What can one do and see in Nice in 3 days?

We stayed in the Best Western on the promenade Des Anglais. It was great... we had a balacony facing the Mediterranean sea. We drove into the city and parked in a deck. We took the train to Monte Carla and took car trips to Renoir house, Vence, and St. Paul de Vence. St Paul de Vence is a walled hilltop town. We spent went to Canne. Take the small train it was a nice ride to the top of the hill overlooking Nice, great views. Emilyandjim.info

Quite a lot, actually. Spend at least one full day exploring the Old Town and visiting the open-air market on the Cours Saléya, then some of the surrounding sights like the Promenade des Anglais and the beach. Consider staying at the Mercure Promenade des Anglais, a moderately priced hotel with some ocean-view rooms. You can find the hotel on the accorhotels.com web site.

If you can rent a car, that would be ideal for visiting some of the principal sights near Nice: Cannes (excellent sandy beaches, some free); the old town of Mougins, just north of Cannes; St-Paul-de-Vence, a famous perched medieval village; possibly Vence, about 20 minutes from St-Paul; and the charming mountain village of Tourrettes-sur-Loup, known for its pottery.

To the east of Nice you could visit the village of Eze and the beautiful peninsula of St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat.

Of course, if you have time for only half of that itinerary you will still be able to see the prime sights of the coast and a bit of the hill villages.

What are your interests? For starters, Nice is a city of museums. Chagall and Matisse are just two that come to mind.

Nice has a fabulous old town to explore, full of wonderful seafood restaurants, bistros, patisseries, boutiques, outdoor entertainment, and home to the famous flower market.

There are also tons of beach clubs lining the Promenade des Anglais, where for the exorbitant rate of about E20+ you can rent a chaise, umbrella, towel, and spy on your neighbors for the day. The beach is mostly pebbles, so make sure you bring along a pair of plastic shoes to wear into the water.

You can also climb the "rock" at the edge of Nice, where you'll be rewarded with beautiful views of the coast and the harbor. You'll also see lots of families picnicking and playing soccer in the summer months.

By train, you can easily travel to: Cannes or Monaco in about 20 minutes. By bus, you can visit the medieval walled city of St. Paul de Vence, or Eze. You can also spend a day exploring St. Jean Cap de Ferrat, which has a beautiful coastline walk, as well as lots of art galleries and amazing seafood restaurants.

Be sure to rent a car, It is extremely inconvenient to travel without one, but very easy with one. My teenage sons had no problems driving from town to town from Nice.

If you don't feel like climbing the many stairs up to Castle Rock, you can take the interesting elevator instead. The plateau at the top is a fine place for a picnic, with a view that doesn't stop.