The Bay of Angels and the Promenade des Anglais seen from above, with turquoise sea
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Nice in 3 days

  • 3 days
  • 6.4 km on foot
  • 17 stops
  • Audio guide

Three days is just the right amount of time to understand why Nice won over kings, tsars and painters. On top of the three city routes and the Cimiez museums, this plan takes you on foot along the sea to Villefranche, the next bay along. It's for travellers who want to mix history, art and coastline without rushing, with long afternoons and a final evening on Castle Hill.

Day 1The painters' Nice

Start around nine at the Negresco with “The Best of Nice: From the Negresco to Castle Hill”: the Promenade des Anglais, Place Masséna, the Promenade du Paillon and the Cours Saleya market, all the way to the Castle Hill waterfall. Head down for socca in Vieux-Nice, at an outdoor table if you can. In the afternoon, take the bus up to Cimiez to see the Chagall and Matisse museums at your own pace. There's no evening route today, so the night is yours: dinner wherever you like and a stroll by the sea.

  1. Morning

    The Best of Nice: From the Negresco to Castle Hill

    Mixed · 2.4 km · 2 h

    1. Hotel NegrescoThe pink-domed palace dreamed up by a former Romanian head waiter and saved by a woman who turned it into a museum.
    2. Promenade des AnglaisA dirt track paid for by English winter visitors that became the most famous seafront in France.
    3. Place MassénaNice's great red drawing room, with Italian-style arcades, chequerboard paving and seven figures that light up at night.
    4. Promenade du PaillonA buried river, a demolished bus station and, on top, the garden where the Niçois play in the mist.
    5. Cours SaleyaNice's most colourful market: flowers, vegetables from nearby market gardens and the smell of freshly baked socca.
    6. Castle Hill WaterfallA man-made waterfall over the ruins of the keep, with the whole Bay of Angels at your feet.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  2. Lunch

    Try Socca at Chez René Socca. 2 rue Miralhéti, Niza

  3. Afternoon

    Marc Chagall National Museum

    Chagall attended its opening in 1973. It was built for his Biblical Message: seventeen large canvases on Genesis, Exodus and the Song of Songs. There's a Mediterranean garden and an auditorium with stained glass by the painter himself. It sits halfway up the hill to Cimiez.

    Directions

    Matisse Museum

    A red 17th-century Genoese villa high up in Cimiez, beside the Roman ruins of Cemenelum and the olive grove of the arena gardens. It holds work from every stage of the painter's career, right up to the paper cut-outs. Matisse is buried close by, in the monastery cemetery.

    Directions

Day 2A city that belonged to Savoy

Today it's “Before Nice Was French”: from the Prefecture Palace to the Palais Lascaris, Place Garibaldi and Port Lympia, finishing by the sea at Rauba Capeù. For lunch, daube with ravioli at Chez Acchiardo on Rue Droite; at weekends, when it's closed, go to Le Safari on the Cours Saleya instead. In the afternoon, take the tram towards the station and walk to the Russian cathedral. Then head back down towards the sea, visit Villa Masséna and wind up on the Promenade with your feet on the pebbles.

  1. Morning

    Before Nice Was French: The City of the House of Savoy

    History · 2.3 km · 2 h

    1. Prefecture PalaceThe palace of the Dukes of Savoy and the Kings of Sardinia, where Nice stopped being Piedmontese in 1860.
    2. Cours SaleyaThe promenade of Nice's nobility under the Kings of Sardinia, squeezed between the old town and the sea.
    3. Palais LascarisThe home of a family of counts who bore the eagle of the Byzantine emperors on their coat of arms.
    4. Place GaribaldiAn arcaded square built as the gateway to the Turin road, now named after Nice's most rebellious son.
    5. Port LympiaA harbour dug out of dry land on the orders of a King of Sardinia, which took more than a century to finish.
    6. Rauba Capeù War MemorialA giant urn carved into the rock of Castle Hill, where Nice engraved the names of the sons it lost in the First World War.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  2. Lunch

    Try Daube niçoise with ravioli at Chez Acchiardo. 38 rue Droite, Niza

  3. Afternoon

    St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral

    Consecrated in 1912, it recalls the Russian community that wintered in Nice and Tsarevich Nicholas, who died here in 1865. Its onion domes and iconostasis make it one of the largest Orthodox churches in Western Europe. Cover your shoulders to go in.

