Take a blue chair on the Promenade. Then plan the coast.
Monaco is twenty minutes east, Cannes forty west, and the perched villages sit on the ridge behind the city. Reviews of the tours, boats and day trips that leave from Nice.
Èze and Monaco, an hour at sea, the old town, the lavender.
The four bookings most first trips to Nice are built around, with what each costs and what the people who went say about it.
01The classic afternoonEze, Monaco, & Monte-Carlo Half-Day TripÈze on its rock, Casino Square and the old town of Monaco, then back along the corniche in time for dinner.
02An hour at sea1-Hour Sightseeing Cruise to Villefranche BayOut of the port past Mont Boron into Villefranche Bay and back. The cheapest way to see this coast from the water.
03The first morning★ Walking Tour of Old Nice and Castle HillCours Saleya at market hour, the baroque chapels of the old town, then the climb to Castle Hill for the view of the bay.
04The long day inlandGorges of Verdon and Fields of Lavender TourUp into Haute-Provence for the turquoise Verdon gorge and, from mid-June, the lavender rows of Valensole.
East to Monaco, west to Cannes, or up into Provence. Choose the day out of Nice.
Nice sits in the middle of the coast, so every direction is a day trip. Five kinds of day, what it costs to board each one, and where it goes.
★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · French Riviera in One Day · from $85
Monaco and ÈzeThe principality and the perched village, usually in one half day.
Hill villagesSaint-Paul-de-Vence, Tourrettes and the perfume town of Grasse.
Cannes and AntibesThe Croisette and the old ramparts, heading west along the shore.
Provence properLavender, wine estates and the gorge two hours inland.
Saint-TropezThe long road or the summer ferry to the old fishing port.
All 96 French Riviera day tours →
Nice is the base. These are the towns it sends you to.
A principality on a rock, a village on a higher rock, the deepest bay on the coast, a walled port, an artists’ hill town and the perfume capital. Six places within an hour of the Promenade.
Nice on foot: the old town before lunch, Castle Hill after.
The old town is a knot of lanes between the Cours Saleya and the hill, too tight for anything but feet, a bike or a Segway on the Promenade side. These three get the most people through it.
- 1★ Walking Tour of Old Nice and Castle Hillfrom $39
- 2Nice City Segway Sightseeing Tourfrom $42
- 3Monaco Formula 1 Walking Tour – The Inside Track Monaco F1from $60
From the sea: Villefranche Bay, Cap Ferrat and the Mala caves.
The coast east of Nice is cliffs and coves the road never sees. The boats leave from the old port under Mont Boron, round into Villefranche Bay and drop anchor where the water goes clear enough to snorkel.
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2Three things you only get in and around Nice.
Beaches and harbours exist all round the Mediterranean. The perfume houses of Grasse, the lavender of the plateau and a Niçois kitchen closer to Genoa than to Paris do not.
Making your own perfume
Grasse began scenting leather gloves in the sixteenth century and never stopped. Fragonard, Molinard and Galimard still run workshops in Grasse, Èze and Nice: a bench of essences in front of you, a perfumer at your shoulder, and a bottle of your own formula to carry home.
- 1Monaco & Eze Small-Group Day Trip with Perfumery Visit from Nice★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 847 reviews
- 2Fragonard Eze: Perfume Making Class and Factory Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 743 reviews
- 3Discovery Perfume Workshop★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 637 reviews
The lavender fields
The rows on every Provence postcard flower from about mid-June and are cut from late July, which leaves roughly six weeks a year. Tours from Nice pair them with the Verdon gorge and the lake of Sainte-Croix next door, so the long drive buys two sights.
- 1Gorges of Verdon and Fields of Lavender Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.4 · 1,975 reviews
- 2The Grand Canyon of Europe and Its Lavender Fields Small group★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 81 reviews
- 3Private French Riviera West Coast, Hilltop villages, and lavender Full-Day Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 30 reviews
Socca and the old-town kitchen
Niçois food is its own cuisine: socca, the chickpea pancake from a wood oven; pissaladière with onions and anchovies; pan bagnat; stuffed vegetables. The food walks graze through all of it, most of them starting at the Cours Saleya market.
- 1NO DIET CLUB – Unique Local Food in Nice !★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 1,267 reviews
- 2Nice Small-Group Walking Food Tour with Local Specialties & Wine Tasting★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 558 reviews
- 3Food and Wine Old Town Guided Walking Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 411 reviews
From a bar crawl to the Verdon: what a Nice day out costs.
Every tour on the site, sorted by price. The bar crawls and old-town walks cost less than lunch on the Promenade; the Verdon and Saint-Tropez days cost a hotel night.
Old-town walks, the bay cruise, perfume classes and the hop-on buses.
Half days to Monaco and Èze, the snorkel boats, food walks and most of the coast in a minivan.
Verdon and lavender, wine estates, private drivers and the boats you have to yourself.
Four Riviera bookings that run on someone else’s calendar.
Most of this coast can be fixed the night before over a glass of rosé. These four keep to seasons, timetables and race weeks that take no interest in your flight.
- 01Gorges of Verdon and Fields of Lavender TourThe fields flower from about mid-June and are cut from late July. Outside those weeks the plateau is green rows or stubble.
- 02Nice to St Tropez Ferry Ticket and CruiseThe boat from Nice to Saint-Tropez sails only in the warm months, once out and once back a day.
- 03Monaco Formula 1 Walking Tour – The Inside Track Monaco F1The circuit is a public road most of the year. In May the grandstands go up for the Grand Prix and race week books out first.
- 04Sunset Boat Tour with Wine and Local SnacksOne departure an evening and a few dozen seats. Summer sunsets go weeks ahead.
In August the corniche to Monaco crawls. Go by sea, rail or bike.
Everyone heading east from Nice in high season shares the same coast road, and a twenty-minute drive can stretch to an hour. The regional train reaches Monaco in about twenty-five minutes, the boats skip the road entirely, and an e-bike reaches the corniche viewpoints without a coach.
Socca in the old town, rosé in the hills behind Nice.
Nice eats at the market counter and drinks from the vineyards above the city, including the tiny Bellet appellation inside the city limits. Book the food walk for the morning and the tasting for the afternoon.
By town, from Nice outwards
Cannes to Menton: the Riviera west to east, with Nice in the middle.
The newest reviews from Nice and the coast.
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