet) from the shore. Sandals with a thick sole will do.
• Sunscreen and a hat from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.: in August the sun is fierce on the Promenade des Anglais.
• Swimwear is not worn in restaurants or churches; Sainte-Réparate Cathedral is visited with shoulders covered.

What to book, and how far ahead

In Nice, three things need booking well ahead: a hotel for mid-February and late May, a lounger at a private beach in summer and a weekend dinner on a terrace. Everything else, museums, the market, the train, is bought on the day.

From the airport to your hotel

© OpenStreetMap contributors

From the airport, the T2 tram is the simplest: it leaves both terminals every 5 to 10 minutes and reaches the center in half an hour for a $2 ticket; Lignes d'Azur buses 8 and 9 also serve the airport, at the same price. Taxis wait at the official rank at each terminal, at a flat fare: a driver who approaches you in the hall charges more. For two with suitcases, in the evening, a taxi is worth the difference.

At Nice-Ville station, Avenue Jean-Médecin runs down to Place Masséna in ten minutes and to Old Nice in twenty. Cimiez is reached by taxi, or by a bus from the center: the climb takes a quarter of an hour.

Getting around

On foot first

The center fits into half an hour on foot: from the Cours Saleya to the Negresco, twenty minutes along the Promenade (1.5 miles); from Place Masséna to the port, twenty minutes too; Castle Hill is five minutes from the Cours Saleya. The tram is only for the station, the airport and Cimiez.

Tram, bus and regional train

Regional train tickets are sold at the machines in the station or in the SNCF Connect app; keep them until you exit, since inspections are frequent. Trains to Monaco and Menton run every 15 to 20 minutes during the day, those to Antibes and Cannes every 15 to 30 minutes.

Bus 100 and bikes

Bus 100 follows the sea along the lower corniche to Menton for $2: an hour, slower than the train, but with the sea at the window and the villas of Villefranche and Cap-d'Ail. Bike-share bikes (Vélo Bleu) are found at stations along the seafront.

Budget for two

The hotel is the biggest item, and the season can double it: a seafront room costs twice as much in August as in January. Here is what three nights for two cost, flights excluded.

Rooms run 30 to 40 percent cheaper from January to March, Carnival aside, and in November than in July and August; Sunday to Thursday costs less than weekends.

Benchmark prices

Specialties to taste

Cooking in Nice sits between Provence and neighboring Italy: olive oil, anchovies, stuffed vegetables and fresh pasta. Eat at the market in the morning, at the counter at noon, and keep dinner for a table in Old Nice booked ahead.

At the table

• Socca

  A chickpea-flour pancake baked in a wood oven, peppered and eaten hot with your fingers, a slice for $4.50 or $5.60.

• Pissaladière

  A thin tart of caramelized onions, anchovies and black olives, sold by the slice at Old Nice bakeries in the morning.

• Pan bagnat

  A round roll filled with tuna, hard-boiled egg, tomato, fava beans, onion and olive oil: the beach lunch, to eat on the pebbles.

• Salade niçoise

  Tomatoes, fava beans, peppers, eggs, anchovies and olives, with no potato or rice, dressed in olive oil: a table in Old Nice does it better than a snack bar.

• Petits farcis and daube

  Stuffed zucchini, eggplant and tomatoes, then beef daube simmered in wine and served with ravioli or gnocchi.

• Swiss chard tart

  A tart of chard with raisins and pine nuts, dusted with sugar: the sweet surprise Nice serves for dessert.

• Ice cream, Nice flavors

  Lavender, tomato-basil, olive or fig: Old Nice's ice cream makers offer about a hundred flavors, two scoops for $4.50 or $5.60.

In the glass

• Provence rosé

  The wine of the beach and the aperitif, served well chilled, $5.60 to $9 a glass at a bar.

• Bellet

  Nice's only vineyard, on the hills west of the city: a white from rolle and a red from braquet, both rare, which Old Nice wine merchants will recommend.

• Pastis

  Aniseed diluted in ice water, the aperitif of the south of France at sunset, with olives and socca.

Customs and rules to know

In Nice, manners come into play on the beach and at the table. A few simple gestures go down well: saying bonjour when you walk into a café or a shop, rinsing off at the beach showers before leaving the pebbles, leaving no trash behind.

• Lunch is from noon to 2 p.m. and dinner starts around 7:30 p.m.; many kitchens close at 10 p.m., and several small Old Nice tables close on Sunday and Monday.
• The Cours Saleya market runs Tuesday to Sunday, in the morning; on Monday, antique dealers take the place.
• On the tram, give up seats to older passengers and validate your ticket every time you board, even for a transfer.

Safety

Nice is safe for a couple, by day and at night in the areas where you will sleep. Trouble comes from quick hands in the crowd and on the pebbles, not from violence.

• On the tram, at Nice-Ville station and on the regional train platforms, keep your phone and wallet in a front pocket: pickpockets target open bags and suitcases at rush hour.
• At the beach, leave no bag or phone on the towel while you swim: one of you stays on shore, in turns.
• The sea drops off two meters (6 feet) from the edge, and currents are uncommon but do occur: green flag, swimming is free; orange, it is supervised but dangerous; red, it is forbidden. Some summers, jellyfish show up.
• The streets around the station and the lower end of Avenue Jean-Médecin are the least pleasant after midnight: take a taxi rather than walking.
• On the Promenade des Anglais, bikes and scooters ride fast in the lane beside the beach: do not stop there for a photo.

Mistakes couples make

Most disappointments come from a badly chosen season, a beach that does not look like the photo, or a schedule that is too full. Leave free hours: Nice rewards wandering.

• Coming during Carnival or the Monaco Grand Prix without a booked hotel: free rooms cost double, or sit an hour from the city.
• Expecting sand: the beach is pebbles, and walking into the water without beach shoes hurts.
• Taking a lounger without asking the price: it runs from $23 to $34 between two neighboring beaches, and the front row costs the most.
• Dining on the Cours Saleya at market time, from a laminated menu: the good tables are on Rue Droite and around the port.
• Planning the Matisse Museum on a Tuesday: it is closed.
• Putting Èze, Monaco and Menton on the same day: three towns, three hours of trains and climbing, no stroll. Two at most per day.
• Sleeping without air-conditioning in July and August: nights stay at 75°F (24°C).