    Directions

    Masséna Museum

    A Belle Époque villa built for a descendant of Marshal Masséna, who was born in Nice. Today it's the city's history museum, with paintings and mementoes of its aristocratic winters. Its garden, open to the public, holds the memorial to the victims of 2016.

    Directions

Day 3The coast on foot and a last night

Make an early start: the coastal path begins near the port and takes about two hours, past rocks and coves, to Villefranche-sur-Mer. Once there, wander down Rue Obscure and look into Cocteau's chapel before heading back by train or bus in a matter of minutes. Lunch on pissaladière at Lou Pilha Leva in Vieux-Nice and rest in the shade. In the late afternoon, “Angels, Sieges and Phantoms” climbs from Sainte-Réparate to Castle Hill Cemetery and Bellanda Tower. Sign off with petits farcis at Le Safari, open every day.

  1. Morning

    Cap de Nice coastal path

    It starts at the Jardin Félix Rainaud, just past La Réserve, skirts Coco Beach and Cap de Nice and reaches Villefranche after about six kilometres. Expect lots of steps and a stretch along the roadside pavement; after a storm, check that it's open.

    Directions

    Villefranche-sur-Mer

    A village of colourful houses on one of the deepest natural harbours in the Mediterranean. Rue Obscure is a covered medieval street, the Citadelle Saint-Elme houses museums, and the fishermen's Chapelle Saint-Pierre was decorated by Jean Cocteau. Trains link it with Nice.

    Directions

  2. Lunch

    Try Pissaladière and pan bagnat at Lou Pilha Leva. 10 rue du Collet, Niza

  3. Early evening

    Angels, Sieges and Phantoms on the Hill of Nice

    Mysteries & legends · 1.7 km · 1 h 40 min

    1. Sainte-Réparate CathedralThe cathedral of a teenage saint whose boat, legend says, was pushed by angels all the way to the beach at Nice.
    2. Catherine Ségurane ReliefA washerwoman armed with her laundry paddle against the Janissaries: the heroine of Nice who may never have existed.
    3. Castle Hill CemeteryA marble cemetery on the hilltop, where the author of The Phantom of the Opera lies near the victims of a theatre fire.
    4. Cathedral and Castle RuinsThis is where the first Nice stood: a cathedral and a fortress that Louis XIV had blown up with gunpowder in 1706.
    5. Bellanda TowerA round tower above the cliff, where Berlioz dreamed up an overture and where you understand why this is the Bay of Angels.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  4. Dinner

    Try Petits farcis niçois at Le Safari. 1 cours Saleya, Niza

The map

Nice in 3 days, on the map

Each route’s stops are numbered in order; the stars are the extra sights.

Mixed History Mysteries & legends Extra sight

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Before you go

Tips for Nice in 3 days

  • For a classic day trip instead, swap the morning of day three for Èze, the village perched high above the sea, by bus. Be back in time for lunch and keep the mystery walk for the late afternoon, as planned.
  • Check which weekdays your three days fall on: the Cimiez museums usually close on Tuesdays, and on Mondays the Cours Saleya swaps its flowers for an antiques market. In February, Carnival and its flower parades take over the city, so book your accommodation early.
  • For the coastal path, wear shoes with good grip and bring water and swimwear: Coco Beach and the coves along the way are made for a swim. In summer, set off early to avoid the hottest hours.

Questions

Nice in 3 days: your questions

What day trips can you take from Nice?

Monaco and Èze are under an hour away by train or bus; Villefranche is just a few minutes; Antibes, with its old town and Picasso Museum, is also an easy train ride. Saint-Paul-de-Vence needs a bus and half a day. Any of them can replace the morning of day three.

How far will I walk in three days?

The three routes add up to about 6.4 km. Add roughly six more for the coastal path and day three is the longest, at 10 to 12 km with steps. The other two days stay around 5 or 6 km, with Cimiez done by bus.

Is it worth swimming in Nice?

Yes, if you don't mind pebbles: the water is clean and the beach is right in the centre. Bring water shoes for getting in and out. For somewhere quieter, the coves along the coastal path and Villefranche's coarse-sand beach are good alternatives.

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