We are two females in our 30%26#39;s traveling to Nice for the first time next weekend. We are staying 1 week and have no idea of what to see or do. Last minute vacation with no time to do research. I guess we consider ourselves foodies on a budget. Any suggestions? Does anyone know of a cooking class?
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Check the %26quot;overview%26quot; box above for information on Nice. I hope you already have a hotel?
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Here are my usual suggestions. It may help. It was originally intended for someone staying for a week.
Websites like the Nice city’s Tourist Bureau website http://www.nicetourisme.com/GB/somtxt.html and one for the Old Town http://www.oldnice.com/ may be helpful.
There are musts like walking on the Promenade des Anglais , both looking at the sea, the beach and the hotels.
The Old Town and the Cours Saléya: Start from Place Masséna and walk towards the Promenade on Rue de l’Opéra. Make a left on Rue St-Francois-de-Paule, check the boutiques but don’t buy there (touristy prices way too high). Walk straight ahead to the Marché aux Fleurs (Cours Saléya). There is a market every day except Mondays. Walk to the end of the market and you get to the Chapelle du St-Suaire. Make a left on J” Gilly street . It ends on Rue de la Préfecture. Make a left there and walk until you reach Rue Ste-Réparate. Make a right and you will see the Cathedral Ste-Réparate and get on Place Rossetti. Very typical (look at the warmth of colours if you are there 1hr or 2 before sunset). A left on Rue Rossetti until you reach Rue Droite. Make a left on Rue Droite and walk to its end. Stop by Palais Lascaris (free visit) and some nice artist shops (check Christian Dury’s gallerie =%26gt; he puts typical Nice things in Plexiglas frames). Rue Droite falls into Rue St-François the in Rue Pairolière. Both typical Old Nice streets with locals shops, food store, fish and meat stores, etc. Open your eyesand your ears and take a deep breath. Now you see the real thing. You get to the Place Garibaldi. Time for lunch. Help yourself, there are plenty nice spots at cheap prices.
From Place Garibaldi keep your right and stay on Rue Catherine Ségurane from where you will get a road that brings you up the Castle Hill (Colline du Chateau). Walk up to its top and have a look at the whole area (the Port, the beaches, the town). Stop by the Cemetery on your way down and wak to the Port. Look at the small fishermen boats on Quai des Deux Emmanuel. And walk back to town circling the Castle Hill by walking on the sea side to reach back Promenade des Anglais.
That one should take not far from a day long, especially if you stop often at boutiques or for an ice cream cone…
Another nice day is going to Villa Éphrussi Rotschild by Bus 81 (starts from Gare Routière). It accepts regular bus tickets (4 euro fro a day, around 15 euro for a week pass with unlimited travel). Ask the driver for the name of the bus stop right at the doorsteps of the Villa. A superb mansion with 7 fantastic gardens. 2hours of pure delight. Wanna have fun and see the real thing once again. When you get out of the Villa walk to your left. The road goes up a bit, walk on the road to your left. It goes down towards St-Jean-Cap Ferrat where you can stop for lunch and get back to Nice with Bus 81 once again. Or you could even walk on the seaside towards Bealieu-sur-Mer using the trail called Sentier des Douaniers. It is about an hour walk and you could then visit Beaulieu, its Villa Kerylos and get back to Nice by train.
You are there on a Friday. Take the train to Vintimille (Ventimiglia in Italian), a small Italian town where you have a well-known market. You can’t get lost. When you get out of the train station walk straight ahead. 200 ft and it’s crowded, you just found the market! Before getting in it, look on your right for the food market. You wanna see Italians wheeling and dealing? Get in there and have fun? Back to the real market, you can get good deals on leather, cashmere wool, etc. Beware the Africans dealers. It’s no good deal!. The morning is enough for the market. There are some nice rItalian restaurants at cheap prices if you don’t mind walking a block or 2 on your right (eastbound), getting away from the market. Back on the train to Nice, get down at Monaco (not the Ste-Dévote Chapel exit at the back of the train butr the on at the head of the train). Have fun for the afternoon in Monte-Carlo.
