I’ve wanted to go to Nice in France for a while. So when my birthday came around, the glamorous Cote D’Azur seemed a natural choice. With a short flight from the UK of under two hours, it’s also incredibly easy to get to this part of France. After spending 4 nights in this beautiful city, and still wanting to stay longer, these are our reasons why you should visit Nice France.
1. For The Architecture
The city of Nice is a mix of old and new architectural styles, from different periods with both French and Italian influences. Of particular interest is the old town in Nice or Vieux Nice, an atmospheric area of cobblestone streets, pastel-hued buildings and authentic local shops selling soaps, crafts and baked goods.
Nice though has the ability to surprise, you turn a corner and come across an amazing building such as the Russian Orthodox Cathedral, an ornate grandiose structure seemingly out of place in Nice but so amazingly beautiful you are lost for words.
2. For The Shopping
Nice’s most famous market is the Cours Saleya or flower market that sells much more than flowers! Jam-packed with local people selling the best produce from cheese, olives and artisan sausages to socca (the local chickpea pancake), handmade soaps, all manner of tasty preserves and of course sweet smelling flowers. On Mondays, it turns into an antique market too. It’s well worth a visit but get there early as it closes at 1 pm, although in the Summer it reopens at 6 pm for a Summer Nights Craft Market.
There are also other markets in Nice, such as the morning fish market at Place Saint-Francoise, and the Palais de Justice in the Old Town on a Saturday, where they change what they sell every week, from second-hand books to antiques to arts and crafts.
3. For The Museums
Nice offers more than 15 museums which makes it a brilliant city for culture lovers. If you love art, two museums of note are the Matisse museum and the Marc Chagall museum. We visited the Marc Chagall museum which brings together his work inspired by religion and found his paintings striking. It also has a nice little cafe where you can sit outside in the sun. Admission 10 Euros.
Other museums of note include the Asian Arts Museum, with both classical and contemporary works from Asia, India, Southeast Asia, China and Japan and the Museum of Archaeology. If you are visiting a number of museums as well as other attractions, it’s worth considering the French Riveria card, for one price you can visit all the attractions on the card and it can save you money in the long run.
4. For The Food
Of course, the French have tremendous food and are known worldwide for their gastronomic delights, but what surprised us was how cheaply you could eat too. From the Socca street food chickpea pancake at 3 Euros to a slice of Pissaladière, a French onion tart at less than 2 Euros, a big Salad Nicoise at 8 Euros to set two-course lunches from 12 Euros. Of course, if you want to push the boat out you could always eat in a restaurant in the Michelin Guide, and Nice and the surrounding area has 108 listings.
We ate in an amazing little place called Restaurant Davia where a two-course evening meal for two with wine was 50 Euros. I had an amazing Beef Danube, a rich tasty beef stew that I devoured in no time, and when we returned Coq Au Vin, chicken cooked in red wine which was delicious.
5. For The Views
You can walk slowly up to Castle Hill, taking in the amazing views, or to make it easier for yourself, get on the little road train, or find the lift to take you to the top if you can’t face the walk. You will be rewarded though. Just look at the view of the Promenade Des Anglais otherwise known as Nice’s famous Bay Of Angels.
A few steps up and you will see Castle Park, a lovely little place to watch the world go by, let the kids play and sit with an ice cream on a sunny day. Walk through the park to see the marina area, which is just stunning. We spotted a superyacht worth over 200 million Euros!
So this is our 5 reasons why you should visit Nice in France. There are many more reasons to visit, check out what we did in more detail in 48 hours in Nice. Tell me, have you been to Nice? Would you like to visit?
Trish
April 12, 2018 at 5:40 pmWe had a week in Nice years ago when our son was little. We travelled by train to get there, just to make the experience a bit different. I remember we had such a good time, it was during the carnival (February) and the weather was great. I’d love to go back and see all the things we missed – particularly the museums.
Mr and Mrs W
April 13, 2018 at 8:15 amWe were surprised how much we liked it too. We would definitely go back and explore more, out of high season it’s not that expensive either.
Tamara Elliott
April 14, 2018 at 5:26 pmI’ve wanted to go to Nice for a long time as well, to see the beautiful palm-tree lined boardwalk. I had no idea it had that gorgeous Russian Orthodox church though, how cool!
Mr and Mrs W
April 14, 2018 at 9:32 pmYes, it was built for the Russian Royal family who used to spend long periods of time in Nice
Aleah
April 14, 2018 at 5:45 pmI think Nice is my kind of place to visit. I travel for architecture and love cobblestone and pastel-hued buildings! I’m not so much into shopping or museums but the food and views will definitely get me there. I would really love to visit someday.
Mr and Mrs W
April 14, 2018 at 9:36 pmThe old town and flower market are really interesting and there are great views from Castle Hill.
Marie
April 14, 2018 at 8:56 pmWonderful post. I’ll be going back to Europe for a year or so later this year and will definitely try to make it out to Nice. Thanks for giving me some ideas of what to get up to while I’m there!
Mr and Mrs W
April 14, 2018 at 9:39 pmYou should definitely try and get to Nice and the French Riviera.
Carol Colborn
April 14, 2018 at 9:53 pmWe visited Nice in a road trip of Cote d’Azur in 2015. We had such little time we didn’t get to see a single Museum. The Matisse and Chagall Museums would have been lovely to visit. Loved the shopping, the food, and the views!
Mr and Mrs W
April 15, 2018 at 5:12 pmWe’ve done a few road trips like that, you can get to a lot of places but don’t have much time in each place. The views around the Cote d’Azur are stunning.
Lillie
April 14, 2018 at 11:43 pmOooh… that beef stew is making me drool. I’ve never been to Nice, but have always been intrigued, and this article is making me more so. The Russian Orthodox Cathedral is particularly striking. I had no idea something like that would be in a French town!
Mr and Mrs W
April 15, 2018 at 5:14 pmThe Russian Orthodox church was built for the visiting Russian aristocracy although it was completed not long before the Russian revolution.
Kavita Favelle
April 15, 2018 at 10:18 amI visited Nice many years ago and we explored both the city and the region around but I totally missed the Russian Orthodox Cathedral. We did love the food though and the many small villages aroundabout, with wonderful views!
Mr and Mrs W
April 15, 2018 at 5:16 pmYes, the food was excellent with lots of little independent restaurants and bars.
Mike
April 15, 2018 at 5:38 pmWe have not been to Nice yet….but having read your blog, we just added it to our Europe plans for 2019. Two questions….are there really 108 Michelin Star restaurants there? OMG! Second question, did you fly your drone through the clouds to get that opening shot in the video? What a beautiful montage that opened your video!
Mr and Mrs W
April 16, 2018 at 7:54 amThe opening shots weren’t a drone, it was a little bit of cheating using Google Maps and a cloud overlay. if you had a real drone the armed soldiers along the promenade would have probably shot it down,
Jenn and Ed Coleman
April 16, 2018 at 2:30 amIt sounds like a very nice town to visit. (sorry, had to be done). I love the food all over France and 108 Michelin Star restaurants is off the hook. I really hope that there is some kind of magical Mediterranean vibe in the air with a combination of wealth, sunshine, and vacation hotspot. I always imagine the casinos of Monte Carlo and Nice just have a certain energy to them.
Mr and Mrs W
April 16, 2018 at 7:56 amForgiven for ‘nice in Nice’ – I think we actually say it at some point in our video too. It was far more relaxed and reasonable than we expected but we would probably avoid the main French holiday time.
Suruchi
April 17, 2018 at 5:52 pmFrance is already high on our list and you have listed down some great reasons to visit this beautiful country. We will go crazy capturing the architecture and views. Shopping too will be awesome thing to do. Great pictures.
Mr and Mrs W
April 19, 2018 at 10:12 amWe’ve been to France quite a few times but it was our first visit to the South of France. We definitely recommend it.
Sarah Carter
April 18, 2018 at 6:00 pmNice is glorious, such a pretty place and I always found that the food tastes s much nice because the sun is shining!
Mr and Mrs W
April 19, 2018 at 10:13 amThe weather was excellent, not bad for early March.
Medha
April 21, 2018 at 6:31 amI remember doing a Segway tour of the city a few years back and going up the Castle Hill for such brilliant views – it was an amazing experience! I don’t remember loving the food but yes to shopping! And people were so warm, unlike my experience in Paris before that, so I was actually very happy. The beach was amazing too, and the vibe at night near the beach was really cool. Nice’s architecture also stands out, like you mention. I don’t remember seeing this Russian Orthodox church but it looks beautiful!
Lynsie Lynn
May 18, 2018 at 11:03 pmLovely 🙂