Already 3 days gone. Like art? Get a car or take the bus to Vence and St-Paul-de-Vence. It’s about ¾ hour from Nice and take the day for both villages. If you rented a car and feel like shopping with the locals crowd, stop by St-Laurent-du-Var Cap 2000 shopping centre. A huge one.
Museums? Like Modern Art? The Mamac Museum of Modern Art is a must. Then you have both Chagall and Matisse Museum on bus route 15 from the City centre.
Wanna shop? Rue Jean Médecin, rue de l’Hotel des POstes. Rue Gioffredi are all street you should not miss and you have the Centre de l’Étoile shopping Centre on Rue Jean Médecin along with the Galeries Lafayette, the Monoprix for food and clothes and the FNAC for records and books (along with Virgin Megastore across the street). There are walking only streets close to that area and they are fuil of shops and restaurants.
You could take the bus to Eze-Village, a medieval village that must be seen. Menton along the coast is also quite nice to see and has its own Old Town.
Westbound towards Cannes, you have Antibes and Juan les Pins that can be reached easily by bus.
If you rent a car, Mougins and Biot are quite nice to see.
So have fun
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I know this may seem nutso, but if you plan on spending any time on the beach, throw a pair of rubber beach shoes in your luggage.
The beaches in Nice are beautiful, but insane to walk on, since they are not sand, but major painful large pebbles. Trust me, I have been going there for quite a long time. You could treat yourselves
though, and for about 12-15 Euros, spend the day at one of the private beaches in town, which includes a comfortable chaisse
longue, and an umbrella. A glass of wine, or a cool beer, and gazing out on the Med, what could be bad! Live it up!
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Thank you soo much for all the great advice. We are staying in a condo in the Fabron-Magnan residental area. Is anyone familiar with this area?
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If thats the case you%26#39;ll need to pack some walking shoes too - Fabron is quite some way out from the centre. - a couple of kilometres - if you want to travel anywhere you may need to get the hang of local buses.
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If thats the case you%26#39;ll need to pack some walking shoes too - Fabron is quite some way out from the centre. - a couple of kilometres - if you want to travel anywhere you may need to get the hang of local buses.
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What is the best way to get to La Tour Sarrasine 93 boulevard Edouard Herriot, Nice from the airport? Taxi%26#39;s seem very expensive.
Is this area really that far? They told us it was a 15 min. walk to city centre.
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20 to 25 minutes walk is more realistic to get downtown. Lots of buses on Rue de France though, that should help. Have a look at www.lignedazur.com for maps and timetables. One-day pass i 4 euro, one week is 15 euro. Single ride is 1.3 euro.
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They said it wasn%26#39;t far?
The road you name is the other side of the expressway about a half kilometre inland from the actual sea front, (which is the Bambou Plage) . It is about three kilometres from the centre %26quot;down town%26quot; I%26#39;d say twenty five minutes walk, down to Avenue Californie and the length of the Rue de France, to Place Massena and then some..
If you are happy with that or youve got a good accommodation deal, thats fine, but if you want to be nipping around Nice you might want to reconsider your location. Whoever told you its not far is stretching it.
Hope this is helpful
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If you can change your accommodation to a more central location, it would be easier for you to get around. In the centre of Nice, you can walk everywhere you need to go. from your address, you would probably have to rely on limited public transport.
You should aim for east of the Negresco, west of the Port and south of the train station to guarantee a central location, some areas are nicer than others.
Anyway, to get to your address, I would take the espress 98 bus to the %26#39;Magnan%26#39; stop (all the bus stops are named) on the Promenade des Anglais then change buses for the bus 22, four stops will take you to the %26#39;Tour Sarrisine%26#39; stop which may be near to your address. More info here:
http://www.lignedazur.com/ftp/lignes/22%20(12%2012%2005).pdf
The cost of the express bus ticket is 4 euros but this will allow travel on the local buses in Nice for the whole day ie it is a one-day bus pass, so you do not need to buy a ticket on the 22 or any aother buses you take in NIce for the rest of the day.
If at all possible, I should try and change your accommodation or perhaps consider hiring a car, it won%26#39;t be too busy in Nice at the moment. Normally I wouldn%26#39;t recommend a car in Nice.
best wishes
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